POCO today announced its first-ever smartwatch. The device was unveiled at a launch event alongside the brand’s flagship POCO F4 GT smartphone and the POCO Buds Pro Genshin Impact edition. The watch comes in a lightweight body, it packs the usual set of fitness sensors and built-in GPS.
POCO Watch – standard fitness sensors and built-in GPS
For those unaware, the brand belongs to the Xiaomi umbrella. In fact, the company was previously known as “POCO by Xiaomi and Pocophone”. Its first smartphone was announced in August 2018. Since then, POCO has launched 10 more phones. Now, the Xiaomi sub-brand is looking to broaden its horizons with a device simply dubbed POCO Watch.
POCO’s first effort in the smartwatch space takes on a tried-and-true look. A product that looks a lot like a number of similar smartwatches that have recently dropped. Two names that come to mind are Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite and Redmi Watch 2 Lite.
The device comes with a built-in 1.6 AMOLED which is off by default but comes to life at the turn of the wrist or pressing the single physical button on the right. The screen is of excellent quality, sharp, clear and readable both indoors and outdoors. The very small bezel at the edges is barely noticeable. To help you customize the look, over 100 watch faces are installable through the smartphone app.
At 31 grams, POCO Watch is one of the lightest watches on the market. The polymer case is very thin and it is attached to a silicone strap. The latter has a release mechanism so you can change the band according to your preference.
While the 5ATM rated device is marketed as a smartwatch, it is primarily a health and fitness product. Hundreds of exercise modes are available, as well as integrated multi-system satellite connectivity (GPS, Galileo, Glonass and Beidou). There’s automatic activity recognition, blood oxygen tracking, heart rate, steps, sleep tracking and more. Much of this is customizable through the app.
Since it’s a Xiaomi sub-brand, it’s no surprise that the device uses the Mi Fitness app. In fact, the operating system installed on POCO Watch is very similar to that of Xiaomi Watch S1. We suspect that part of the package is the same. In fact, the recent crop of Xiaomi and POCO Watch shares a lot in common.
Essential Reading: Best fitness trackers and health gadgets
Beyond fitness and health tracking, you get smart features. This includes support for notifications, compass, music control, alarm, timer, weather, remote photo taking and more. A single long press of the physical button opens a shortcut that lists all of the features.
Despite the small form factor, POCO Watch offers pretty decent battery life — two full weeks between charges. Which is quite impressive. There’s a proprietary magnetic USB charger in the box that you’re supposed to use to charge.
Starting April 28, POCO Watch will be available for purchase on po.co for €79. Seems pretty reasonable for something with built-in GPS. We have the POCO Watch in review right now, so we’ll follow up with a full review shortly.
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