Xiaomi’s latest fitness band undercuts Google’s Pixel Watch on battery life by nearly three weeks while selling for a fraction of the price.
The device, priced at $94, runs a proprietary lightweight operating system rather than Wear OS — Google’s wearable platform used in the Pixel Watch lineup — which directly accounts for its extended runtime.
Wear OS, designed to support full app ecosystems and always-on displays, draws significantly more power than the stripped-down software Xiaomi ships on its bands.
The Pixel Watch 3, Google’s current flagship wearable, carries a listed battery life of up to 24 hours with the always-on display enabled, according to Google's official product page.
Xiaomi has built its band lineup around endurance over capability, a trade-off that appeals to Users Who prioritize sleep tracking and step counting over app support.
The Trade-Off
Buyers who want third-party apps, Google Maps navigation, or contactless payments on their wrist will not find them here.
The band operates closer to a dedicated fitness tracker — measuring heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and activity — than a smartwatch capable of running independent software.
That distinction matters in a market where consumers increasingly expect wearables to extend smartphone functionality rather than simply mirror health data.
Market Context
The global fitness band segment continues to face pressure from full smartwatches dropping in price. IDC reported that smartwatch shipments outpaced basic band shipments in 2023 as average selling prices declined.
Xiaomi remains one of the few manufacturers still investing heavily in the band category. Its Mi Band and Smart Band series have shipped hundreds of millions of units globally, making it one of the highest-volume wearable producers in the world, according to IDC's wearables tracker.
At $94, the device sits above Xiaomi’s entry-level offerings but well below the $349 starting price of the Pixel Watch 3, per Google's U.S. storefront.
Battery longevity has long been a friction point for smartwatch adoption. A 2023 Deloitte consumer survey found that battery life ranked among the top complaints from smartwatch owners globally, ahead of price and app availability.
For users who want a wearable they can charge once and largely forget, a band with sub-$100 pricing and weeks of runtime presents a straightforward case.
