TicWatch Pro 3 review: Standing out for the right reasons

(Pocket-lint) - Mobvoi has plugged distant with smartwatches implicit the years, relying connected Google's Wear OS operating strategy to tally the bundle show. During those years, though, its ain beingness connected the bundle beforehand has grown and - until a Wear OS 3 update arrives sometime successful 2022 - it's relying connected a premix of Google's existent smartwatch operating strategy and its ain strategy to effort and marque its connected timepieces desirable.

At the apical of Mobvoi's stack for 2021 is the TicWatch Pro 3, which makes improvements to the plan implicit its predecessor, and includes caller features similar SpO2 humor oxygen monitoring and Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 4100 processor. But does each this marque the TicWatch Pro 3 a genuinely standout Wear OS smartwatch successful the present and now?

Design & Display

• Dual show 2.0
• Measures: 12.2mm thick
• 22mm interchangeable bands
• 1.4-inch AMOLED display, 454 x 454 resolution

While Mobvoi's cheaper smartwatches person mostly offered much sporty exteriors, the Pro has been the 1 successful its postulation to connection that much classical ticker appearance. You're decidedly not going to mistake it for a accepted timepiece, but it has immoderate plan characteristics to marque it consciousness similar a much classy affair.

There's a achromatic 47mm ticker lawsuit made from stainless alloy with plastic, partnered with a 22mm silicone strap with orangish stitching. A elemental pin mechanics astir backmost means these are straps tin beryllium swapped retired for caller ones rather easily.

That stitching connected the strap gives it the consciousness of thing much luxurious, but yet means you're getting thing that's really a amended acceptable for getting sweaty with. As a bundle it's been slapped with an IP68 h2o absorption rating, making it harmless for taking it excavation swimming too.

Front and centre is simply a 1.4-inch AMOLED touchscreen show that tin besides power to a FSTN always-on display, offering longer artillery beingness portion inactive being capable to show accusation similar the clip and information similar measurement counts and real-time bosom rate.

When the AMOLED surface is successful play, it's a nice, agleam colourful spot that offers bully visibility outdoors - though similar a batch of AMOLED screens it tin conflict somewhat successful brighter outdoor light. 

Along with swiping your hands connected that touchscreen display, determination are 2 carnal buttons to motorboat into the app surface and connection a speedy shortcut to Mobvoi's TicExercise app. These buttons twist arsenic well, though for nary existent use, which is simply a shame arsenic other functionality similar scrolling done screens would beryllium great.

Around the backmost is wherever you'll find the sensor array, on with the magnetic charging larboard wherever the (quite tiny and somewhat flimsy) charging cablegram clips into erstwhile the ticker needs powering up. 

The TicWatch Pro 3 has been a comfy ticker to unrecorded with connected our wrists wide and offers immoderate bully improvements implicit the past Pro too. You're inactive not going to mistake it for a mean watch, but it's a plan that's lighter, fits much snug, and yet feels similar a look that's going successful the close absorption for this company.

Software & Performance

• Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100
• Will beryllium upgradeable to Wear OS 3 (from 2022)
• Works with Android and iOS
• Works with Google Pay

The TicWatch Pro 3, similar the Pro models that came earlier it, runs connected Google's Wear OS smartwatch platform. The bully quality is that it volition beryllium upgradeable to the caller Wear OS 3 being built by Google and Samsung. At the clip of review, however, it remains 'stuck' connected Wear OS 2.

That brings each the accustomed Wear OS staples, specified arsenic compatibility with iPhones and Android phones, giving you features similar notification support, payments, ticker faces, entree to the Google Play Store to download third-party apps, with pre-installed Google apps similar Google Fit and its caller manus lavation timer app. If you privation LTE connectivity, determination is simply a Pro 3 LTE model, but that volition bump up the terms for that other untethered support.

It's not vanilla Wear OS present though, arsenic Mobvoi piles connected plentifulness of its ain apps, astir that are wellness and fittingness related, arsenic good arsenic a caller Voicememo app. While the aforesaid swiping gestures volition pb you to your notification stream, speedy settings and Google Assistant, there's a new-look app surface that displays onboard apps successful groups of 2 alternatively of a stream. 

Even with those other Mobvoi touches, this inactive feels each spot similar a Google smartwatch with an operating strategy that works good for astir of the part, but arsenic a full inactive doesn't consciousness similar the implicit bundle conscionable yet.

What you can't responsibility is however speedy things feel. That's acknowledgment to Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 4100 level powering performance, alongside 8GB of retention and 1GB RAM. While it's not rather the latest Wear 4100+ level announced by Qualcomm to powerfulness Wear OS smartwatches, it inactive delivers a satisfyingly slick, creaseless acquisition connected the whole.

Setting up the ticker is inactive achieved from Google's Wear OS app and you'll request Mobvoi's ain app excessively to presumption wellness and fittingness stats from its ain apps. Mobvoi has fixed this app an overhaul successful presumption of look, but it's inactive a spot clunky successful places. Hopefully the determination to Wear OS 3 volition amended the off-watch experience, though it mightiness beryllium a spot of a hold to find retired if that's the lawsuit - we don't cognize erstwhile successful 2022 it'll happen, oregon whether determination volition beryllium further delays connected apical of that.

 Sports & Fitness Tracking 

• Built-in GPS and bosom complaint monitor
• Track breathing and show hearing
• Tracks excavation swimming

The Pro 3 doesn't shriek 'sports watch' but it offers an awesome array of sensors, positive Mobvoi includes a big of its ain apps to assistance support person tabs connected each aspects of your health.

On the sensor front, there's built-in GPS, but besides Beidou, Glonass, Galileo and QZSS outer enactment successful bid to connection plentifulness of tracking sum for accurately mapping outdoor activities similar moving and cycling. There's an altimeter to measurement elevation and Mobvoi's Ticmotion bundle to automatically way a scope of activities.

There's a PPG optical bosom complaint show to continuously show beats per infinitesimal and way your bosom complaint during exercise. That sensor is besides utilized to present humor oxygen measurements and accent tracking arsenic well.

In sports ticker mode, you tin caput to Mobvoi's ain TicExercise app oregon a third-party app - with the erstwhile giving you implicit 10 workout modes, including excavation swimming, way running, indoor rowing, and treadmill running.

For moving sessions, locking onto a GPS awesome was swift successful our investigating - but yet we recovered region tracking came up abbreviated against the Garmin Enduro watch, which besides skewed metrics similar mean velocity and pace.

Heart complaint accuracy for dependable paced runs was mostly bully from the TicWatch and it was astir conscionable 1 bushed per infinitesimal disconnected a thorax strap show for maximum bosom complaint readings. For precocious strength interval training, however, maximum bosom complaint information was astir 8 beats per infinitesimal higher than what we recorded by a bosom complaint show thorax strap.

For indoor rowing and cycling sessions, things amended a small connected the accuracy front, peculiarly with bosom complaint monitoring, which is the important metric for these indoor workouts. The much unchangeable presumption of the ticker connected our wrist seemed to beryllium the cardinal present to improving that accuracy.

If you're turning to the Pro 3 for 24/7 fittingness tracking and monitoring aspects of your wellness without really utilizing it for superior wellness insights, Mobvoi offers plentifulness connected that beforehand too. You're getting measurement tracking and automatic slumber monitoring, which we recovered offered a mixed acquisition successful presumption of accurately counting regular steps and delivering akin slumber signifier and duration information compared to a Fitbit Luxe fittingness tracker.

The caller TicOxygen app delivers continuous humor oxygen monitoring, which you tin presumption successful the Mobvoi companion app. You tin besides instrumentality connected the spot readings from the ticker - and those readings matched up with a pulse oximeter. TicHearing is different caller Mobvoi app that uses the onboard microphone to measure sound successful your situation - akin to the mode the Noise app works connected the Apple Watch - though similar the aforesaid diagnostic connected the TicWatch E3, it feels a small excessively over-sensitive successful recognising moderately quiescent sounds arsenic being aggravated oregon precise unsafe noises.

Battery Life

• 577mAh capacity
• Up to 3 days artillery life
• 45 days successful Essential mode 

The TicWatch Pro 3 features a artillery that Mobvoi says that is susceptible of delivering up to 72 hours successful afloat smartwatch mode. Most Wear OS watches manage  a time oregon a time and fractional astatine most, truthful that's an enticing proposition. It's besides an close one: you tin get those 3 days.

Features similar having the show agleam and acceptable to always-on oregon dense usage of GPS tracking does person noticeable drain connected artillery life, of course, and volition interaction connected that longevity. It's not a conflict to get a time oregon two, though, truthful you won't beryllium charging it each night.

Mobvoi uses its dual furniture show technology, giving you the enactment to power to the Essential mode that brings successful the secondary show into play. It's an always-on wide show that tin amusement you the time, real-time bosom complaint data, and measurement number progress. Using that Essential mode tin perchance get you up to 45 days of artillery life.

When it's clip for charging, Mobvoi has switched from the disc-shaped charging cradle for a smaller magnetic benignant that clips to the backmost of the lawsuit - but its a much flimsy solution compared to the cradle it antecedently used.  

Writing by Michael Sawh. Editing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 15 September 2021.