The Xiaomi Watch 5 mixes gesture controls and severe endurance- Android Authority

At its MWC 2026 kickoff occasion as we speak, Xiaomi formally launched the worldwide model of the Xiaomi Watch 5. And as a substitute of releasing simply one other iterative replace, the corporate made a daring assertion with this new machine.

The primary spotlight is the {hardware} that permits hands-free management. The watch makes use of built-in electromyography (EMG), photoplethysmography (PPG), and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) to energy exact gesture controls.

Reasonably than tapping a tiny display, you may merely “Pinch Twice” to hold up a cellphone name or “Rub Twice” to dismiss an alarm. The EMG expertise reads {the electrical} alerts in your muscle tissues, delivering dependable, low-latency management for these important actions. Moreover, you may assign customized actions to a “Snap Fingers,” “Shake Wrist,” or “Rotate Wrist” movement to immediately launch Google Gemini, open your digicam, or fireplace up YouTube Music.

This watch combines a high-end look with spectacular battery life. It runs on the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 platform and a BES2800 low-power co-processor. Collectively, these chips handle the big 930mAh Xiaomi Surge Battery. With a ten% silicon-carbon content material, the battery virtually doubles its capability in comparison with the final mannequin. You may rise up to 6 days of battery life in good mode, or as much as 18 days in energy saver mode. That stated, precise battery life will rely upon how you employ the watch.

The wearable has a chrome steel body and double-sided sapphire glass with a Mohs Hardness ranking of 9. Its 1.54-inch AMOLED show has skinny 2.6mm bezels and makes use of LIPO show expertise, reaching 1500 nits of peak brightness and a pointy 480 x 480 decision.

Weighing 56g with out the included fluororubber strap and measuring 47mm x 47mm x 12.3mm, it’s designed for comfy all-day put on and is water-resistant as much as 5ATM.

That is the primary Xiaomi smartwatch to come back with Gemini pre-installed, operating on the most recent Put on OS 6. Join your smartphone utilizing Bluetooth 5.4 or the watch’s 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, and you’ll speak to Gemini to get issues executed, verify the climate, or discover instructions. The watch additionally works carefully with the Xiaomi HyperConnect ecosystem, letting you handle the Xiaomi Sensible Hub and management your digicam remotely out of your wrist.

Well being monitoring has additionally improved. With one faucet, the watch checks your coronary heart charge, blood oxygen, stress, and sleep in simply 60 seconds. Outside runners get correct offline mapping with a dual-band 5 GNSS system, plus superior stats like VO2 max and weekly coaching load. You may simply sync all of your well being information to Well being Join utilizing the Mi Health app. The Xiaomi Watch 5 begins at €300.