Copyright scotsman
One of the reasons people hesitate to buy a smartwatch is style. If you're pairing a smart suit or an elegant dress with some choice jewellery, the chances are you'd opt for a Breitling or a Longines over a Garmin. But while there are a handful of options in the list of stylish watches out there, Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has added another one into the mix with the latest 41mm version of its popular S4. It's a sleeker, prettier, lighter option for people who value style over substance. Although, having said that, it's far from a form-over-function affair. There are some compromises made to give it a wider appeal among the Savile Row set, but it's still a smart smartwatch. Lurking beneath the pretty, classic face is a 1.32-inch AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 1500 nits. Navigate away from the face and you're into Xiaomi's HyperOS UI operating system, which will be instantly familiar to users of Chinese smartwatches. It's a light, easy-to-use interface with some great features and smooth animations. As with all the latest wearables, there's a heavy focus on fitness tracking and, while the tech on offer here won't rival a top Garmin or Fitbit, you do have heart-rate monitoring, sleep analysis, skin temperature tracking, and some other trick sensors. It also has a range of preset exercises, it syncs with third-party sports apps, and it's got basic water resistance for swimming. The battery will last just over a week if you're careful, but it's more like four days in normal use, and there's an NFC system for payments. It has an impressive array of features, then, and they all work fairly well. This isn't a watch for hardcore fitness fanatics, but it's perhaps a great second watch for the health-conscious socialite who likes to dress up on an evening, but still likes to keep tabs on their vital statistics. And the price point is pitched favourably at that particular niche market. The entry-level version, with a workout-friendly rubber strap in either black or mint green costs £129.99. There's a pretty white version with a leather strap for £149.99, or you could go full bling with the sunset gold version, which has a Milanese strap, for £189.99. Snap one up soon from the Xiaomi website, and you can also choose a free gift, ranging from a power bank to a smart scale. Click here to choose your free gift and see the full range of colour options.
