TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE review - Best Wear OS watch with LTE (Update - on sale!) - Android
How do you follow up one of the best Wear OS watches ever made? If you’re Mobvoi, by not doing much at all, it turns out.
The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE is the successor to Mobvoi’s first flagship TicWatch and they look so similar that it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between the two at a glance.
As the moniker suggests, the latest model comes with cellular support in partnership with Verizon, but has the Chinese company hidden away any other goodies in this familiar-looking package?
Find out in Android Authority’s TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE review!
Update (Feb 6, 2020): The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE is Amazon’s Deal of the Day which has dropped the price down from $299 to just $219 (26% off). That’s the cheapest price to date, so if you were thinking of picking up the LTE-enabled wearable now would be the time to do it! Hit the deal link below to grab yourself a bargain. The deal expires at 3AM ET on February 7, 2020.
Mobvoi spent the entirety of 2019 refreshing its existing line of smartwatches. This started with the TicWatch C2, then the TicWatch S2 and E2, and ended with the TicWatch Pro. The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE retains all of the key selling points of its direct predecessor, including its signature dual layered-display.
The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE is the latest Mobvoi smartwatch refresh.
Pitched as an elite all-rounder for smartwatch lovers, the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE enters the US wearables market with the product category trending upwards. In addition, Wear OS enjoyed a significant overhaul since the Pro line’s last outing, there’s new and improved core hardware available to OEMs, and competition is stronger than ever from the likes of Samsung, Fitbit, Garmin, and, of course, Apple.
Can the new TicWatch Pro reclaim its place at the top of the Wear OS ladder?
The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE uses the same blend of a plastic (polyamide and glass fiber) body, stainless steel bezel with minute markers, and an aluminum rear cover found on the first TicWatch Pro, but is 11g lighter. It only comes in Black, with Mobvoi (disappointingly) deciding to ditch the Silver variant for the latest model.
The watch is fairly chunky, but not excessively so and it feels satisfyingly weighty on your wrist. The tri-material build looks a little cheap up close, particularly the dominant plastic body, which clashes with the premium metal bezel and buttons. What you lose in aesthetics you gain in durability. The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE is MIL-STD-810G certified.
The two metal buttons on the right side of the watch are sturdy and tactile. Unfortunately, while the textured edges of the top button make it look like it should act as a crown for cycling through menus, it isn’t. This is a real shame when physical navigation is such a boon for other top-tier wearables like the Samsung Galaxy Watch.
The strap is now all silicone instead of a leather-silicone hybrid. A metal or leather strap would have been preferable, but the silicone is better for those using the watch as a fitness tracker. You can also switch out the bands for other 22mm straps via the handy clips.
It feels like Mobvoi was trapped in two minds when designing the TicWatch Pro. On the one hand it has the numbered bezel, metal buttons, and general profile of a luxury watch. On the other, the plastic body, rubber strap, and lack of a crown put it more in line with the cheaper TicWatch family.
The TicWatch Pro has the same display as the original TicWatch, which is a good thing. The OLED panel is crisp, gets plenty bright, and has great viewing angles even in full sunlight. The Gorilla Glass 3 helps round out the watch’s overall durability.
The dual layered-display is an innovative solution for Wear OS' battery woes.
This OLED panel features an always-on display option, but unlike other TicWatch wearables, the TicWatch Pro series has a smarter solution — the dual-layered display.
Sat on top of the OLED panel is a secondary low power Film Compensated Super Twisted Nematic (FSTN) LCD display. This transparent display appears permanently when the watch is set to Essential Mode or when the battery reaches critically low levels. Its best use though, is in Smart Mode (active by default), which causes the LCD display to kick in whenever the watch is idle.
The LCD display is far less useful when you want to use smartwatch features, as it only shows the time, date, step counter, and a heart rate indicator, but it helps extend battery life. It also has a retro digital watch-vibe to it, which I quite like.
You can’t talk about the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE without addressing the biggest addition — cellular support.
The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE utilizes number sharing to enable VoLTE calls directly from the watch, as well as sending and receiving SMS or instant messages. It also supports cloud sync, so your notifications come through without a Bluetooth connection. This works even if you don’t have a corresponding app on your watch for Android apps like WhatsApp and Gmail. Additionally, there’s an SOS feature that lets wearers dial emergency services with a single tap.
Using LTE doesn’t have a huge impact on battery life or performance, though you will obviously need to pay a little extra for the privilege. To get started, head over to Verizon and activate a new line with a one-off fee and choose one of the Big Red’s wearable plans, which start from $10 a month.
On the software front, the TicWatch Pro runs Google’s oft-maligned Wear OS platform. It’s hard to argue that much of the criticism hasn’t been warranted.
There’s still plenty of work to be done, but Wear OS is in the best state it’s ever been. Google recently added Tiles. These are a blatant lift from watchOS, but feel like a long overdue and useful addition. Sadly many apps don’t yet support Tiles, but this should improve over time.
Wear OS also brings with it Google’s wider ecosystem. As well as the Play Store with its myriad watch apps and watch faces, the TicWatch Pro puts direct access to Google Assistant, Discover, Google Fit, and more on your wrist. That’s in addition to Google Pay via NFC payments.
Related: 10 best Wear OS watch faces
As with previous TicWatch models, Mobvoi has largely left the software completely untouched. The only major additions are all linked to the TicWatch Pro’s health and fitness suite.
Unlike some Wear OS watches the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE doesn’t just stick you with Google Fit, which is far less comprehensive than the apps found on Garmin and Fitbit smartwatches. Instead, Mobvoi has its own TicHealth suite for tracking workouts and heart rate monitoring, as well as some social features.
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