Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5

With the market flooded with numerous smartwatches, it’s natural to question what sets Mobvoi’s latest offering apart and merits a full-page review. The TicWatch Pro 5 distinguishes itself in two ways: it marks the debut of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5+ G1 chip and promises an impressive battery life of over three days. Sporting a rugged design, could this be Android’s response to the Apple Watch Ultra?

The TicWatch Pro 5 leaves a remarkable first impression. Its gunmetal grey aluminum casing, adorned with a subtle ridged pattern on the bezel’s outer edges, exudes a sense of quality. Although it’s chunky, protruding 12mm from the wrist, it never feels obtrusive during long walks, runs, or even tennis matches. Additionally, it boasts full MIL-STD-810H certification, surpassing a mere selection of tests, and offers 5 ATM water resistance, making it an excellent choice for open-water swimming.

The 1.43-inch AMOLED display, protected by Corning Gorilla glass, is well worth preserving. It remains easily readable even in sunny weather, allowing Google Wear OS 3 to truly shine. While Mobvoi hasn’t made any major changes to the watch OS, you may find yourself inclined to download Mobvoi’s Health app instead of Google’s to control the watch from your phone and synchronize data. Through this app, you can explore a plethora of watch faces and delve into your stats. However, for installing additional apps, you’ll need to access the Play Store directly on the watch. It’s worth noting that Mobvoi’s apps cannot be removed, but utilizing the shortcut key on the right-hand side conveniently reveals the eight most recently used apps or settings. This feature enables quick access to your favorites without having to scroll using the rotating crown. Alternatively, you can navigate through the touchscreen. Combined with the swift processor, you’ll swiftly navigate the main OS with ease.

Referring to the “main OS,” there is also a significantly more basic mode available. This low-power, always-on display sits above the OLED panel. When not engaged in exercise, the screen primarily displays the time, with smaller text or symbols indicating the date, battery status, heart rate, and steps. It may be challenging to see until the backlight activates, but a simple flick of the wrist solves this issue.

During workouts, Mobvoi maintains the use of this basic, low-power display, but it will show your heart rate or the elapsed time. Ingeniously, Mobvoi leverages the backlight to provide an immediate indication of your heart rate, using colors such as green for warm-up, yellow for fat burn, orange for cardio, and purple for anaerobic. If the backlight glows red, it signals that you’re pushing yourself too hard.

While it is possible to switch to the AMOLED display for an always-on experience, doing so will significantly impact battery life. Speaking of battery life, it is one of the standout features of this watch. With the low-power display, it effortlessly lasts for three days of usage, although I haven’t tested its limits beyond that duration. When it’s time to recharge, the proprietary USB charger proves efficient. The magnetic connection allowed me to reach 39% battery in just 15 minutes (sufficient for a day’s use) and achieve a full charge within an hour.

The TicWatch Pro 5 doesn’t skimp on chips or sensors. It offers extensive tracking capabilities, allowing you to utilize five global satellite systems for location tracking, and the NFC chip enables seamless payments through Google Pay. Outdoor adventurers will appreciate the inclusion of a barometer, altimeter, and compass, while health-conscious users can rely on the heart-rate, skin temperature, and SpO2 sensors to monitor their well-being. With just 90 seconds, the watch can provide a mini health check, including measurements of heart rate, blood oxygen, respiratory rate, and stress level. However, it’s important to note that heart health monitoring is not available in the UK due to regulatory restrictions.

By using the TicExercise app, Mobvoi creates a personalized health profile for you, offering recovery time and VO2 Max insights akin to Garmin watches. However, I found that the accuracy of the latter could sometimes be questionable, leaning toward being overly flattering rather than precise. There were occasional frustrations with synchronization quirks. In certain exercises, step tracking wouldn’t work correctly, and there were delays of up to an hour for activities to appear in the Mobvoi Health app. However, these issues seemed to improve over time, and with upcoming software updates, including the anticipated upgrade to Wear OS 4, there is optimism for further enhancements as you continue to use the TicWatch Pro 5.

Comparatively, it may not match the seamless experience of Apple alternatives. Additionally, it’s worth noting that to fully utilize the health profile features, you must use Mobvoi’s apps instead of Google’s or third-party alternatives, although you can synchronize data with Google Fit afterward. Price-wise, it is on par with the Pixel Watch and likely to be in line with the Pixel Watch 2 upon its release later this year. However, the TicWatch Pro 5 stands out with its impressive battery life. If extended battery performance is a priority for you, this smartwatch is a reliable choice.