It was an unexpected product that created the most talk when Xiaomi celebrated its roughly two-hour long launch, two days before the fair opens for real on the second of March.
The main number at the launch was of course the phones, Xiaomi 17 and Xiaomi 17 Ultra where we have already tested both and especially the Ultra impresses greatly with its camera, then the versatility and the dynamic range. But since these phones were shown for the first time already last fall, there were few surprises they offered. However, it is disappointing that the Pro version with its extra screen on the back and the special Leica phone with a zoom ring you can physically turn will not come to Sweden.
So this opened up for other products to take some of the limelight. One such was the Xiaomi Watch 5 and even there the “waiting” was palpable. Wear OS, Google’s smartwatch system, probably hasn’t gotten the boost Google was hoping for. Samsung launched its watches with Wear OS 6 and Gemini already this summer, only now is Xiaomi coming with the corresponding watch. However, with one important difference and that is superior battery life. Similar to what Oneplus has done, they have two systems, one more battery-efficient and the watch is also equipped with a large battery.
It was an unexpected product that created the most talk when Xiaomi celebrated its roughly two-hour long launch, two days before the fair opens for real on the second of March.
The main number at the launch was of course the phones, Xiaomi 17 and Xiaomi 17 Ultra where we have already tested both and especially the Ultra impresses greatly with its camera, then the versatility and the dynamic range. But since these phones were shown for the first time already last fall, there were few surprises they offered. However, it is disappointing that the Pro version with its extra screen on the back and the special Leica phone with a zoom ring you can physically turn will not come to Sweden.
So this opened up for other products to take some of the limelight. One such was the Xiaomi Watch 5 and even there the “waiting” was palpable. Wear OS, Google’s smartwatch system, probably hasn’t gotten the boost Google was hoping for. Samsung launched its watches with Wear OS 6 and Gemini already this summer, only now is Xiaomi coming with the corresponding watch. However, with one important difference and that is superior battery life. Similar to what Oneplus has done, they have two systems, one more battery-efficient and the watch is also equipped with a large battery.
Still, I’m baffled by how every Wear OS manufacturer has its own health app. Google runs Fitbit, Samsung runs its Samsung Health and so on. Of course they want to offer something unique, but at the same time this limits the benefit.
Somewhat surprisingly, the power bank got the most attention on the presentation itself. It has magnets and support for Xiaomi’s own mobiles as well as Magsafe (and similar Pixelsnap). When it was shown, the involvement of the audience was total. But most of the other products were already known.