Just a few days ago, Xiaomi presented its new Mi Watch Color , a smartwatch that directly competes with the Amazfit GTS and GTR and joins the Mi Watch presented long ago, thus forming the first two smartwatches of the firm.

In general, both smart watches, both the Mi Watch and the Mi Watch Color, have quite attractive technical characteristics, maintaining as always a great quality / price ratio. Even so, in summary we could say that both devices are totally different , the Mi Watch being a wrist smartphone, while the Mi Watch Color would be rather a complement to our mobile device.

Therefore, next we will list the main differences between the two models to finally give our conclusion regarding what your ideal smartwatch should be depending on the specific use you want to give it .

Design and construction

In terms of size and weight we are facing two totally different devices. For its part, the Xiaomi Mi Watch has a square format design, while the Mi Watch Color results in a less striking device in a conventional round design.

• Xiaomi Mi Watch : 44.7 × 36.9 × 12.3mm, 44/56 grams, built in aluminum / stainless steel + sapphire.
• Xiaomi Mi Watch Color : 46.2 × 53.3 × 11.4mm, unconfirmed weight, built in aluminum.

As we can see the Mi Watch Color goes much more unnoticed on our wrist thanks to its less prominent thickness and as we said, to its traditional clock format.

Likewise, the materials used in both devices vary depending on their version, on the one hand the Mi Watch is available in stainless steel or aluminum , while the Mi Watch Color is only available in aluminum (includes stainless steel frame) .

Display and internal hardware

Perhaps this section is where we find more differences, and as we said, the Xiaomi Mi Watch is a “ wrist smartphone ”, thus having a powerful processor, internal memory and also with a much wider screen .

• Xiaomi Mi Watch : AMOLED 1.78 ″ screen, 368 × 448 pixels, 326dpi.
• Xiaomi Mi Watch Color : AMOLED 1.39 ″ screen, 454 × 454 pixels.

Specifically, the Mi Watch has an AMOLED screen of 1.78 inches with a pixel density of 326ppi. In this way, it is possible to visualize a greater amount of information than we can see on the 1.39-inch AMOLED screen of the Mi Watch Color.

Likewise, the internal hardware of the Mi Watch is much more powerful, not only with a Snapdragon Wear 3100 , but also with 1GN of 8GB of internal storage, something that the Mi Watch Color does not have and that suits us if we want for example Store our own music.

NFC, GPS, WiFi, eSIM, Bluetooth and FM Radio

In the connections and other functionalities section, the first two Xiaomi smart watches have their similarities and differences. On the other hand, both models have GPS + GLONASS as with Bluetooth, yes, for some strange reason the Mi Watch integrates Bluetooth 4.2 while the Mi Watch Color has Bluetooth 5.0 BLE .

• Xiaomi Mi Watch : NFC, GPS, WiFi, eSIM, Bluetooth 4.2 and FM Radio.
• Xiaomi Mi Watch Color : NFC, GPS and Bluetooth 5.0 BLE.

Likewise, both devices have NFC , differing in that the Mi Watch Color by having a proprietary system only available in China is very likely to never work outside your home country. On the other hand, the Mi Watch when having the WearOS operating system only needs to leave its Global version in order to link our cards to Google Pay .

Of rest, the Xiaomi Mi Watch is the only one to have WiFi b / g / n, eSIM with LTE connection and also FM Radio . Three important details that make it a much more autonomous smart watch without being permanently connected to a smarphone. In addition, the Mi Watch has a speaker and microphone , thanks to which we can receive / make calls

Sports monitoring

As for sports monitoring, both devices are quite similar. And, both the Mi Watch and the Mi Watch Color have gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor, accelerometer and barometer. Thanks to the combination of these they are able to recognize a multitude of different sports activities such as running, treadmill, hiking, climbing, cycling, elliptical exercise, swimming, etc.

In addition, both smartwatch has VO2Max measurement systems using FIRSTBEAT to analyze our physical activity and provide better guidance when exercising. Remember that this new system is capable of measuring up to 30 parameters of our body such as heart rate, stress level, energy level or even intensively track our sleep.

Operating system and applications

Together with its screen and internal hardware, the Operating System used by both devices is included among the main differences. And, while the Mi Watch Color has a proprietary system limited by the applications and customization that it includes, the Mi Watch has WearOS.

In detail, the Xiaomi Mi Watch has « MIUI for Watch «, an advanced system based on Google WearOS that is presented along with its 40 applications that will allow us to perform a large number of tasks. Social networks, My Home, music players, an ingenious keyboard and thus endless possibilities that we can only enjoy in the Xiaomi square clock.

Autonomy

Finally, the autonomy section could be one of the most differentiating points at the same time decisive when choosing which of the two Xiaomi smartwatch is the most appropriate for our use.

For its part, the Xiaomi Mi Watch has a 570mAh battery that together with the co-processor of the Snapdragon Wear 3100 achieves a range of 36 hours . A duration more than remarkable if we take into account that in general, other watches of similar characteristics, do not exceed the day of duration.

On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi Watch Color has a 420mAh battery that allows it to remain autonomously for up to 14 days making a general use of its specifications , 22 days in traditional clock use or 22 hours if we make a use Intensive GPS and cardiac monitoring.

conclusion

Broadly speaking, it could be said that the Xiaomi Mi Watch is better if you are looking for a watch with which you can perform practically all the functions you would do with a smartphone .

If you want to be able to receive or make calls, answer WhatsApp messages, store music, have a system like WearOS that offers the possibilities of installing third-party applications or even linking our bank card to make payments without having your smartphone nearby (thanks to its support for eSIM), the Xiaomi Mi Watch is your perfect smart watch.

However, if you are looking for a smartwatch with which to monitor your sports activity, be aware of all notifications and also have a wide range of customization straps, the Mi Watch Colo r is your perfect smart watch. In summary, we could say that this smarwatch is a Xuaomi Mi Smart Band 4 but including an improved and larger screen in which to display more information.