It's been a little while since Mobvoi launched a new Wear OS smartwatch but today is the day that we've been waiting for – a true alternative to Samsung's Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. Mobvoi's new watch is called the TicWatch Pro 5 and it sports all the stuff we've been wanting to see such as Wear OS 3, a big battery, and is the first smartwatch to use Qualcomm's Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chipset. There's even a rotating crown, which is something that Samsung's Galaxy Watch 5 series doesn't have.
The TicWatch Pro 5 has a 50mm 7000-series aluminum case and sports a rotating bezel that offers haptic feedback and can be used for navigating apps, and adjusting volume, among other things. There's MIL-STD 810H certification as well as 5ATM water resistance which allows for swimming, handwashing, and sweating.
Besides being powered by Qualcomm's new wearable chip, the TicWatch Pro 5 packs in 2GB of RAM, 32GB of built-in storage, Bluetooth 5.2, WiFi, NFC, and GPS connectivity. Needless to mention that there is a speaker and a microphone, as well as a bunch of sensors to track your heart rate, SpO2 levels, and skin temperature. There's also a big 628mAh battery present which Mobvoi claims is good for 80 hours and which will charge 65% in just 30 minutes. If accurate, the TicWatch Pro 5 set the new standard for battery life in the Wear OS ecosystem.
Mobvoi's TicWatch Pro series is known for its dual display technology and the Pro 5 carries on the tradition with a 1.43-inch round display consisting of an OLED screen and an ultra-low-power screen on top which shows metrics and other essential details. The display is protected by Corning's Gorilla Anti-fingerprint Cover Glass.
Fitness buffs will be happy to learn that there are more than 100 workout types, along with advanced sleep tracking that monitors the various stages of slumber.
On paper at least, the TicWatch Pro 5 would seem to tick most of the required boxes for a modern Wear OS smartwatch powered by a modern chipset and should give Samsung something to think about ahead of July's Galaxy Watch 6 launch event.
Mobvoi's TicWatch Pro 5 is already on sale on its own website as well as on Amazon (with next-day shipping) in Obsidian (black) for $349/£329. Is this the Wear OS smartwatch you've been waiting for?
| TicWatch Pro 5 | |
|---|---|
| Software | Wear OS 3 |
| Display | 1.43-Inch, 466 x 466 Resolution, 326ppi Full Color Always On Display OLED + Ultra-low-power Display |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 |
| Memory | 2GB |
| Storage | 32GB |
| Battery | 628mAh |
| Fast Charge | Yes, 65% in 30 minutes |
| Rotating Crown | Yes |
| Watch Case | 7000-series Aluminum |
| Audio | Speaker, microphone |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Gyro Sensor, HD PPG Heart Rate Sensor, SpO2 Sensor, Skin Temperature, Low-latency Off-Body Sensor, Barometer, Compass |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.2, WiFi 2.4GHz |
| Smartphone App | Mobvoi Health |
| GNSS | GPS, Beidou, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| Compatibility | Android 8 and higher |
| Watch Strap | 24mm |
| Color | Obsidian |
| Price | $349/£329 |
