Smart Watch
Xiaomi’s Amazfit Pace Smartwatch with Ceramic Bezel Now Launched in the U.S
In August this year, Xiaomi launched its latest wearable called Amazfit Pace smartwatch in China. Just like its popular Mi Band, Xiaomi doesn’t manufacture the watch; it’s ecosystem partner Huami is the actual manufacturer of the Amazfit Pace. Though their many fitness brands, as the name suggests, the Amazfit Pace is the company’s first ever smartwatch. While it is already on sale in China for as price of 799 Yuan, now the company has officially launched it in the U.S for $159 and is available in Black and Red color.
As an introductory offer, the device is now available pre-sale for just $129 during the pre-sale, and the shipping starts from mid-December. The user can connect the smartwatch to an Android or iOS device using the Mi Fit app. Since it runs on custom OS, it doesn’t offer the same functionality as an Android Wear powered smartwatch. It is also the world’s first smartwatch to be equipped with 28nm GPS sensor. The bezel of the smartwatch is made of ceramic which makes scratch resistant. The wristband and be user replaceable, and dial can be attached to any other 22nm band.
Much like the other smartwatches, the Amazfit Pace is IP67 certified which means it is easily resistant to water and dust. It includes a 200mAh battery that is said to give upto five days of battery life. With the GPS mode turned ON, the watch is mentioned to give 35 hours of battery life while the for just tracking steps, it can last upto 11.6 days. It sports a 1.34-inch Always-on LCD touchscreen display with 300 x 300 pixels resolution. The smartwatch includes 1.2Ghz processor along with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage.
On the back of the dial is the heart rate sensor that can continuously track the heart rate, unlike Mi bands. The Amazfit Watch can also be used for on-the-go payments with Alibaba’s mobile payment service AliPay which is only limited China. With the 4GB of built-in storage, the user can locally store the music files and play them with Bluetooth headset without needing a smartphone. It cannot run Android apps but comes with built-in music player and fitness related apps.