Two-Week Battery on a Smartwatch?! Xiaomi Watch S5 Review (What You’re Not Expecting)

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The Xiaomi Watch S5 is aimed squarely at people who want a good-looking smartwatch without paying flagship prices. At around £150 in the UK, it sits in the budget-to-midrange space, yet it promises something many premium watches still struggle with: genuinely long battery life. Xiaomi claims up to two weeks on a charge, and in real-world use that headline figure is surprisingly achievable depending on your settings and habits. This review focuses on what matters most for everyday owners—design, display, performance, health tracking, and whether the battery story is real.

Starting with the basics, the Watch S5 comes in a 46mm case that feels modern and sporty without being overly bulky. On most wrists it reads as a “proper watch” rather than a tiny gadget, helped by a clean circular face and solid build quality. Xiaomi typically offers multiple strap options, and the watch’s styling can shift from gym-friendly to office-appropriate with a quick band swap. The physical controls are simple and intuitive, making it easy to navigate during workouts or when your hands are wet.

The display is one of the standout features at this price. A bright, crisp screen makes notifications readable outdoors and fitness stats easy to glance at mid-run. The interface is smooth, with responsive swipes and snappy transitions between tiles, workouts, and widgets. Watch faces are plentiful, and you can tailor complications to show steps, heart rate, weather, or battery. While it may not match the absolute polish of the most expensive ecosystems, it feels coherent and fast—two qualities that matter more than flashy animations.

Health and fitness tracking is where buyers will spend most of their time, and the Xiaomi Watch S5 covers the key bases. It offers continuous heart-rate monitoring, sleep tracking, SpO2, and a range of sport modes for running, cycling, strength training, and more. GPS performance is important on a watch like this, and it’s generally reliable for mapping routes and pacing, especially for casual to moderately serious training. Metrics are presented clearly in the companion app, which is essential for digging into trends over weeks and months.

The headline feature, though, is battery life—and this is where the Watch S5 earns its hype. With typical use—notifications enabled, a mix of workouts, regular health monitoring, and a reasonable brightness level—many users can approach the two-week mark, or at least land comfortably in the 10–14 day range. Heavy GPS use will shorten that, as it does on any smartwatch, but the overall endurance remains impressive. Compared with watches that need charging every day or two, this changes the ownership experience: you wear it more and think about it less.

Smart features are present, but it’s best to view the Watch S5 as a fitness-first smartwatch rather than a mini phone on your wrist. Notifications work well, letting you preview messages and stay on top of calls and alerts. Depending on region and phone platform, reply options may be limited, and third-party app support won’t be as deep as the biggest ecosystems. Still, for many people, the essentials—time, health stats, workouts, reminders, and alerts—are exactly what they want, and the Watch S5 delivers those reliably.

So, should you buy the Xiaomi Watch S5? If you want strong battery life, a large and attractive 46mm design, and a feature set that covers everyday health and fitness needs, it’s one of the best-value options around £150. It won’t replace the most app-rich smartwatches, and power users may want more advanced training analytics, but the balance Xiaomi strikes here is compelling. The Watch S5 feels like a practical, modern wearable that prioritizes what matters: comfort, clarity, tracking, and endurance.

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