Xiaomi Watch 5 Review

Smartwatches today are no longer just fitness trackers strapped to your wrist. Many of them aim to replace quick interactions… The post Xiaomi Watch 5 Review appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines Tech News & Reviews.

Smartwatches today are no longer just fitness trackers strapped to your wrist. Many of them aim to replace quick interactions with your phone like checking notifications, navigating with maps, paying for purchases, or controlling music. In this space, Wear OS watches stand out for their versatility, thanks to the wide ecosystem of Google apps and services they support. Most Wear OS smartwatches offer powerful features but often struggle to last more than a day or two on a single charge.

That limitation has pushed many brands to focus on proprietary operating systems designed for efficiency rather than functionality. With the Xiaomi Watch 5, Xiaomi appears determined to improve that balance. By combining Wear OS with a larger battery and a dual-processor system, the company hopes to deliver a smartwatch that remains powerful without constantly reaching for a charger. After spending several days using the watch as my daily wearable, I found that the Xiaomi Watch 5 presents a thoughtful step forward.

It brings meaningful improvements in battery endurance, useful everyday features like gesture controls and contactless payments, and a premium hardware design that feels refined on the wrist. The Xiaomi Watch 5 features a minimalist circular design that feels modern yet understated. At the center of the device is a 1.54-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 480 × 480 pixels and a pixel density of 312 PPI, capable of reaching up to 1500 nits of brightness.

In everyday use, the display looks bright and sharp, and it remains easy to read even outdoors under direct sunlight. What immediately stood out to me was the overall build quality. The watch feels stylish and premium, thanks in part to the materials used. Xiaomi equips the device with double-sided sapphire glass, which adds durability while giving the watch a more refined feel compared with typical smartwatch displays.

The stainless steel middle frame further enhances the watch’s solid construction and contributes to its premium look. The design itself leans toward a sleek, elegant, and minimalist aesthetic, making it suitable for both casual and slightly more formal settings. On the right side of the watch, Xiaomi includes a rotating crown, which serves both as a design element and a functional control. The crown can be used to scroll through menus and navigate the watch interface, offering an alternative to touch gestures when browsing apps, notifications, or settings.

In practice, the crown feels responsive and makes navigating the UI more convenient, especially when quickly moving through lists. An interesting detail is that haptic feedback is triggered while rotating the crown, creating a subtle tactile sensation that mimics the feeling of scrolling through steps or menu positions. This small interaction detail makes navigating the interface feel more precise and polished.

The watch measures 47 × 47 × 12.3 mm and weighs around 56 grams without the strap. While comfortable enough for everyday wear, the size may feel slightly large for users with smaller wrists. Despite its larger size, the included fluororubber strap remains flexible and comfortable during extended use, supporting wrist sizes between 135 mm and 205 mm. Another detail I appreciated is the quality of the haptics.

Vibrations feel tight and precise, making notifications and alerts more noticeable without feeling overly aggressive. The Xiaomi Watch 5 runs Wear OS, giving it access to the full ecosystem of Google services. This includes apps such as Google Maps, Spotify, and Google Home, along with the ability to install additional applications through the Google Play Store. For many users, this is one of the biggest advantages of the device.

With Wear OS, the watch feels more like an extension of an Android phone rather than just a standalone fitness tracker. Another particularly useful feature is Google Wallet support via NFC, allowing users to make contactless payments directly from the watch. Now that Google Wallet is officially available in the Philippines, this functionality becomes even more practical. Being able to pay directly with the watch adds a level of convenience that makes the smartwatch feel genuinely useful beyond notifications and health tracking.

One of the more interesting additions to the Xiaomi Watch 5 is the EMG sensor, which enables gesture-based interaction with the watch. The watch can detect several hand gestures without requiring the user to touch the display. During my testing, the standard gestures included pinching the index finger and thumb twice and rubbing the index finger and thumb twice. The system also supports custom gestures such as snapping fingers, shaking the wrist, and rotating the wrist, which can be mapped to different actions.

While gesture controls are not entirely new in the smartwatch space, Xiaomi’s implementation is practical and adds another way to interact with the device, particularly when your hands are occupied. The Xiaomi Watch 5 supports Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, and 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connectivity. However, the watch does not support 5 GHz Wi-Fi, which may be a minor limitation for some users. The unit I tested is the Bluetooth version, which requires a smartphone connection for most functions.

Xiaomi also offers an eSIM version, which allows the watch to operate more independently. With the eSIM variant, users can receive notifications and access services directly from the watch even without a nearby smartphone. The Xiaomi Watch 5 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 processor, paired with the BES2800 low-power processor responsible for handling background tasks. This dual-chip architecture helps balance performance and power efficiency.

The watch also includes 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage, allowing enough space for apps and offline content. During everyday use, the watch performs reliably. Notifications, apps, and navigation work as expected. That said, since the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 is not the newest chipset available for Wear OS devices, the interface is not always as smooth as some of the latest flagship smartwatches.

Still, the processor remains capable and handles everything the watch is designed to do without major issues. The watch includes multiple sensors that enable activity and health monitoring, including a PPG heart rate sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, ambient light sensor, compass, and the EMG sensor used for gesture detection. These sensors allow the watch to track heart rate, sleep, stress levels, and other health metrics.

The device also carries a 5 ATM water resistance rating, meaning it can be used during swimming and other shallow water activities. Battery life is one of the most noticeable improvements in the Xiaomi Watch 5. Xiaomi claims the watch can last up to six days under typical use, around four days with always-on display enabled, and up to 18 days in power-saving mode. In my experience, the battery performance depends largely on how the watch is configured.

Under normal use, the watch can last around five to seven days on a single charge. When enabling continuous monitoring features such as advanced sleep tracking and heart rate monitoring, the battery life drops closer to three to four days, which is still impressive for a Wear OS smartwatch. Charging is done through a magnetic charging dock, which takes about 90 minutes to fully recharge the watch.

However, at this price point, I do think the watch would have benefited from wireless charging support instead of relying on a magnetic pin charger. The Xiaomi Watch 5 is priced at PHP 18,999 in the Philippines. The smartwatch is available through Xiaomi’s official retail channels and authorized stores. At this price point, the smartwatch competes with several Wear OS devices in the mid-to-upper range of the wearable market.

Considering its premium materials, improved battery performance, and the flexibility of the Wear OS ecosystem, the Xiaomi Watch 5 presents a competitive offering for users looking for a capable smartwatch that can handle both everyday tasks and health tracking. After using the Xiaomi Watch 5 as my daily smartwatch, I found it to be a well-balanced wearable that focuses on practical everyday usability.

The watch combines a stylish minimalist design, premium materials such as sapphire glass, and a bright AMOLED display with the versatility of Wear OS and Google services. The improved battery life stands out as one of its strongest advantages, offering several days of use on a single charge, something that many Wear OS devices still struggle to achieve. Although the processor is not the newest available and the watch may feel slightly large for some users, the overall experience remains solid.

The device handles daily tasks well, and features like Google Wallet and gesture controls make the watch genuinely useful beyond basic notifications. For users looking for a Wear OS smartwatch that balances functionality, battery endurance, and premium build quality, the Xiaomi Watch 5 presents a compelling option. What we liked less: -Quite large for average users with smaller wrists -Wireless charging would be expected at this price point.

-No 5 GHz Wi-Fi connectivity Xiaomi Watch 5 specs: 1.54-inch AMOLED 480×480, 312ppi Up to 1500 nits brightness 135mm–205mm strap size (Fluororubber band) Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 Platform (4nm) BES2800 Low-Power Processor (6nm) 2GB RAM, 32GB Storage WiFi 2.4GHz, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC 5ATM water resistant PPG heart rate sensor, Accelerometer sensor, Gyroscope sensor Ambient light sensor, Electronic compass sensor, Barometer sensor, EMG sensor Dual band: L1 + L5 GPS | Galileo | GLONASS | BeiDou | QZSS Speaker supported, Microphone supported, Bluetooth calling supported Up to 6-day battery life Up to 4-day battery life (Always-On Display) Up to 18-day battery life (Power saving mode) Magnetic charging dock (approx.

90 minutes) WearOS by Google 47mm × 47mm × 12.3mm [Dimension] 56g (without strap) [Weight] Available colors: Black, Juniper Green Anton is into technology and gaming, with a growing interest in creative, tech-driven projects. He enjoys writing, editing, and experimenting with new tools, always learning and improving as he goes. Curious by nature, he likes building ideas, testing things out, and seeing where they lead.

Summary

This report covers the latest developments in android. The information presented highlights key changes and updates that are relevant to those following this topic.

---