Xiaomi teases Mi Watch Color ahead of January release

Xiaomi has dropped a glaringly colourful video showing off a new smartwatch model, called the Mi Watch Color. Instead of a boxy outline like the Xiaomi Mi Watch, the new wearable has a traditional round-faced design.
It’s hard to gather from the super-short video (embedded below), but Xiaomi says it will come with sleep, fitness and heart rate tracking, and a range of straps in silicone, leather and metal.
Also, it fits neatly around a duck’s neck. This seems like a strange and unnecessary demonstration in the video, but maybe Xiaomi anticipates that this watch will be popular with waterfowl.
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In terms of design, the Mi Watch Color has two little buttons that sit on its right-hand side. And according to Gadgets 360, you’ll have a choice of gold, silver or black for the watch itself.
Further details of the watch were leaked when an alleged image of its retail box appeared on Twitter.
Xiaomi Watch Color live shots and specifications.#Xiaomi #redmi #xiaomiwatchcolor pic.twitter.com/qP9t2gnaQU
— Mukul Sharma (@stufflistings) December 31, 2019
It appears that the new Mi Watch Color will have a 1.39-inch AMOLED display, a 420mAh battery, and will be water resistant up to 50 metres.
Crucially, though, it looks far more attractive than its boxy relative the Mi Watch, which was announced back in November 2019.
When Xiaomi first introduced us to the Mi Watch, the company confirmed that the wearable would be powered by Google’s WearOS, so there’s a good chance that this new Color model will run on the same system. This should mean that the watch will have access to popular Play Store apps such as Google Pay and Maps.
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Xiaomi says the Mi Watch Color will be available from January 3 from “authorised sales channels”, but there’s no word yet on how much it will cost. And at present, it’s not been confirmed if the Mi Watch Color will be available everywhere, or if its release will be limited to China.