Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite GPS Review

Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite GPS is a budget fitness watch with a range of features. It has a built in GPS for outdoor activities like running and cycling. The GPS accuracy is comparable to that of more expensive GPS watches/ . The watch works with the Xiaomi Wear app and can be sync with Strava. The SRP is only 4,099 PHP but I got it on sale for only 2,390 PHP. The Mi Watch Lite GPS is a great budget GPS watch with rich smartwatch features.

Key Features

• GPS/GLONASS/A-GPS
• 1.4″ LED Display
• 5 ATM Water resistance
• Health Monitoring: Heart Rate, Sleep, Steps, Calories
• Phone Notifications: Calls, SMS, Alerts, Music Controls
• 11 Sports Modes: Running, Cycling, Swimming, Treadmill, etc.

Design and Features

The Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite GPS has the familiar square face of many expensive smartwatches. But it is about 6 times cheaper. The main watch is made of plastic and the straps are rubber. It is very light. It may feel inferior to the more expensive watches. Yet, it has a pleasant look and the rubber strap feels soft and comfortable.

The straps can be changed. The mechanism to remove them will need some effort. But will it get easier once you get the hang of it.

There is only one button which is used to open the menus and to make a selection. The rest of the controls are through the touch screen. The screen is not that responsive. It usually takes more than one swipe to get to next screen. Sometimes, I’d think the watch hanged up. This can be frustrating if you are in a hurry.

GPS Function and Accuracy

I used the Mi Watch Lite GPS side by side with the Apple Watch Series 6 during one of my bike rides. The GPS fix was fast on the Mi Watch. I got a strong signal in just about 5 seconds. This may be due to the updated A-GPS installed on the watch. So try to check for the A-GPS installation on your first use.

The entire ride registered as 25.05 KM for the Mi Watch Lite GPS. For the Apple Watch Series 6, it registered as 25.08 KM. The difference was only 30 meters! That is very small difference.

In another bike ride, I wore the Mi Watch Lite GPS and the Suunto Spartan Sport WHR Baro. The distance recorded was 15.23 KM and 15.30 KM, respectively. The difference was only 70 meters.

Based on these comparisons, the Mi Watch Lite is accurate enough to be used for outdoor activities.

Battery life can last about 10 hours with the GPS turned on. My 2-hour bike ride made a 21% drop on the battery level. So the 10 hours battery life is achievable.

Health Monitors and Phone Notifications

The Mi Watch Lite GPS have sensors that can track the heart rate, sleep, steps, and calories. What’s missing are the SpO2 and Stress levels which are available on other budget watches. The heart rate tracking refreshes ever 30 minutes by default to conserve battery life. But 1-, 5- and 10- minute options are available.

The basic phone notifications are available for calls, SMS, and app notifications. The Mi Watch Lite also has weather, compass, and music controls.

Xiaomi Wear App

Xiaomi Wear App is the companion app for the Mi Watch Lite GPS. It has a clean and colorful interface. The pastel colors makes it look young and fresh. I like how the data is presented in the app. The order of the summary can be customized. The history of previous activities are saved through the app.

Activity history is available through the app. You can review previous runs and rides. The graphs and tables looks great. There is an option to share the stats to your contacts. A nice animated location tracking of the route is also available and can be exported to your gallery for sharing.

However, I am seeing a problem with the Height or Elevation data. There is always a steep drop somewhere in the tracking. I am sure I did not fell that far on the actual ride. So I wonder where that data is coming from. Other than that, the other information looks accurate.

There are other features on the app like the cadence for runs, watch faces, and settings to enable connection to Strava.

RELATED POST: Sync your Mi Watch to Strava

The selection of watch faces looks OK. There are digital, analog and animated looks. But most of them is just a modification of the other. So the choices are not that many and not as unique.

Some parts of the app still displays Chinese characters instead of English. But it wont pose a problem in the function of the watch. The characters are for descriptions anyway and not for instructions.

One problem I encountered is workout history takes time to load. Sometimes, it won’t load the history at all. It can quickly show the latest workout activity, but the rest of the activities in the same week would have problems in the app.

Mi Watch Lite GPS Review Summary

Mi Watch Lite GPS is a great budget watch for outdoor activities. The GPS tracking is accurate with a fast GPS fix. The Xiaomi Wear app has a good interface and activity history. It’s ability to sync with Strava is a big plus so that you can consolidate all your activities from other devices into one mobile app. With a sale price of just 2,390, the Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite GPS is worth considering and a great value for money.

Where to Buy

I bought the Mi Watch Life GPS online for 2,390 PHP on a sale. The SRP is at 4,099. The Mi Watch Lite GPS is available at the Xiaomi store in Lazada and Shopee.

NOTE: Sale price may vary.

Mi Watch Lite GPS Comparisons

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Mi Watch Lite GPS vs Amazfit Bip U Pro

Both watches have good GPS accuracy and fast GPS fix. Their screen sizes are the same at 1.4″, but the Mi Watch Lite has a bigger frame than the Bip U Pro.

The Amazfit Bip U Pro screen is more responsive than the Mi Watch Lite GPS. I also find the Zepp app for Amazfit more refined than the Xiaomi Wear app. Both can be synced to Strava, but the Zepp app can be link to Google Fit and Relive as well.

While the Bip U Pro have more health monitors than the Mi Watch Lite, some of them were not that accurate like the step counter and the SpO2.

Both watch SRPs are around 4,000 PHP depending on the seller while their sale prices are at 2,500 PHP average. If you are only after the GPS capability, then both watches are really a win-win option. But if you consider the accuracy of other health monitors, then the Mi Watch Lite is the better option.

Mi Watch Lite GPS vs RealMe Watch 2 Pro

I still have to review the RealMe Watch 2 Pro. Both are within the same price range but the RealMe Watch is a bit more expensive by a few hundreds only. But the RealME Watch 2 Pro has a bigger screen. It’s dimension is 1.75″ compared to the 1.4″ of the Mi Watch Lite.

Check this page for the comparison update in the coming weeks.