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The $350 TicWatch Pro 5 from Mobvoi really caught my attention. Its 1.43-inch AMOLED display, which costs about the same as smaller WearOS watches like the $350 Google Pixel Watch 2 or the $330 Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, gives the 50mm TicWatch Pro 5’s watch faces a larger canvas.
The TicWatch gives you more room for apps and WearOS 3 notifications, but I wouldn’t call it subtle. If you want to add a lot of complications to your watch face, Mobvoi has a few options for you to choose from. Even though I like simpler watch faces, the large display was still useful because it had space for an on-screen keyboard to allow for text replies.
The TicWatch Pro 5 is still one of the few WearOS watches with Qualcomm’s more recent Snapdragon W5 Plus chip, even though it was released last spring. The chip, I discovered, made a positive difference in the watch’s battery life and charging times.
I tested the battery for a month, and it easily lasted two days between charges. Impressively, the TicWatch Pro 5 lasted four days between charges with less intensive use and the ultra-low power display mode enabled by Mobvoi (more on this later). In contrast, new WearOS watches have a battery life of about two days. The TicWatch’s magnetic charger allows for quick charging, taking it from 0% to 49% in just 30 minutes.
The TicWatch Pro 5 is an excellent option overall because of its large design and long battery life. However, Mobvoi’s has not promised to provide OS and security support in the future, nor has it updated the TicWatch Pro 5 to WearOS 4. The fact that Mobvoi delayed the release of a WearOS 3 update for its TicWatch 3 lineup until December 2023 raises concerns. The update was promised back in 2021.
The TicWatch Pro 5 is a fantastic watch to take into consideration if you like its larger design, WearOS 3, and ability to go for days between charges. However, if you’re the type of person who gets FOMO when new features are announced for the Samsung Galaxy Watch or Google Pixel Watch, Mobvoi’s lack of promised software updates is sufficient justification to pass on the watch.
TicWatch Pro 5 design, always on display
There are two color options for the TicWatch Pro 5: Obsidian, which is the model I reviewed, and a lighter Sandstone. The watch features a crown for navigating menus and opening apps, and a button that opens Google Wallet for contactless payments or a list of recently opened apps. It weighs 44.3 grams, which is noticeable but less than the 59 grams of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, which is a comparable size.
Health sensors for skin temperature, blood oxygen level, and heart rate are located around back. Unlike the Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch, the TicWatch Pro 5 lacks an ECG feature. The watch has a small hump because the charging cable is magnetically attached to the back left side.
In order to minimize battery drain, the TicWatch Pro 5 adopts an always-on screen feature similar to other smartwatches. Its always-on display, a secondary screen that was available on earlier TicWatch models, is by default set to its “ultra-low-power display”. This screen, which only shows up when the AMOLED is off, has a retro monochrome appearance and a color-customizable backlight. It displays the time and your heart rate, among other basic data. You can rotate your wrist when you receive a notification or tap the screen to turn on the AMOLED display to go back to WearOS.
The low-power display gives the battery life a noticeable increase. However, I chose to leave it off, and the watch survived a full day of use, tracking my exercise and making use of Google Wallet for public transportation.
But the low-power mode came in handy when I recently went to California and didn’t need to be charged every day. Even after using it to track workouts and a hike, I only charged the watch twice during my week-long vacation.
TicWatch Pro 5 software
Despite running WearOS 3, the TicWatch Pro 5 syncs with Android phones through the Mobvoi Health app instead of Google’s WearOS app. In general, the Mobvoi Health app is functional. It contains the outcomes of any monitored exercise, sleep patterns, or health assessments. The feature that calculated my recovery time after a workout was particularly appealing to me. Data from the Mobvoi Health app can be synced to other services, such as MyFitnessPal, after it has been synced with Google Fit. Additionally, it enables the TimeShow service to be used to send new watch faces to the TicWatch; however, this requires configuring an additional app on your phone.
However, the TicWatch’s built-in health application suite is unclear. The main app for tracking fitness is called TicExercise, but it also periodically tracked my walks and runs on its own. The app is jam-packed with features, so you can track particular workouts like sit-ups or reverse crunches, or you can set a general “freestyle” option for a mixed workout. The majority of options have a timer and track your health metrics. Your heart rate is displayed through the TicWatch’s backlight, which changes color in tandem with the low-power display. This feature was very helpful to me in exercise classes when I was keeping an eye on my heart rate to make sure I was working hard enough without burning out.
Still, some TicWatch apps seem redundant or are just garbage software. For example, Mobvoi Treadmill is designed to be used in conjunction with the company’s in-home treadmill. For me, it was pretty much useless. While measuring your heart rate or blood oxygen levels, TicPulse, TicOxygen, TicHealth, and One-tap measurement are apps that present your health data in various ways. It was all too much for me. Simplifying everything into a single app would be much preferable, in my opinion.
You can install alternatives like Google Fit from the Google Play Store if you’re not a fan of Mobvoi’s suite of tracking apps. Nevertheless, despite running WearOS 3, the TicWatch Pro 5 is unable to access the Google Assistant. Furthermore, Mobvoi has not disclosed the expected arrival date of this support on the watch. Several smartwatch manufacturers that don’t use Google WearOS have experienced problems enabling Google Assistant on their products. For example, the Assistant was added to Fossil’s Gen 6 watch and Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 months after their respective launches. Even Google Assistant was no longer available for earlier TicWatch models when WearOS 2 support for the Assistant was discontinued by Google in August.
WearOS is based on Android, so if you’re comfortable side-loading software rather than using Google’s official Play Store, you can find support in the TicWatch Reddit community. This community can assist you with installing those missing services. Although I’m not interested in tinkering too much—I imagine most watch buyers are too—Android has the advantage of offering this option.
Although many of the same tasks can be performed by installing Amazon’s Alexa app in place of Google Assistant, this is a noteworthy concern in addition to Mobvoi’s unwillingness to commit to a software and security update schedule.
The TicWatch Pro 5 is also only compatible with Android phones, which isn’t surprising, but is disappointing when compared with Fossil’s Gen 6 smartwatch. Furthermore, the majority of the smartwatch market is still dominated by companies that exclusively support iOS or Android, despite the fact that Garmin and Fitbit also produce wearables that work with both operating systems.
TicWatch Pro 5 bottom line
For $350, the TicWatch Pro 5 offers a lot of value, but it’s important to fully comprehend the compromises it makes. You do receive a large screen at a lower cost than what Samsung provides. Together with the ultra-low-power screen of TicWatch, you also get one of the latest watch cpus on the market, capable of providing exceptional battery life.
Additionally, the WearOS 3 software on the TicWatch Pro 5 enables you to download watch faces and apps, and it syncs with your phone to provide media controls and notifications.
However, rival smartwatches offer warranties on operating system upgrades and new features. Like the Pixel phone line, Google’s $350 Pixel Watch 2 gets early access to the upcoming WearOS version and similar feature drops. Additionally, Samsung makes a point of revealing new features for its current line of watches. For example, new hiking features were added to the $450 Galaxy Watch 5 Pro during the summer. Mobvoi has a history of having trouble updating the software on its older smartwatches, and it makes no such guarantees.
Those software issues notwithstanding, the TicWatch Pro 5 is still a worthwhile purchase. If you’re looking for an attractive, larger-screened Android smartwatch with features that will reduce the amount of time you need to charge it, this one more than meets your needs. If you want a smartwatch that will advance and add new features over time, you should consider your options.
