Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro review: Smartening up

pocket-lint.com:

The Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro is Xiaomi's latest smartwatch to go global, landing in the UK roughly a year after it launched the Watch S1 and the S1 Active much further afield.

With the Pro we're getting a new look, a first look at Xiaomi's new in-house built MIUI Watch OS that packs many of the same fitness, wellness and smartwatch features as its S1 and S1 Active smartwatches.

It's sitting at a price point that sees it competing with the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5. So, is the Pro a big leap over the original S1 and can it compete with some of the best smartwatches in the business? Here's our take.

3/5

The Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro takes the S1 and gives it an upgrade in the looks department but ultimately doesn’t do quite enough on the software side to make it a really standout smartwatch — particularly when it costs more money.

Xiaomi says the Watch S1 Pro delivers a classic and sleek design. What that means in practice is you're getting a 46mm stainless steel case that comes in either black or silver, and that's partnered up with the choice of a more gym-friendly Vitron strap or a brown leather option — the latter costing around £30/€30 more.

We had the silver case and leather combo to live with and we'd say it's a reasonably nice looking watch that's slender at 11.28mm thick. Like the S1 though, it doesn't really do enough to stand out from the smartwatch crowd. The leather strap attached to it doesn't feel great quality, though you do have scope to whip it off as Xiaomi uses a simple pin mechanism to quickly remove it. Unlike the S1, you don't get an additional strap to let you switch between formal and sporty looks out of the box.

There are still two physical buttons with the top one now more