Xiaomi has officially announced the Redmi Watch 5 world tour will begin on 15 January, with the budget smartwatch arriving for £90 (around $110).
As is customary, the Redmi Watch 4 successor actually debuted a few months ago in the brand’s native China, boasting a much-improved display brightness, size, and refresh rate.
The 2.07-inch AMOLED screen is a healthy chunk bigger than the Watch 4’s 1.97-inch equivalent, while the 1500 nits brightness is relatively comparable to some flagship smartwatches.
For context, the Google Pixel Watch 3 and Apple Watch Series 10 can pump out 2,000 nits, and the just-announced budget rival Amazfit Active 2 can also match these offerings.
The 60Hz refresh rate, 324 pixel-per-inch detail, and 2mm bezels are also reminiscent of a mid-range smartwatch, and the Watch 5 remains as long-lasting (on paper, at least) as we’ve seen from previous generations. Xiaomi says the watch should last up to 24 days.
Xiaomi has also touted accuracy improvements for the heart rate monitor. This should lead to more consistent activity tracking, sleep monitoring, and blood oxygen analysis.
There’s also an updated linear motor to provide more precise haptic feedback and new dual-mic setup to improve call clarity. The GNSS tracking and 150 sports modes remain from the previous generation.
Wareable’s view
We’ve just begun to put the new smartwatch through its paces ahead of a full review, but we’re most intrigued to test the new tracking algorithms.
The brand claims the Watch 5 will offer a 5.2% accuracy improvement from the Watch 4 and a 10% improvement in sleep analysis.
However, considering the poor accuracy I experienced using the previous generation, we’re interested to see if that jump will prove enough to keep pace with rival options from Nothing, Amazfit, and Huawei.
After all, this line’s problem has never been design and comfort. We could forego the updated crown, premium-looking frame, and display changes if it was a more usable tracker.
We’ll cover it all in our testing, so check back for that over the coming weeks.
