Xiaomi Mi Watch Teardown

Introduction

Apple still dominates the smartwatch business in many parts of the world—but can you get a Watch equivalent for roughly half the price? Xiaomi seems to think yes, so today we're putting their Mi Watch under the knife. Let's tear it down and see what turns up.

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Tools Required

• iOpener (1)
• Hot Air Rework Station Hakko FR-810 (1)
• Technician's Razor Set (1)
• iFlex Opening Tool (1)
• iMac Opening Wheel (1)
• iFixit Precision Bit Driver, Aluminum (1)
• Phillips #000 Screwdriver (1)
• Spudger (1)
• ESD Safe Tweezers Blunt Nose (1)
• iFixit Opening Picks set of 6 (1)

Step 1: Xiaomi Mi Watch Teardown

Description of Image: Two images of the Xiaomi Mi Watch. The left shows the watch face with a floral design and the word "TEARDOWN" overlaid. The right shows a hand holding the watch.

• While the Mi Watch bears a certain superficial similarity to a familiar Apple product, the parallels end there.
• Specifications: Aluminum case with a 1.78" Super AMOLED screen, Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform, 1 GB RAM and 8 GB storage, Speaker and microphone for calls (via e-SIM), Steps counter, sleep tracker, optical heart rate sensor, WiFi, GPS, NFC, and Bluetooth 5.0.
• The watch runs MIUI for Watch, a skinned version of Wear OS, which can be paired with the Google app in English. However, since there's no international version, users may encounter Chinese characters on the watch itself.

Step 2: Comparison with Apple Watch Series 5

Description of Image: Three images comparing the Xiaomi Mi Watch (left) with the Apple Watch Series 5 (right), showing different angles and highlighting external differences.

• Let's compare a little more closely to distinguish the Mi Watch from its counterpart.
• Key differences: A boxier, edgier case, screen, and "digital crown"; a wider black bezel around the display and a taller profile; charging contacts on the rear and protruding mounts for the detachable band.

Step 3: Initial Casing Removal

Description of Image: Three images showing the process of removing the band mounts and the initial opening of the watch case.

• The only external screws are for the band mounts. Removing them reveals the model number, XMWT01. The manufacturing information reads "Made in China" by "Xiaomi Communication Technology Co., Ltd."
• After applying heat, standard opening tools like a curved razor blade were less effective. The iFlex tool and iMac Opening Wheel were used for opening the case.
• ? Although the watch is successfully opened, the procedure leaves cosmetic damage on the case, and the screen is difficult to separate.

Step 4: Screen Detachment

Description of Image: Three images showing the screen assembly being detached from the watch body, highlighting the flex cable and the display itself.

• The screen's flex cable is long enough to maneuver the Precision Bit Driver to loosen a bracket and unplug the display.
• The display is a 1.76" Super AMOLED with 368 x 448 resolution, featuring a small circular cutout for the light sensor.
• On the back of the screen, a Cypress TMA525C 34FNI (PMI 1907 D 21 8/1856) multi-touch capacitive touchscreen controller is found.
• For comparison, the Apple Watch Series 5 uses an LTPO OLED display, measuring 1.78" with the same resolution.

Step 5: Motherboard and Battery Removal

Description of Image: Three images showing the motherboard and battery being removed from the watch casing. The battery is shown separately.

• The motherboard is removed next, with the battery attached.
• The Mi Watch power cell is a 2.167 Wh (560 mAh @ 3.87 V) rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack. This capacity significantly exceeds the 1.129 Wh of the 44 mm Apple Watch Series 5 battery. The Chinese text on the battery label indicates: "Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery Pack", "Model: XMW801", "Capacity: 560mAh", along with warnings.
• The Snapdragon 3100 processor, its co-processor, and power management sub-system are also noted as contributing to longer battery life.

Step 6: Motherboard Components

Description of Image: Three images of the motherboard. The third image highlights various components with different colors.

• Key silicon components on the motherboard include:
• Kingston 8GB LPDDR3 with Qualcomm MSM8909W (Snapdragon Wear 3100), featuring a 32-bit, quad-core ARM Cortex A7 CPU and Adreno 304 GPU.
• Qualcomm QCC1110 co-processor.
• Qualcomm PMW3100 power management sub-system.
• Vanchip VC7643 IC.
• T9897 music audio IC.
• Qualcomm WCN3620 wireless connectivity chip.
• NXP 80T23 SE and NFC IC.

Step 7: Rear of Motherboard Chips

Description of Image: Two images of the rear side of the motherboard.

• The rear side of the motherboard has fewer components, but two chips proved harder to identify:
• GTO_S068 ST33J2MO 017933A6
• S0 938

Step 8: Midframe Components

Description of Image: Three images showing the midframe components, including the speaker, buttons, and the linear resonant actuator.

• The midframe houses the speaker with its red rubber gasket, buttons for the crown and home button, and a small linear resonant actuator.
• Compared to the Taptic Engine in the Apple Watch, this Linear Resonant Actuator (LRA) is much smaller, suggesting a potentially lower vibration force.
• ? Turning the digital crown on the Mi Watch provides small, haptic steps, indicating Xiaomi's effort to maximize the functionality of this small actuator.
• This comparison highlights Apple's emphasis on its larger Taptic Engine, which offers more communicative haptic feedback at the cost of battery life.

Step 9: Bottom Circuit Board

Description of Image: Three images showing the final circuit board at the bottom of the watch, equipped with sensors and contacts.

• At the very bottom of the watch barrel, the final circuit board is extracted using blunt nose tweezers. It is equipped with:
• The heart rate sensor and LEDs.
• Four data and charging contacts.
• Two microphones.
• An optical encoder for reading the crown's rotation.

Step 10: Teardown Complete

Our excursion into the first smartwatch directly from Xiaomi is now complete.

Let's see how this wrist companion performs in our repairability rating.

Step 11: Final Thoughts & Repairability Score

Description of Image: An image displaying the "REPAIRABILITY SCORE: 4 OUT OF 10" graphic.

• The Xiaomi Mi Watch earns a 4 out of 10 on our repairability scale (where 10 is the easiest to repair).
• The bands are easy to remove and replace.
• Battery replacement is fairly straightforward once inside, but requires removing the motherboard for access.
• Most components are modular and can be replaced separately, with the exception of the circuit board at the bottom, which is secured with plastic rivets.
• Opening the watch by removing the screen is possible but difficult and likely to result in cosmetic damage.