This is the third TicWatch I've owned. I first bought the TicWatch Pro original version. Overall, it was good, though I had nothing to compare it to since I had never owned a smart watch. It was a little laggy and after I had owned it a year or so, it slowed noticeably (which was typical for watches at that time with the older processors). The TicWatch Pro 2020 was a big upgrade as the 1gb of RAM made a HUGE difference in speed and usability.
I love my TicWatch Pro 2020 (which I sill own), but when the GPS version came out, I was intrigued. In addition, it has many other features like water-resistance (for swimming), 24-hour sensors for heart rate and sleep tracking as well as an upgraded screen. Being a tech-lover, even though I was quite happy with my Pro 2020, I decided to get the GPS version. I have not been disappointed.
First, while I like the silver around the edges of the screen on the 2020 version, I'm a fan of the all-black design. While the screen is the same size (or maybe a touch bigger), the watch looks and feels sleeker and lighter. In addition, the additional features are a nice upgrade.
What I like:
- The new processor is snappy and responsive. Regardless of what I do, I experience no lag in response time. The processor and RAM seem to be the perfect combination for the demands of the watch.
- Battery life is great. I can easily get 2 days of power use and possibly up to 3, though I've not tried since I don't like to let my batteries run down so far on any of my devices.
- I've done a lot of testing with the sensors and they seem to be spot on. While working out on the treadmill, I test my pulse with the watch and on the treadmill and they match up well. I have found that I need to tighten the strap a bit more than usual to keep good contact, but not uncomfortably so.
- I've never had a sleep tracker and decided I like it. I've had trouble sleeping in the past, so I'm learning about sleep rhythms and the ability to track my light and deep sleep as well as REM has been useful in determining how effective my sleep is. I'm a bit new to using a smartwatch to track healthy living, but have found it to be incredibly helpful.
- I don't know whether it has a Mobvoi version of WearOS or if it's stock, but I like the new interface. It's very easy to use and quite intuitive.
- The always on secondary display is great and only available on TicWatch as far as I know.
- Tilt-to-wake is awesome!
A few quibbles:
- Anything I say is a bit nitpicky since I haven't found much I don't like, but I would say the touch-screen is not quite as responsive as my TicWatch Pro 2020, but it may have more to do with how great the old one is. I only had any trouble when swiping a pattern to unlock the watch. To remedy, I simply use the pin to unlock and it workds great. Like I said, it's a bit nit-picky, but I want to be honest in my review.
- When wearing the watch for sleep-tracking at night, sometimes when I move my arm, the light comes on which is really bright. I've started turning off tilt-to-wake at night and that has helped with this issue. I also dim the screen since the screen is very bright even in normal mode.
- This isn't a TicWatch specific thing, but I'm a bit disappointed that Google discontinued Play Music. One of the reasons I originally bought a WearOS watch over Samsung is that I could download music onto my watch so I didn't have to bring my phone on a run. (Though I'm not disappointed I did since as far as I know you can't download music on Samsung watches either). Hopefully, they make YouTube Music available on WearOS as well.
All-in-all, this is a great watch and there is very little to complain about. If they continue to make products like this, will be a TicWatch user for a long time!
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From the brand
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TicWatch aims to define the next generation of wearables adopting Wear OS by Google and Qualcomm Snapdragon platform. As the most prominent consumer-facing product line of Mobvoi, TicWatch had penetrated 130+ countries and regions.
Invested by Google and Volkswagen, Mobvoi launched the TicWatch line of smartwatches, the TicPods earphones and the Mobvoi Home treadmills. Mobvoi is boosting a more intuitive way of human-machine interaction.
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Lots of useful apps, Great battery life, swift and comfortable to wear.
I’ve owned this watch for 14 days and have enjoyed using this watch all around. It is a very feature rich device and finally a Wear OS that utilizes more modern hardware, is very easy to use, and is priced very nicely. I'm very pleased with the overall performance of this device! I've owned the Sony Smartwatch 3, LG Watch Sport, Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 4G and now the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 3. Of each of these watches, the TicWatch Pro 3 wins the prize for GPS connection speed (and maintaining a connection) and accuracy. Now, since this is not a Garmin tracker watch (I've owned a basic one of those too), the accuracy won't be close to comparison because Garmin's primary purpose is GPS tracking. So, of all the smartwatches I’ve owned, this one is also the best for GPS run tracking. It really wins the prize for just about everything else as you'll soon read... I'll get the deltas (or the stuff I thought could be improved) out of the way first. 1) Like the Pro 4G, and maybe this is an industry standard going forward, a charger plug would be great to have rather than guessing if the charger I have laying around the house is suitable and won't blow the watch up if it is left plugged in too long. I get that different countries have different plug configurations and for cost consideration, they don't include one. It's just a drag. 2) The "rubbery" finish of the band seems to be prone to scuffs. The band itself looks great and the scuffing is only visible if you specifically look for it. It is replaceable with a 22mm band of my choosing which is a great plus. 3) I see the blood oxygen sensor is a "bell and whistle" that may be a response to a certain fruity watch including it on their latest watch offering. (The Apple commercial for it even has people in space saying it has a blood oxygen sensor! How many of us are in that situation??) I really don't see the need for it. Maybe the uber athlete has some use for it or those really concerned about COVID... but the average user to me would have little use for it. 4) This is not a knock on the watch or its software.. but a huge negative on Google as Google Play Music no longer is compatible with Wear OS… as it is being moved to the Google cellar of has-been software. What has replaced it in the google-sphere is Youtube Music… but there is no Youtube Music app yet. So, my youtube music subscription is useless for this AND I can’t listen to music without my phone attached to me and use all the extra storage space given to me on this watch. Shame shame google! 5) I'm not happy with the new charger. Wireless would be great, but I think the charger that came with the Pro 4G was better than this one. It comes with a USB-A on one end with a proprietary connector on the other end that magnetically connects to the watch via some pins on the watch. This connection comes off easily if you pick up the watch while it is charging. The charger on the pro 4G was kinda like a case that the whole watch body fit into. That design seems more robust than this one. See the pics. The large rounded one is the Pro 4G charger and the smaller one is the Pro 3 charger. The Awesomes and Exceptionals! 1) I love that it is lighter, thinner and less intrusive on my wrist compared to the Pro 4G. It is very welcome and comfortable. 2) GPS! GPS! GPS! I use the GNSS app to test this feature and compared to all the previous watches I've used, this one connects the fastest, is the most accurate, and stays connected during my runs. I ran with both the TicWatch 3 and the Pro 4G (without assist from the cellular signal). The Pro 4G lost connection soon after it connected and drained the battery about 20% trying to connect again. The TicWatch Pro 3 stayed connected and only sipped about 2% from the battery during my 1.5 mile run. I used the TicExercise app (that connects directly to Strava btw.. another huge PLUS) to track the run on both watches. The GPS tracking on the Pro3 was right on while the Pro 4G... because it lost connection was way off. See my video of the GPS connection speed on GNSS. 3) Battery Life. Compared to early Wear OS watches, the battery life of this watch is phenomenal.. thanks to the LCD screen that is on all the time and the new processor that is said to be more efficient. I have Wifi, 24 hour pulse tracking, BT, tilt to wake, touch to wake, auto detection of activities enabled. I once had the blood oxygen sensor enabled for all day recording but didn't really see the need for it. What I've found over the last several days is that I can get 2.5 days battery life. I don't plan on testing the "essential mode" battery life.. although my experience with the Pro 4G is that it is phenomenal in that mode. 4) Software. I love the two rows of apps on the app drawer. That is a new thing compared to the Pro 4G. The selection of apps overall is very good for Wear OS. TicZen-- this is a stress measurement app that can be set to automatically measure stress levels throughout the days and alerts you when your stress is too high… which then sends you to… TicBreathe-- an app that helps reduce stress with measured breathing exercises. Quite helpful! TicSleep-- this app uses all the sensors that you let it use to measure things like sleep efficiency, time in each sleep stage, blood oxygen level during sleep (I guess this is useful to see if you stop breathing during sleep… some people do this I hear), pulse during sleep, etc. All the info is then transferred (with your permission, of course), to your mobvoi account and displayed on the Mobvoi app on your phone where you can look at your sleeping history. TicExercise-- I believe this is the bread and butter of this watch capability… With TicMotion turned on, the watch can detect what kind of exercise you’re doing and start tracking it. I had this on when my son started a tag game in the house. It sensed I was running around the house and started tracking…. and then transferred the activity to Strava. During a road run, time, distance, pulse, calories, speed, pace, # of steps, altitude change, and of course GPS data are tracked. The different exercises available to be tracked are walking, running, swimming, rowing, elliptical, trail running, hiking, and yoga. TicHearing--it records the decibel level of the noise around you. This is probably used in the ticZen app as well. VoiceMemo-- This is a handy recording app. It transfers the memo to your phone and provides a transcript of the recording at your request. It doesn’t transcribe automatically.. you have to push a button to make that happen. My test transcription was right on. 4) Watch faces. There are MANY MANY to choose from that are free. And there are MANY MANY MANY more to choose from if you want to pay for them. Some pay watch faces were designed by Mobvoi specifically for the Ticwatches. 5) Phone calls on the watch- When it is connected via Blue Tooth to your phone, you can answer calls while speaking into the watch and hearing the caller on it. Very nice to not have to reach for my phone. The normal notifications and ability to accept or reject calls via the phone work flawlessly. 6) Customer Service... this isn't part of the watch itself but it helps to know that an email to customer service is responded to in a very timely manner. This is my experience anyways. They are very responsive.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2020
This is the third TicWatch I've owned. I first bought the TicWatch Pro original version. Overall, it was good, though I had nothing to compare it to since I had never owned a smart watch. It was a little laggy and after I had owned it a year or so, it slowed noticeably (which was typical for watches at that time with the older processors). The TicWatch Pro 2020 was a big upgrade as the 1gb of RAM made a HUGE difference in speed and usability.
I love my TicWatch Pro 2020 (which I sill own), but when the GPS version came out, I was intrigued. In addition, it has many other features like water-resistance (for swimming), 24-hour sensors for heart rate and sleep tracking as well as an upgraded screen. Being a tech-lover, even though I was quite happy with my Pro 2020, I decided to get the GPS version. I have not been disappointed.
First, while I like the silver around the edges of the screen on the 2020 version, I'm a fan of the all-black design. While the screen is the same size (or maybe a touch bigger), the watch looks and feels sleeker and lighter. In addition, the additional features are a nice upgrade.
What I like:
- The new processor is snappy and responsive. Regardless of what I do, I experience no lag in response time. The processor and RAM seem to be the perfect combination for the demands of the watch.
- Battery life is great. I can easily get 2 days of power use and possibly up to 3, though I've not tried since I don't like to let my batteries run down so far on any of my devices.
- I've done a lot of testing with the sensors and they seem to be spot on. While working out on the treadmill, I test my pulse with the watch and on the treadmill and they match up well. I have found that I need to tighten the strap a bit more than usual to keep good contact, but not uncomfortably so.
- I've never had a sleep tracker and decided I like it. I've had trouble sleeping in the past, so I'm learning about sleep rhythms and the ability to track my light and deep sleep as well as REM has been useful in determining how effective my sleep is. I'm a bit new to using a smartwatch to track healthy living, but have found it to be incredibly helpful.
- I don't know whether it has a Mobvoi version of WearOS or if it's stock, but I like the new interface. It's very easy to use and quite intuitive.
- The always on secondary display is great and only available on TicWatch as far as I know.
- Tilt-to-wake is awesome!
A few quibbles:
- Anything I say is a bit nitpicky since I haven't found much I don't like, but I would say the touch-screen is not quite as responsive as my TicWatch Pro 2020, but it may have more to do with how great the old one is. I only had any trouble when swiping a pattern to unlock the watch. To remedy, I simply use the pin to unlock and it workds great. Like I said, it's a bit nit-picky, but I want to be honest in my review.
- When wearing the watch for sleep-tracking at night, sometimes when I move my arm, the light comes on which is really bright. I've started turning off tilt-to-wake at night and that has helped with this issue. I also dim the screen since the screen is very bright even in normal mode.
- This isn't a TicWatch specific thing, but I'm a bit disappointed that Google discontinued Play Music. One of the reasons I originally bought a WearOS watch over Samsung is that I could download music onto my watch so I didn't have to bring my phone on a run. (Though I'm not disappointed I did since as far as I know you can't download music on Samsung watches either). Hopefully, they make YouTube Music available on WearOS as well.
All-in-all, this is a great watch and there is very little to complain about. If they continue to make products like this, will be a TicWatch user for a long time!
Images in this review
- Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2020
I previously owned the Tic Watch Pro 4G. It was a good Wear OS, but it was not the “Best.” After the 2020 pandemic started, I started to learn and realize how crucial monitoring your vitals were. While the Tic Watch 4G had a variety of sensors to measure heart rate and more, other watches in this segment had more sensors and better tracking. When the Apple Watch Series 6 was announced, I looked to see if I could find a Wear OS that was comparable to it. Luckily, the Tic Watch 3 was announced with all the features I was looking for and more.
FIT AND FINISH:
I received the Tic Watch 3 not too long after release and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was thinner than the Tic Watch 4G. The thinness makes a significant difference as I used to hit the Tic Watch 4G against stuff all the time due to me not giving my arm enough clearance. With the Tic Watch 3, I have not had that problem at all. The Tic Watch 4G’s included watchband was extremely elastic and worried me that it would snap easily. The new Tic Watch 3’s band is far better and seems more durable. I was disappointed to see that the holder-shaped charger from the Tic Watch 4G did not make a return. Instead, a new clip-on-shaped charger with an inset head was included. The pinout for the two watches looks the same, but the chargers are incompatible with one another.
BATTERY LIFE:
During my first few days of use, where I was using all the features often, I got an extended 2-day battery life with enough charge left to take me into the morning of the third day. Under my normal “stop-and-go” usage, I was able to achieve 4-days with still a 50% charge at the beginning of day 4. My Tic Watch 4G would get 1-day under the “frequent use” and 3-days under my typical use, where it would barely last the third day. I would not be surprised if I only needed to charge my Tic Watch 3 once or twice a week. The sensors do use more power, so it will vary depending on how often you use those sensors.
ESSENTIAL MODE / LCD MODE:
The most notable feature of the Tic Watch Pro series, the LCD is one of the reasons why I recommend this watch over the competitors. While it does offer the benefit of saving power, I find it to be ‘essential’ for students and test-takers. While the rules are changing to prohibit watches during an exam, the ability to have a “dumb” watch on-demand is essential. One edge that the Tic Watch 4G has over the 3 is the fact that the 4G’s LCD had a brighter background. While the Tic Watch 3 now has a backlight to make up for its darkness, the old watch was more readable, and that I now must use the light during the day. I have included pictures so you can see the difference. The design of the new LCD is also far more attractive and includes more measurements that were usually unavailable on the old Tic Watch 4G.
WEAR OS / SCREEN:
The screen on the new Tic Watch 3 is brighter and more vivid. The improvements make daytime readability better than before, which was already great. Wear OS feels fast, and notifications synchronization is much better. My Tic Watch 4G had problems where it would not like to connect to Wi-Fi. The new watch has no issues connecting to Wi-Fi. The new launcher for the watch is better than the stock Wear OS launcher, but you can still revert to the earlier version if you prefer. I am disappointed to see that a scrolling crown still has not been implemented, but the touch screen works fine. The speaker is loud and clear and sounds as good as my phone speaker. The microphone is also better, and phone calls are well received. I have had no issues or glitches with the interface yet.
GOOGLE FIT / TIC HEALTH / SENSORS:
With the Tic Watch 4G, I preferred to use Google Fit over Tic Health, since both had supplied the same benefits, and Google Fit was more informative. Mobvoi has improved Tic Health significantly. Tic Pulse is a wonderful way to get your heart rate and see a graph without having to look for it. Tic Sleep is interesting. It can monitor how you sleep, analyzing the times you were lightly sleeping, in a deep sleep, in the REM state, or were awake. It also graphs your pulse and blood oxygen over your rest. The information was surprising to see. I believe it is a great app to use if you struggle to get a good rest. Tic Zen analyzes a variety of health data to give you a stress level. It is a little slow but informative. This feature will be useful for those who struggle with stress and want to see how they can improve their mental and physical health. Tic Oxygen is the Blood Oxygen Monitoring app. It takes like 10-20 seconds per reading, but it gives you a confident measurement. As we have seen from the COVID-19 outbreak, we must keep our Blood Oxygen Level above 94%. This sensor is the most useful sensor on any health wearable during this time. With consistent tracking, you can learn the warning signs early. Tic Hearing tracks noise level. I am not entirely sure that it is a needed tracking feature, but it exists and reports accurately. Tic Exercise is a great tool to help you record exercises and get relevant health data based on the activity selected. Tic Breathe is a breathing app that is comparable to the one available in Google Fit. It works well.
Overall, I am impressed with the improvements that the Tic Watch 3 GPS brings! It does everything one could think of and more. In the past, I could only recommend Wear OS watches to those who were technical or could deal with small inconsistencies. I can now recommend a Wear OS watch to everyone and feel good knowing that it is just as good, if not better than the Apple Watch Series 6. I know this was a long review, but this watch deserves all the praise.
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
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- Malika S.Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on May 19, 2021
I was a bit skeptical because of low price but this is original Pro 3 GPS watch with Wear OS
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italoReviewed in Brazil on December 25, 2021
Ótima aquisição, porém saiba que não é incrível.
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