Xiaomi just announced its take on the Apple Watch, and it is likely to infuriate a lot of Cupertino executives. Xiaomi’s Mi Watch looks eerily similar to the Apple Watch but costs just $185. The smartwatch is available in the Chinese market and comes with a square body, button and a crown. With a 1.78-inch AMOLED display, the watch could seriously give Apple a tough competition. Mi Watch runs on the MIUI for Watch, which is an Android-inspired wearable operating system. It resembles Google’s Wear OS, and has already received positive criticism.
Xiaomi’s Mi Watch has impressive features
The Mi Watch has a number of features that will simply impress even the most die-hard critic. Let us take a look at what the tiny gadget packs in.
- A body that is made of an aluminum alloy. The matte finish is quite classy.
- Two microphones that let you make and receive calls. You can also record your calls and audio
- A loudspeaker thanks to which you can listen to music handsfree. However, the sound may not be loud enough.
- A ceramic back that comes with a heart-rate sensor
- Charging pins to make sure that your watch never runs out of juice
The watch boasts of some impressive specifications. In fact, Apple Watch does not even come close to what the Mi Watch has got to offer. Here are the technical specifications of the watch:
- Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 3100 4G chipset
- Four 1.2GHz Cortex A7 cores
- 8 GB of storage and 1 GB of RAM
- Supports cellular connectivity and also other forms of connections
- The watch supports NFC, Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Fi
- 36 hours of battery life on a single charge
- The watch comes with more than 40 Chinese apps
- XiaoAI, Xiaomi’s default virtual digital assistant is quite useful
Who is Xiaomi’s Mi Watch for?
The watch is perfect for those who are health-conscious, as it comes with a heart rate sensor. Users can track their physical activity and performance when they are running or jogging. It can also be used during cycling and swimming, making it a fitness essential. What impresses us the most is that it can track one’s sleep, allowing people to learn more about their own sleeping habits and improve their health. The smartwatch may be launched in Asian countries such as India, Singapore, and Indonesia in the coming few weeks. However, it may not be available in North America, at least for some time now.
Is Xiaomi being unethical?
Xiaomi has been repeatedly accused of stealing ideas from Apple. However, copyright laws in China protect Xiaomi from many of the threats that it may have had to face elsewhere in the world. Also, it raises ethical questions related to technology ownership. Can a single company claim to own all the ideas that it creates without others having the freedom to dabble with technology? Technology fair usage is a topic that has concerned many in the startup and tech world today. Xiaomi and Apple are no exceptions, and will probably have to work their way out the often confusing measures of ethics and ownership.
Purchase it if you can
If you can manage to get it from someone or order online, do it. This is an impressive smartwatch and if you cannot afford Apple Watch, there is no reason why you should deprive yourself. Go ahead and order the phone from where it is available. You can most likely order it from a Chinese or Indian online store, or if you are traveling somewhere around there, you can pick it up physically. At $185, this is the best holiday season gift you can buy for yourself.
