WeLoop Hey S3 Wearable Funded On Xiaomi's Platform Launches

While some presumed that Xiaomi would unveil the third-generation Mi Band 3 today, the company took many consumers by surprise and instead introduced a smartwatch made by WeLoop that was funded through the crowdfunding platform running on the Mi Home app. Dubbed the WeLoop Hey S3, the wearable will be sold on the Chinese market as an affordable alternative to the Apple Watch.

The new wearable was created as a companion to active, sporty individuals, as indicated by its main features. The product arrives with a square 1.28-inch always-on touchscreen display with a resolution of 176 by 176 pixels and Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The WeLoop Hey S3 weighs only 38 grams and is 46.21 x 35.66 x 11.15mm in size, the Chinese company revealed. Its main watchface can be customized with various themes and displays time, date, temperature as well as battery status. With the help of an accelerometer, electronic compass, and gyroscope, as well as a built-in heart sensor, the watch can count steps, track travel distance, and heart rate, in addition to providing training analysis. The product will be offered with a range of colorful silicone straps.

Similar to Xiaomi’sAmazfit smartwatch introduced by its sub-brand Huami, the WeLoop Hey S3 does not run Android Wear out of the box, but a proprietary operating system. The embedded Bluetooth 4.2-enabled adapter allows the new smartwatch to connect to a smartphone and relay notifications for calls, texts, and social media apps. Owners of the WeLoop Hey S3 will also be able to use the watch to answer calls or control music, WeLoop revealed, adding that the product is waterproof and can survive being immersed in up to 50 meters of water. Perhaps the most notable fact about the watch it that – according to WeLoop – it’s supposed to support up to 30 days of normal use on a single charge, but it remains to be seen whether this claim will hold true in real-life usage. Just like most other products launched through Xiaomi’s crowdfunding platform, the WeLoop Hey S3 will be priced quite affordably as the product will ship with a price tag of approximately $78 (539 yuan). More details about the device will likely follow in the coming weeks once it hits the market.