- The Xiaomi Watch 5 is now available for sale outside of China
- The smartwatch was originally launched in China in late 2025
- The operating system has changed from HyperOS to Google’s Wear OS 6
In December, Xiaomi launched its Watch 5 wearable with Wear OS 6 compatibility. The bad news is that it was only launched in China, but the company has now made the device available worldwide, bringing its new features to a much wider audience.
The Watch 5 comes with a 1.54-inch AMOLED display with sapphire glass on both the front and back and reaching up to 1,500 nits of brightness. The body is made of a stainless steel frame and is available in Juniper Green or Black, while the 3D printed strap weighs 43g, which Xiaomi says is about 50% lighter than its stainless steel equivalent.
Xiaomi’s watch is powered by a combination of a 4nm Snapdragon W5 and a low-power 6nm BES2800 chip. This measure aims to “balance performance and energy efficiency,” says Xiaomi. When used in performance mode, you’ll get six days of battery life on a single charge, which extends to 18 days when power saving mode is activated.
Gesture control gets a boost in the form of an electromyography (EMG) sensor that offers Xiaomi’s “most precise gesture control yet,” the firm says. This supports seven gestures and interactions. Apart from that, there are more than 150 sports modes, 3D animated training guide and ECG analysis.
Switch to Wear OS 6
Xiaomi usually launches many of its best smartwatches first in China and then expands them around the world. That has been shown to be no different in the case of the Watch 5.
We haven’t reviewed any devices from Xiaomi’s Watch series yet, but we have taken a look at other wearables made by the company. That includes the Watch S1 Pro, which we scored 3.5 stars out of five, and the Smart Band 9 four stars. When we tested those products, we were impressed by their top-quality hardware, but felt they were let down by the sometimes erratic software. We’ll have to see if that’s something Xiaomi has addressed with the Watch 5.
Speaking of software, Xiaomi has switched from its own HyperOS operating system to Google’s Wear OS 6. We haven’t been told why, but that should help give it similar software features to the Google Pixel Watch 4, which we reviewed favorably last year.
How much will you have to pay for a Watch 5? That’s a little unclear, as US pricing doesn’t seem to be available yet, but it costs £269.99 in the UK and AU$499 in Australia. Either way, it is now available to purchase in several regions around the world.
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