Xiaomi is reportedly entering the smartwatch market with a Wear OS 3 device, potentially putting them in direct competition with Samsung.

Xiaomi is reportedly working on a Wear OS 3 smartwatch, following in the footsteps of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch series, which is considered one of the best smartwatch lineups for Android users. While Xiaomi’s existing smartwatches, such as the Watch S1 and S1 Pro, run on its proprietary MIUI Watch OS, the company could adopt Google’s full Wear OS branding to appeal to a wider audience.

Xiaomi’s smartwatches offer a premium design, an array of health sensors, good battery life, and an unknown 12nm chip. However, they have failed to replicate the success of Xiaomi’s cheaper smart bands, which may be due to their availability and the proprietary OS they run on.

It appears that Xiaomi plans to rectify this mistake and could join the Wear OS 3 bandwagon. The MIUI Watch OS is still based on Android, but it doesn’t offer the exclusive features typically found on Wear OS devices. Xiaomi may soon adopt Google Play Services and the full Wear OS branding to appeal to a wider audience.

If Xiaomi releases its Wear OS 3-powered smartwatch, it will be powered by the Mi Fitness (Xiaomi Wear) app and come under the same ‘Xiaomi Watch’ branding as the company’s existing non-Wear OS lineup of watches. However, there are some contradictions to consider. Xiaomi’s watches are known for their good battery life, which is not usually a strong point for Wear OS watches (something long-time Samsung fans often complain about as far as its Wear OS smartwatches are concerned).

Despite this, if everything goes well, Xiaomi could launch its Wear OS 3-powered smartwatch sometime in 2023 to compete with Samsung’s Galaxy Watch series.

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