Xiaomi Watch 2 shows up with Wear OS for half the price of Pixel Watch 2

Ben Schoon | Feb 12 2024 - 7:19 am PT

Xiaomi is preparing to launch another Wear OS smartwatch with the upcoming “Xiaomi Watch 2” surfacing in Europe with a great chip and an affordable price.

Last year, Xiaomi launched the Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro as a premium smartwatch with a rotating bezel and Google’s Wear OS. Now, it seems the company is following up with a very similar, but more affordable model.

The “Xiaomi Watch 2” has apparently started to appear on retail websites in Europe as WinFuture notes, revealing the simpler design of this more affordable model, as well as its specs, as @MysteryLupin also shared. One of those listings is still live.

The biggest change, it seems, is the removal of the physical rotating bezel. But, aside from that, the overall package is nearly identical.

The display here is a 1.43-inch AMOLED panel that’s circular with a resolution of 466×466, exactly the same as the “Pro.” The physical size of the watch measures 47.6 x 45.9 x 11.8mm which is also identical to the more expensive version. Another big cost-cutting measure, though, seems to be the build materials, as this model swaps stainless steel for aluminum. But it still has 5ATM water resistance and features support for health tracking features such as heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep tracking, and more. There’s no word on if the sensors have changed.

Specs we’ve seen thus far also reveal nothing about what version of Wear OS is installed, but the Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro shipped with Wear OS 3.5, and mention of Google Maps in the leaked listing suggest that will stay the same here.

Beyond that, there’s also mention of the Xiaomi Watch 2 using a Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 processor and touting up to 65 hours of battery life.

The design itself, for lack of a better comparison, is quite similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4, 5, and 6, with two buttons along the right side of the watch and lugs to connect the bands. Charging appears to be handled with contact pins, and the included band has a quick release. Colors include black and silver.

Pricing, WinFuture notes, varies between retailers but is between €199 and €219. That’s about half the cost of a Pixel Watch 2 which runs €399 in Europe.

So far, there’s no actual word on a release date, but the presence of such detailed retail listings strongly suggest that the launch is around the corner. MWC 2024 takes place later this month, and would certainly make sense as a launch for this smartwatch, especially as the Xiaomi 14 series is also getting its global debut around the event.