Xiaomi Mijia SYB01: Hybrid-Smartwatch for $59.99 in review
Oh, what have we here? Xiaomi seems to have noticed how popular the hybrid smart watches Lenovo Watch 9 and Lenovo Watch X are right now. Now the manufacturer is bringing its own interpretation onto the market. The Xiaomi Mijia SYB01 is a hybrid smart watch in a noble design with unfortunately not so smart features.
- Xiaomi Mijia Hybrid-Smartwatch SYB01
High-quality wristwatch with Italian leather
The term “Hybrid-Smartwatch” already defines the design. At first glance, the Xiaomi Mijia SYB01 looks like an ordinary wristwatch. The Quartz watch does not provide a display, but an almost classic dial, which is available in grey, white or black. With a diameter of 40 mm, the watch is quite delicate, yet slightly larger than the Lenovo Watch 9, but with a thickness of 11.9 mm it is almost as thin. The case is made of 316L stainless steel alloy, the dial is protected by tempered glass.
Our test version is the plain black version, which is delivered with black stainless steel case, black dial and black bracelet. The dial is the same on all Mijia Hybrid smart watches as Lenovo Watch X. This is very minimalistic and does not require any digits for the clock display. Below the 12 o’clock mark is the famous Mijia or Mi Home logo. In the lower semicircle is the step counter, which counts up to 20 in the unit “k”, i.e. thousand.
The tempered glass on the top is convex, slightly curved on all sides. Xiaomi manages the transition to the stainless steel case quite well, the edge around the dial is very small. The underside is also very flattened on all sides, which significantly minimizes the area that lies on the wrist at the end. I like it visually much better and actually makes the watch look thinner than it is, especially compared to the Watch 9.
Special focus on wearing comfort
This is also reflected in the wearing comfort. With a total weight of around 42 g, it is somewhat lighter than the competition and lies very comfortably on the skin. Similar to the Huami Amazfit Bip, it’s easy to forget that you’re wearing the watch, which I always find relatively pleasant. The wearing comfort is also due to the leather strap. This is Italian cowhide leather, which at least partly justifies the higher price compared to the competition. The quality of the leather actually seems average to me, but I’m not a leather expert either – sorry.
The length of the band is 24 cm. The watch offers water resistance according to the 3ATM standard, which only provides protection against splashing water. If you focus on swimming or sports in general, you should take a look at our extensive Amazfit Stratos test.
Xiaomi Mijia SYB01 & the Mi Home app
As already mentioned, the Xiaomi Mijia SYB01 has no display, but is still called a Smartwatch. After all, some electronics are also installed. To perform smart functions, however, a connection to the smartphone is required. This is achieved via Bluetooth 4.0 and the corresponding app for the smartphone. Since it is a Mijia product, the Mi Home app is used (by the way, Mijia means nothing else than Mi Home). For example, if you already use the Xiaomi Mi Robot vacuum robot, you already know the app.
If the app isn’t already on your phone, you can easily find it on the App Store (Android Download | iOS Download) or use the QR code from the manual. It should be said that the app with the clock works on both Android and iOS, but in iOS it remained mostly in Chinese. The Android app provides useful English and is quite intuitive.
The connection between the watch and smartphone also works smoothly. However, this is necessary for a Mi account. For this you should probably use a second mail account to which you have active access in case you forget your password. As soon as this is configured, simply add a new device using the “+” in the upper right corner. The easiest way is to use the Bluetooth search, touch the Mi Quartz Watch, press the function key of the watch and then just follow the instructions. The initial setup includes “personal data” such as height, weight and age. We know this from every fitness tracker.
Setting the clock
First things first. A clock should primarily display the time. The advertising photos of the watch show that the time is set automatically. Well, that’s not the case. Actually, Xiaomi has solved the matter quite well, but something fails because there is no daylight saving time in China. If you are in the Mijia App and have selected the clock, you can set the time zone under “World Clock”.
Then it is recommended to calibrate the watch. To do this, select “Hand calibration” in the top right-hand corner of the app and then “Calibrate the watch hands”. Then turn the wheel and bring the minute hand as close to the full hour as possible. The wheel can be fine-tuned by touching it. Then you have to specify the time that the Xiaomi Mijia SYB01 actually displays.
Features of the Mijia Quartz Watch
Inside the clock, for example, there is a step counter, the steps taken are displayed both in the app and on the clock. If you want to have a tendency, a glance at the clock is enough, but more information can be found in the app. The step display on the watch is in thousands of steps. In the Mijia App you can get some more information from the data, but there is nothing more than calories, duration and distance. At least, of course, there is a history.
For this purpose, there is a vibration motor which is used in three different functions. First of all, there is the interval reminder, which causes the watch to vibrate at 1-60 minute intervals and automatically extends. You can also set an alarm clock with the app. There are two problems: the alarm clock must be synchronized with the time of the clock, not with the clock of the app. This sounds logical at first, but is confusing when you look at the app, because the app thinks you want to be woken up at 8 and not at 7.
In my opinion, however, the biggest shortcoming is the vibration motor. Because he’s really weak. A wake-up consists of five barely noticeable vibration impulses that I personally would not be able to wake up. This is much better with the Huami Amazfit Bip.
Unfortunately, the call reminder with the vibration motor does not work in our test, this is where the app hangs up every time, with several test devices.
6 months battery life
Battery life is an important issue where Lenovo models can shine. Xiaomi uses a CR2430 button cell battery (270 mAh), which should last 6 months! This is not as much as with Lenovo, but it is still a very strong value. The Mijia app does not give any information about the remaining battery life, but only about how long the clock has been running. At the top of the overview you will see the message “Enough battery power”. Click on it to see how long the watch has been in operation.
Of course, we could not yet check whether the watch actually lasts for 6 months. As soon as we know more, this information will be posted here. However, if the battery is running out, replacement and spare battery is no problem. To open the cover you first have to remove the leather strap with the simple pin-closure. A small arrow indicates a small notch. We grabbed our Mijia Wiha precision screwdriver set, chose a flat bit and with a little brute force the case cover was off. No problem then. By the way, replacement batteries are already available at Amazon at very reasonable prices.
Conclusion – wow outside, not so wow inside
I must honestly admit that I am very disappointed with the Xiaomi Mijia SYB01 Hybrid-Smartwatch, also Mi Quartz Watch. I really like the watch itself: workmanship, design and wearing comfort suit my taste and I like it better than the Lenovo Watch 9 and X. Simply because the watch is much more filigree and elegant than the competitor models. I could also imagine wearing the watch for a more chic occasion or in a business context.
Unfortunately, all smart functions of the so-called “hybrid smart watch” can be safely ignored. The pedometer is the most noteworthy feature, but I also have it in my smartphone. The vibration motor is too weak to really be used and the call function cannot be used – great. In this case, however, there are not many more functions. We hope that Xiaomi will be able to make some improvements in the future by means of an app update, so that at least the call function can be used.
The Mijia SYB01 Hybrid-Smartwatch only makes sense if you want a chic watch and a pedometer. If you prefer a hybrid smart watch, Lenovo Watch X offers a larger range of functions (heart rate monitor etc.) for the same price. If you want to spend less and are satisfied with the small range of functions, you should take a look at the Lenovo Watch 9. And if you already have a chic watch, the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 continues to prove itself as the best fitness tracker.
To the gadget
Sort by: newest | oldest
Comments (6)