Mibro GS Explorer S review: A rugged adventure smartwatch that goes where you go
Mibro GS Explorer S rugged smartwatch. Pictures: Noel Campion.
The Mibro GS Explorer S is a rugged outdoor smartwatch with premium features, including dual-frequency GNSS, 10 ATM water resistance, and a free-diving mode, all at a budget-friendly price. After a month of real-world use, here's how it holds up.
The GS Explorer S looks and feels purpose-built for the outdoors. It’s chunky, rugged, and unapologetically bold. I’ve been using the standard ceramic edition, which has a dual-material strap that combines the flexibility of silicone with the durability of metal links. It not only looks premium but also feels secure whether I’m on a hike or in the water. Mibro includes both orange and black straps in the box, using standard 22mm quick-release links for easy swapping.
Mibro says the watch has passed 17 military-grade durability tests, which sounds great on paper, but it’s the kind of reassurance you start to appreciate when you’re out in the rain, or roughing it doing DIY projects. I’ve put it through a few cold swims, and it has had plenty of knocks, and it hasn’t picked up a scratch.
Despite its rugged build, the GS Explorer S is surprisingly comfortable. It doesn’t dig into your wrist or feel overly heavy, which is something I usually notice in rugged watches. The three-button layout (including a large action button) is glove-friendly and responsive.
The GS Explorer S features a 1.43-inch AMOLED display, boasting a peak brightness of 1,500 nits. Visibility in direct sunlight is excellent. The colours are vivid, animations are fluid, and the UI feels refined thanks to the upgraded Galaxy OS 2.0.
While I wouldn’t call the bezels invisible, they’re tastefully done, and the display feels modern and crisp. There’s an always-on mode, too, which I enabled for most of my testing period. Even in low light or underwater, the screen remains easy to read.
Over the last month, I’ve been impressed by how much tech Mibro has crammed into the GS Explorer S. Bluetooth calling works well, and the microphone quality has been more than acceptable for casual conversations. It connects reliably to both Android and iOS, and I didn’t experience any random disconnects during my time with it.
Battery life has been another high point. With standard use (notifications on, Bluetooth calling enabled, occasional GPS), I easily got 10–12 days per charge. With heavy GPS and activity tracking, the battery life dropped to about 5–6 days, which is still excellent for a feature-rich watch at this price point.
Charging is done via a magnetic pogo-pin style cable and typically takes under two hours to go from empty to full.
The GS Explorer S also supports voice assistant functionality, basic weather info, alarms, timers, and music control. There’s no app store, but the built-in suite is enough for most needs. Syncing with Google Fit, Strava, and Apple Health was quick and painless through the Mibro app. However, there’s no NFC for contactless payments, which could be a deal-breaker for some.
For runners, hikers, climbers, swimmers, even free divers, this watch is packed with features. Based on my limited testing, I found the dual-frequency GNSS tracking impressively accurate. I’ve tested it on various cycling and walking trips, and the mapping data was spot on, even in dense wooded areas where GPS signals are usually unreliable.
The Outdoor Exploration Mode is a central hub that consolidates your GPS route, weather, air pressure, heart rate, and waypoint marking into a single screen. You can use it to drop virtual breadcrumbs on a route and monitor elevation changes in real-time. The Track Back feature is great for peace of mind, as it allows you to retrace your steps if needed.
Free-Diving Mode logs descent/ascent speed, dive time, depth, and gives you customisable depth/time alerts.
There are over 150 sports modes, many of which offer sport-specific metrics.
Health tracking includes heart rate, SpO2, stress, sleep, and breathing rate. There’s no ECG or HRV like you’d find on flagship wearables, but for the price, it offers a strong range of wellness metrics. Sleep tracking was fairly accurate and provided a decent breakdown of my sleep cycles, along with recommendations.
The Mibro GS Explorer S is a rugged, feature-rich smartwatch that punches well above its weight. It’s ideal for adventurers and outdoor sports enthusiasts seeking GPS accuracy, waterproofing, and real-world durability without the premium price tag.
€160 Mibro
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