Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 4G LTE review

Connectivity, calls, and LTE

When connected to a paired device via Bluetooth, the TicWatch Pro works just as any other Wear OS smartwatch - you'll receive notifications from your phone to your wrist in the order they arrive.

Both Wi-FI and Cellular connections are set to come on automatically by default. Wi-Fi is connected when the watch is docked to its charger and 4G switches on when the Bluetooth connection to a paired device is lost. The watch will also time out all connections when the wearer takes it off so it can save power.

Bluetooth calls on the TicWatch 4G sounded okay. We do wish it had louder volume but our caller said they could hear us okay on the other end. If you were sitting somewhere noisy, you might have to hold the watch to your ear, but by that point, you're better off using the handset itself.

The TicWatch Pro 4G uses an eSIM to register to the network. Currently, only Verizon will support an LTE connection for this TicWatch in the US. We didn't have a chance to test cellular connectivity as the devices could not be officially activated on Verizon until August.

Performance

Mobvoi decided against using the latest Snapdragon Wear 3100 CPU and instead went with an older Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor but added more RAM to the smartwatch. From 512MB to 1GB of RAM, there's a significant difference in response time and smoothness of Wear OS.

There's no metric for measuring smartwatch performance, but using the new TicWatch Pro has been a pleasure to use. The system is well-optimized, making the UI a joy to navigate with minimal frame drops and smooth animations. The added amount of RAM sure made a difference but there is still room to grow.

Voice dictation works quickly and consistently, even over a Bluetooth connection. The TicWatch Pro does have moments when it needs to think hard before it performs a task, but the added RAM helped improve performance significantly.

Conclusion

Since its initial inception several years ago, Wear OS has seen intense competition. Currently, the biggest competition for wearables comes from Samsung with the Galaxy Watch and the Apple Watch. These platforms are more polished, optimized, and offer more fitness features than Wear OS can right now.

If Google Assistant is your everything, Wear OS is the only platform that lets you talk to it easily. Otherwise, you're left with Bixby on Samsung wearables and Siri on the Apple Watch.

Wear OS's main advantage is its ecosystem of Android apps and direct integration with Google Assistant. It's a shame that developers don't see the potential of Wear OS but Google hasn't made strong enough efforts to improve the platform. Perhaps now that Google is out of the tablet business, it could focus some of those resources on developing a "Pixel Watch".

4G-enabled smartwatches are not exactly on the cheap side. Perhaps deciding to use the older chipset contributed to keeping the cost down. After all, $299 for a cellular-connected smartwatch is a pretty good price.

The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE is a well-built smartwatch with attractive looks, a big display with power efficient standby feature, and decent battery life. Wear OS is surprisingly smooth despite its aging chipset, and TicWatch's health features offer a nice set of features.

Where the TicWatch Pro 4G can improve is by adding support for sleep tracking. The dual-screen setup could be enough to set this Wear OS device apart from other wearables powered by the same OS, but Samsung's smartwatches offer further polish in the UI and more informative activity breakdowns.

Not to mention, Samsung Health offers a more robust platform for health tracking and even offers a social aspect that Google Fit is missing.

If you're someone who is really serious about running or a frequent hiker, there are other wearables better suited for you with additional features like an altimeter and more advanced GPS tracking.

The TicWatch Pro 4G is a great all-around smartwatch and an excellent candidate to consider for your next smartwatch. We are eager to see the future of Wear OS and hope Google's next move with the platform helps it compete better with Samsung and Apple.