Xiaomi Watch S5 hits global market with 21-day battery and ultra-slim steel body

Xiaomi has launched the Watch S5 globally, pricing it from €179.99 — roughly £150 in the UK — at a time when the Pixel Watch 4 costs £399 and Samsung's Galaxy Watch struggles to last two days on a charge. The Watch S5 claims 21 days of battery life from an 815mAh cell. For anyone tired of charging a smartwatch every other night, that gap is hard to ignore.

The hardware

The Watch S5 has a 1.48-inch AMOLED display that peaks at 2,500 nits, meaning it stays readable in direct sunlight. The case is stainless steel, 10.99mm thin, and weighs 46g without a strap — competitive with much pricier options. Water resistance is rated at 5ATM, covering swimming and rain without worry.

Navigation uses dual-frequency GNSS across five satellite systems, so route tracking should be accurate even in urban canyons. Health sensors cover heart rate (four LEDs, four photodetectors, claimed 98.4% accuracy), blood oxygen (SpO2), sleep, and stress. There are 150-plus sports modes, and cyclists get Bluetooth connectivity to third-party power meters from Bryton, Garmin, and Magene — a feature usually reserved for dedicated sports watches, per Wareable.

The watch runs HyperOS 3, Xiaomi's own operating system. It connects neatly with Xiaomi's smart home and car ecosystem, but it is not Wear OS. That means no native Strava app, no Spotify streaming from your wrist, and a thinner selection of third-party software than you'd get from a Samsung or Google watch. That trade-off matters if you rely on specific fitness apps.

The novelty: Passion Mode

Xiaomi added a feature called Passion Mode that detects celebration gestures — think raised arms after a goal — and logs your heart rate and calorie data in real time during the moment. The timing is deliberate: the FIFA World Cup 2026 is months away. Whether this appeals or feels gimmicky depends entirely on what you want a smartwatch to do.

Pricing and availability

Two colorways — Black and Silver — start at €179.99 with a fluorocarbon rubber strap. Ceramic Blue and Jungle Green variants cost €199.99 and come with two-tone leather or woven straps, confirms Notebookcheck. UK availability through major retailers is still pending confirmation. At this price, the Watch S5 is one of the most affordable full-featured smartwatches on the market — if you can live with HyperOS.