Xiaomi Mijia S500 Shaver Test: A Basic Full of Good Ideas

No need to beat around the bush: for a razor sold for €49, the Xiaomi Mijia S500 demonstrates a very attractive build quality. The plastics seem to be of good quality and it sports a matte black dress that is very pleasant to the touch. By turning on the device using the single button on the front, the handle is adorned with various luminous indications in transparency for an aesthetic effect of the most successful.

Thus we are informed about the speed of rotation of the blades, the presence of a problem or a maintenance operation to be planned (cleaning the blades, more precisely), and above all on the level of remaining charge. The S500 is also rather sharp thanks to a percentage indication; you can therefore plan your shaving session without fear of seeing the blades stop in the middle of a cheek. There are few devices that give such precise information on this point, even if the Philips OneBlade Pro QP6650 / 61 also has this autonomy indicator.

The only button on the body of the S500 is used to turn the razor on, but also to select one of the two blade rotation speeds, an option also not very widespread in the small world of electric shavers. Another function of this button, which is as versatile as it is discreet, is that it activates the security to prevent the S500 from turning on unexpectedly. Inevitably, it will take time to adapt to fully master all the durations of pressure and not change the power level instead of turning off the machine, but in the end we get out of it very quickly.

The technical sheet announces an IPX7 waterproof rating: it can therefore be submerged under 1 m of water for 30 minutes without suffering any damage. It can therefore be used with gel or foam to facilitate gliding, or even shave in the shower without fear.

Shaving is very comfortable. First of all, it weighs only 175 g, which makes it one of the lightest devices in our comparison, OneBlade model aside. In addition, Xiaomi has balanced its shaver remarkably well, so it does not tend to tip to one side or the other due to the weight of the head, for example. Its reduced size also plays in its favour: it fits comfortably in the palm of the palm, which is not always the case with its competitors. Finally, we were afraid that the smooth plastic used would make the handle slippery, but this is not the case and the shape of this one (with its bump located under the shaving head) avoids accidental falls. All this contributes to a pleasant handling at all points.

Surprisingly, there are very few razors or clippers that can be placed upright like an electric toothbrush. The S500 is part of this very closed club and it is therefore useless to dedicate a large storage space to it. Stored in this way, it can be recharged by connecting a USB cable to the USB-C port located at the base of the shaver and protected by an easy-to-handle rubber cover. Xiaomi provides the (small!) cord, but no charger is delivered. Nevertheless, thanks to the proliferation of smartphones, connected watches, in-ear headphones charging stations and other game consoles using compatible hardware, there must necessarily be a compatible transformer in the household. Thanks to this bias, Xiaomi avoids the user having a useless proprietary charger at home when the S500 is no longer in the odor of sanctity in the bathroom.

This S500 would it have everything to please? Almost, because no one is perfect. Indeed, we would have liked a little more generosity on the part of the manufacturer, such as a back-up mower, a precision head, a carrying pouch… In this case, you will have to be content with a brush to clean the head of the razor, a cover to protect it and the famous charging cable.

After a few uses, you have to face the facts: Xiaomi does not (yet) have the expertise of Panasonic or Philips in the field of sharpening. As a result, it often happens that the rotating grids tear out the hair more than they cut it, especially if it is a bit long and you are satisfied with the lowest speed of rotation of the grids. We will therefore not hesitate to use the maximum speed, avoiding if possible to use it on very full beards.

Comparison made with those of another model with rotating grids (the Philips Series 5000 S5587/10, for example), the larger cutting areas are also placed closer to the edges. The user therefore gains slightly in precision, even if this is not the most important parameter for a razor of this type. The three cutting circles of the S500 are not independent: when one of them moves, the other two follow a similar movement. The razor therefore follows the curves of the face less well, even if we are very far from a very rigid model like the Braun Series 9 9390CC.

Thanks to its IPX7 waterproof rating, you can pass the head of the S500 under a trickle of water to remove cut hairs. This will not be enough to remove the cutting remnants stuck under the shaving circles; fortunately, the upper part is easily removed.

Please note, it is not possible to separate the various elements of the rotating blades, as can be done on Philips shavers, among others. And as this part is full of nooks, crannies, interstices and grooves, it is not necessarily always easy to remove all cutting residue, even using the brush provided.