Xiaomi is attempting to make strong inroads into the lucrative wearable space. Barely days after it debuted its fitness tracker — the Mi Band 2 — the grapevine is abuzz with rumors of the arrival of a Xiaomi smartwatch.
According to a report from GizmoChina, the China-based OEM, which has some incredible smartphones to its credit, is quietly working on its first-ever smartwatch, which, per Pan Jiutang, an analyst, will be rolled out this year.
"The noted analyst, Pan Jiutang from China[,] reveals that the new smartwatch should be released by the company soon. He also says that the power consumption of the new Xiaomi smartwatch should be similar to Garmin's wearables," notes the publication.
This is not the first time that rumors pertaining to a smartwatch from Xiaomi have surfaced online. In March 2015, we reported that Xiaomi had a smartwatch in development. In November 2015, rumors of the company unveiling its first-ever smartwatch, dubbed the Mi Watch, started gaining traction. However, the wearable never saw the light of the day at the event and remained as nothing more than mere speculation.
The fact that Xiaomi has a smartwatch in development has previously been confirmed by its co-founder and VP Liu De, who also spilled the beans that the wearable is ready to make its debut in the second half of 2016.
While Xiaomi has a smartwatch for children — the Xiaomi Rabbit — which it released in 2015, it does not have an offering for adults.
According to Jiutang, the Xiaomi smartwatch's ideal price tags should be $152 (999 Yuan) and $243 (1,599 Yuan), which suggests that the company would be releasing two variants of the device.
Little is known about the specs and features of the Xiaomi smartwatch, but it is anticipated that the wearable will boast more functionalities when compared with the $22 Mi Band 2 fitness tracker.
With a drone already made to its credit, Xiaomi will soon have another product in its lineup when the Mi Watch smartwatch finally makes its long-awaited debut.
Photo: Jon Russell | Flickr
