Xiaomi officially unveiled the Xiaomi Watch S4 and the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro at its October launch event in China, upgrading two of its best smartwatches with some useful new features.
The Watch S4 sticks with the interchangeable bezel design introduced on the Xiaomi Watch S3, now adding more bezels and case color options to choose from. You can now choose from black, silver or black rainbow designs and it also offers an eSIM model to give the Watch S4 extra standalone connectivity.
The devices were announced alongside the Xiaomi 15 series phones, Xiaomi Pad 7 tablets and the HyperOS 2 operating system.
In addition to the additional colors, Xiaomi is also introducing a rotating crown to provide an alternative way to scroll through screens and messages. The crown is attached to an aluminum case with the option of stainless steel or a two-tone ceramic bezel to further enhance the S4’s appearance.
Front and center is a 1.43-inch AMOLED display with a promised peak brightness of 1,500 nits, which is a dramatic jump from the 600 nits offered on the Watch S3.
Xiaomi also includes what it calls “wet screen protection,” which is designed to prevent the screen from accidentally activating if you get caught in the rain or sweat.
Xiaomi
The wearable runs on Xiaomi’s HyperOS 2 operating system, which enables features such as new gesture controls to activate Xiaomi smart home devices, allowing you to control smart home automation scenes and also adjust functions such as temperature, music playback and seat heating in a Xiaomi car .
The eSIM version lets you make calls and stream music without your phone, and uses dual microphones to drown out background noise such as wind. Even new intercom and walkie-talkie modes have been added.
You get access to more than 150 sports modes, with dual-frequency GPS to increase outdoor tracking accuracy. A special ski mode and running courses are among the other notable features.
There’s an optical sensor to track heart rate and blood oxygen levels, with a promised 98.2% accuracy for heart rate tracking.
Battery life is rated at 15 days or 5 days with heavy use. That drops to 7 days for the e-Sim version or 3 days with intensive use.
Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro
The Watch S4 was joined by the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro, which is essentially the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 with a larger screen.
The Band 9 Pro comes in four different colors and has a 1.74-inch AMOLED screen, which is actually the same size as the Band 8 Pro.
That display delivers a maximum brightness of 1,200 nits and is surrounded by an aluminum housing with the option to swap the straps for something less sporty.
Xiaomi
In terms of features, it offers built-in GPS, which is one of the biggest differences between the Band 9 and the Band 9 Pro.
You can choose from over 150 sport modes, an optical heart rate sensor that promises 98% tracking accuracy and there are improvements in sleep tracking accuracy over the previous Band Pro.
It also runs on HyperOS 2, with NFC on board to replace transport cards and offers access to third-party apps like the Watch S4. Battery life is rated at 21 days, which drops to 10 days when the screen is in always-on mode.
It looks like the longer battery life, boost in screen brightness, some extra looks, and promised improvements in fitness and health tracking will be the biggest benefits of the Smart Band 8 Pro.
Prices and release dates
The Xiaomi Watch S4 is now on sale in China with a starting price of 999 Chinese Yuan, which works out to around £108. The Smart Band 9 Pro is unsurprisingly a cheaper buy, retailing for 399 Chinese Yuan, which works out to £43 .
There’s no news yet of a wider release and it’s likely that prices will be slightly higher than the above conversions if it lands further afield.
It’s very likely that some of the announced features, like the smart home integration and e-SIM support, won’t make it to the global versions when they’re officially announced, but we’re looking forward to finding out if they do .