Looking for an affordable yet feature-rich smartwatch? Check out the Xiaomi Backed Haylou Solar Smartwatch Review for more details.

ith smartwatches dominating the wearable space, segments of smartwatches are beginning to pop up like mushrooms after a rain shower. Currently, Apple Watches dominate the high-end market and Xiaomi backed Amazfit watches the mid-range market. The low-range market is currently a battle royale between various brands. This is where Xiaomi is planning a revolution with its latest project.

Related: Xiaomi Haylou Watch Review

Haylou is a smart wearable manufacturer that's part of the Xiaomi Youpin ecosystem. This company specializes in manufacturing high-quality smart wearable technology at low prices. They recently launched the Haylou Solar Smartwatch which took the world by storm. It's a highly capable Xiaomi Smartwatch that's extremely affordable and a must-have at this point.

Since it's such a popular low-range watch we've decided to extensively review it. Anyway let's get to it, shall we? Here's the Xiaomi Backed Haylou Solar Smartwatch Review.

Xiaomi Backed Haylou Solar Smartwatch Review

Inside The Box

Since the Haylou Solar smartwatch comes in a black box that's inside a white and blue outer cover. On the front portion of the cover, you'll find an image of the device upfront and the technical specs on the sides. Inside the Box you'll find:

• A magnetic charging cable
• And the Haylou Solar Smartwatch itself

Haylou Solar LS05 Review - Specifications

• Body: 45.3 x 11.4 x 22mm.
• Weight: 54g
• Water Resistance: IP68 Rated
• Materials: Metal frame, metal button, plastic back
• Display: 1.28" LCD, 240 x 240 pixels (no AOD watch face)
• OS: Proprietary
• Compatibility: Support for Android 4.4 and above, iOS 8.0 and above
• Battery: 340 mAh (30 days typical usage, about 15 days with heart rate monitoring)
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0 + BLE
• Sensors: Ultra-low dynamic optical heart rate sensor, accelerometer

Xiaomi Haylou Solar Watch - Design

You can tell this watch is related to Xiaomi in some way or the other. This watch has a simple design scheme: a black body that projects elegance and simplicity. The watch is housed in a black metal case and a black band made from premium silicone that's sweat and water-resistant.

• This smartwatch has a round dial that reminiscent of a traditional analogue watch. As mentioned earlier this dial-in encased in a metal exterior that provides a certain amount of drop resistance allowing you to freely enjoy sports like hiking.

• With dimensions of 45 x 45 x 11 mm and a weight of 45 grams, this watch feels like a breeze on your wrist. In fact, you can go pretty hard during workouts and barely feel any discomfort. The lightweight nature of this watch is absolutely brilliant. You especially, won't feel uncomfortable when wearing it for long durations.

• The Haylou Solar Smart Watch has a 1.28" TFT touch display with a resolution of 240 x 204 p. Although it's not a top tier display, the size of the touch screen along with the brightness levels results in a pretty good viewing and user experience. At the end of the day, it does a good job displaying the information in a clear and clean manner.

• For a Smart Watch that's less than 50 bucks it certainly has a solid screen and frame.

• This smartwatch has a frosted back cover that is not only ascetically appealing but it also is highly practical as it prevents adsorption on the skin and makes it much more comfortable during exercise. Even the band is sweat-resistant and doesn't make it uncomfortable during those long workout sessions.

This smartwatch has only one button, which is located on the right side of the dial. It can be used to turn the watch on/off and to go back to the home screen. Honestly, speaking this is one of the few smartwatches that offer both beauty and quality at such a low price point.

Haylou Solar - Set Up & App

Unfortunately, you cannot use this watch right from the get-go. You will need to set it up using the Haylou Fit App. While this might seems alright from a fitness enthusiast's perspective, it still irritating to do this as a common user since you'd expect the watch to support app downloads.

While it seems tedious, you will be able to access quite a bit of interesting features that will make your life more convenient once you set it up.

• To start off with, you will need to install the Haylou Fit App on your phone by downloading it from the App store.
• Once this is done you can easily pair the watch using Bluetooth.
• When it's done pairing, the watch will sync your heart rate and movement data.
• Now, you can update the firmware of the watch through the app.
• Once, this is done your pretty much done. You sue the watch as you see fit.

However, if you're in the mood to customize your experience then you can use the app to synchronize the step counter and sync in-depth fitness and heart-rate data. Most importantly, you can set up the apps that you want to notify you. For example, by enabling twitter and message notifications, you'll be able to see it pop up on your Haylou Solar Smartwatch.

Haylou Solar Smartwatch Features

Using the Haylou Solar Smartwatch isn't as complicated as it might seem. It's pretty simple even when compared to other smartwatches in the same range. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. As they say, simple is best.

• You can access a quick menu by swiping from top to bottom. On the Quick Menu you'll find the brightness control, a don not disturb me function, a find my phone option and an access icon that will let you get to the app settings.

• By pressing and holding the home screen you can change the watch face. Unfortunately, you don't have access to 100+ watch faces like other Xiaomi Watches which is a bummer.

• When you swipe horizontally, you get access to the quick view of some important apps such as step counter and heart rate monitor, weather monitor and much more.

• By swiping from bottom up, you get to access the apps list. Form this list you can control both sports and non-sports apps such as music controller and your notification list that is pushed through from your phone.

You can set it up to show the watch face when you raise your hand. This honestly, makes things a lot more convenient.

Sports Modes

You can access 12 sports modes from the start menu. These sports modes are:

• Jogging
• Fast walking
• Climbing
• Biking
• Spinning
• Yoga
• Indoor Running
• Gym
• Free training
• Basketball
• Football
• Rowing

The Haylou Solar has 12 sports modes that are more than just basic guidance, it can be as comprehensive and professional if you use it right. Using the app you can record your various sports data and health status, and create a plan to better your health and fitness.

However, when it comes to keeping a track of your daily activities, there's no watch out there that better than this one. You can easily keep a track of your steps, calorie consumption, and sleep.

This Xiaomi Backed Haylou Solar Smartwatch is IP68 Waterproof. This rating proves that this watch is cable of dealing with limited water like rain and sweat but it is not capable of handling swimming or diving. It should be fine when you wash your hands. However, do let it come into contact with hot water.

This Haylou smartwatch has pretty accurate sensors like an optical heart rate sensor that can monitor your heartbeat but 24/7 and also moment data. If there are any abnormalities, the watch will adjust the exercise plan. Like most modern smartwatches it is also equipped with a sleep monitor and management system to help with your sleep pattern and overall health.

Xiaomi Haylou Solar Review - Battery life

The Haylou Solar is equipped with a 340 mAh battery which can last for 30 days on a single charge. Honestly, this feature of the watch is pretty awesome. Even if you use the 24/7 heart rate monitor, it'll still last for 15 days. With all the various things this watch can pull off, we need to give credit to the manufacturers for the amazing battery life.

• Another useful thing is the magnetic charging cable. Basically, this cable snaps on to the watch through a magnet which is super convenient as you don't have to separate the main body from the band like many of the smartwatches out there. Xiaomi Recently released the same charger with the Mi Band 5.

Performance

After having used this smartwatch for the past 4 months, I can state with complete confidence that this is one of the best entry-level smartphones in the market when it comes to performance. The real-time performance was stellar as the UI has zero to negligible stutters or lags. The notification experience as such was one of the few things I loved about this watch. Since the Mi bands have their fair share of issues with the notifications, I was surprised to see that the notifications were transmitted in real-time and without any issues.

The sports modes were all fairly decent. Even the trackers were relatively accurate. It is more than what I expected from an entry-level smartwatch, to be honest. However, the sleep tracker was quite problematic. Although it only captures light and deep sleep. There were moments when it couldn't read my deep sleep.

When it comes to long-term performance, this beauty was on point. Although the manufacturers claim it lasts for 30 days. It lasts for around 24. Of course, this is taking into account the heavy use I put it through.

Xiaomi Backed Haylou Solar Smartwatch Review - Final Thoughts

All in all, this is a pretty good watch. Not only is it good-looking but it also has cool features that make your fitness journey much smoother.

• The Design of the watch is good enough, i personally find the minimal design scheme and the Analogue vibe appealing. It has a decent touch screen and user interface. However, the pixel quality of the watch could have been a bit better. But it does a decent job so it fine. Especially, if you consider the fact that this watch is priced only at 40$.

• Yes, it's a pretty cheap watch that offers tremendous fitness support with its varied sports modes. It also has is equipped with surprisingly accurate health trackers which do a great job adapting the exercise regimen based on individual needs.

• The general user interface along with the daily use apps is good enough, it clearly does not have the capabilities of high-end watches but that's alright, after all, I personally don't need another smartphone on my wrist. If your planning to buy this watch I can honestly say you won't be disappointed.

FAQs

User Reviews

This watch can accurately record the number of steps, distance and calorie consumption. With APP, you can record sleep tir and sleep quality in detail, help you understand sleep details more intuitively and develop healthy sleep habits. Continuous monitor your heart rate 24 hours a day to help you understand your heart, prevent potential heart problems, and adjust yc exercise time and heart rate according to the amount of exercise

Lara From USA

I like the feel of the metal frame, the watch really doesn't look like a 30 Euro watch. But you have to know, that it is a sports watch. Sure, whatsapp and stuff works, but there isn't much of customization and I am not sure if the heart monitor works properly, which is one of the main reasons I bought this watch.

Rey From USA

This is a great watch, with great value.

I do not use 24/7 heart rate tracking, so battery life is amazing. As I can see, it logs distance and step count very acurately.

There is only 5 watch faces to choose from, without any means adding more or change them. I hope that will be added later.

Kanji From Canada

Also Read:

• Amazfit GTS 3 Price and Review
• Best Haylou Earbuds