Mibro Watch GS Explorer review: A cheap outdoor smartwatch packed with features, but lacking basics
Mibro Watch GS Explorer: Two-minute review
It’s possible to buy super affordable smartwatches, but sometimes they often fall short in terms of design and functionality. For example, the best budget watch in our guide to the best smartwatches is CMF Watch Pro by Nothing, although our cheapest smartwatch The guide offers plenty of alternatives for under $300 / £250 / AU$500.
That’s why I was so fascinated when the Watch GS Explorer landed in my home. Mibro’s latest smartwatch costs $155/£121 and seems to tick all the boxes when it comes to specs. Let me list a few: rugged military-grade durability, AMOLED display, dual-frequency GPS with 5 satellites, and comprehensive sports and health modes.
Does this sound too good to be true? They must have cut a corner somewhere. Excited and determined to find out, I charged the watch as quickly as possible and strapped it on my wrist. It had been there for about two months.
Let’s start with the design. The watch itself has passed a total of 15 military standard tests in compliance with MIL-STD-810H-2019, ensuring stability and reliability in extreme environments. Having used this watch in wet and cold conditions, I can attest that it is durable and waterproof. I also dropped it a few times and didn’t show any scratches or screen cracks thanks to the Corning Gorilla Glass.
However, all this “sturdiness” comes with some trade-offs, starting with its hugeness. If you have a thin wrist, this watch is not for you. The design is also too bulky and lacks detail. You might even call it brutalism. The stretchy rubber strap also makes it a little uncomfortable against the skin, sometimes painfully grabbing any hair that’s caught underneath it.
In the center of the watch is a 1.32-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 466×466 and a PPI of 353. The display is impeccable, with 1,500 nits of brightness, making it bright enough in almost every environment. However, the thick outer bezels prevent effective swiping when operating the touchscreen. I appreciate that this may provide protection for the glass, but in my opinion it just gets in the way.
When we talk about operation, the three buttons located on the right side of the watch are a bit bulky and sometimes even “sticky”, which hinders efficient and enjoyable navigation. I think the user experience would be greatly improved if Mibro reduced the protrusion of the bezel and designed the buttons better.
A wealth of health and fitness tracking features and data can be accessed through the watch and associated Mibro app. You’ll find the ability to track basic health measurements, including heart rate and SpO2, but not much else. Heart rate and SpO2 measurements are on par with the accurate Huawei GT 5 Pro, although the latter is slower to read.
The GS Explorer is intended to be useful when users engage in outdoor activities such as rock climbing, swimming and running. It is here that I encountered some more important issues, namely those related to GPS accuracy. The tracking line was off course, so the distance could not be trusted, resulting in a skewed pace. Workout graphs appear on the screen, but are unfortunately too small to really tell what’s going on outside of the companion app. On a more positive note, training statistics including heart rate tracking and ground contact time during runs appear to be more accurate.
My overall feelings about this watch are mixed. It has some impressive features, especially considering the low price, and performs well, while other, more basic and necessary measurements struggle with accuracy. So, this watch is worth buying if you value premium features at a budget price, but certainly not if accuracy is crucial.
Mibro Watch GS Explorer: Specifications
| price: | US$155/£121/AU$238 |
| aspect: | 47.8mmx13.1mm |
| weight: | 67.5 grams |
| Case/Bezel: | 316L stainless steel + fiber reinforced polymer |
| exhibit: | 1.32 inches Amoled 466 x 466 pixels |
| GPS: | Dual frequency, L1+L5, GPS/Beidou/GLONASS/Galileo/QZSS |
| Battery life: | Standby mode: 60 days, Daily mode: 20 days, GPS mode: 15 hours |
| connect: | Bluetooth |
| Water resistance: | 10 atmospheres |
Mibro Watch GS Explorer: price and availability
- $155/£121
- Functions are extremely cheap
- Not available in Australia
The Mibro Watch GS Explorer is only available in one size and retails for $155/£121 (approximately AU$238), which is pretty cheap for the screen and the amount of features available.
The only customizable part of the watch is the strap color, which is available in black, white, or green. This watch is not sold in Australia or China.
Mibro Watch GS Explorer: Scorecard
| category | Comment | Fraction |
| value | The price of this watch is very affordable considering its feature set. If it fulfilled these functions perfectly, I would give it five stars. | 4.5/5 |
| design | The sturdy construction is backed by high-quality materials. | 4/5 |
| feature | Sports and fitness tracking, dual-frequency GPS and AMOLED display. | 3.5/5 |
| Performance | Although other features perform well, this smartwatch lacks accuracy when it comes to GPS tracking. | 3.5/5 |
| all | A budget smartwatch with some nice features but lacks GPS accuracy. | 3.5/5 |
Mibro Watch GS Explorer: Should I buy it?
If you buy it…
Don’t buy it if…
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how i tested
I wore the Mibro Watch GS Explorer for about eight weeks, which gave me a good amount of time to fully test the watch’s features and battery life. Since it’s marketed as an outdoor watch, I also make sure to go out on special “missions” and incorporate it into my daily activities.
