We’ve been tracking the rumours, leaks and teases for Mobvoi’s latest Wear OS smartwatch for a few weeks now, partly because we really like Mobvoi and where they’re headed, and because we really want there to be great Wear OS devices, and soon.
Today’s overnight announcement of the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE is certainly a step in the right direction.
The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE is the latest Wear OS device from Mobvoi and takes the top of the line Pro model and adds just a bit more to the package. Upfront, it’s sporting 4G/ LTE connectivity, exclusively via Verizon in the USA for now, and includes an upgraded 1GB of RAM, IP68 rating for ‘swim proof’ usage, the same Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, 4GB of storage, Mobvoi’s unique dual-layered display and NFC for Google Pay.
One feature we have not been able to confirm is if the new textured top button doubles as a digital crown. The industrial design certainly suggests that it is both a button and a crown, but we can’t be 100% sure.
Check out the details specs below.
| Key Specifications: | TicWatch Pro LTE |
|---|---|
| Screen size | 1.39-inch |
| Screen technology | OLED |
| Resolution | 400 x 400 |
| PPI | 287 |
| Chipset | Snapdragon Wear 2100 |
| Core config | 1.1GHz |
| RAM | 1GB |
| Storage | 4GB |
| MicroSD | — |
| Battery | 415 mAh |
| Charging method | Magnetic connecting pin charging |
| WIFI standards | 802.11 b/g/n |
| Bluetooth standards |
|
| Cellular | 4G/LTE |
| NFC | Yes |
| Location | Yes |
| Speaker | — |
| Android OS | Wear OS 2.0 |
| Dimensions | 45.15 x 52.8 x 12.6 |
| Colours | Black |
| Build materials |
|
| Band colours | Various |
| Band materials | Silicon |
| Band swappable | Yes |
For buyers in the USA it’s important to note that while the watch goes on sale today for $279 USD Verizon won’t be activating the LTE connectivity option until a month later, at which time the price will go up to $299 USD, so if you’re interested you might as well jump in early! For those hoping for a physical SIM tray, the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE seems to come with a built-in eSIM, so sorry for those wanting to put it on a low-cost carrier.
While this may not be the unicorn hair powered smartwatch processor many of us have been hoping for, it does represent an overall improvement in the package from Mobvoi and as a daily user of a TicWatch Pro, I’d be very interested to see what doubling the RAM does for the device’s overall performance. With this next generation of Mobvoi’s Smartwatch platform, they have also brought a fitness-focused feature along.
The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE now supports TicPulse for 24/7 continuous background monitoring of your heart rate. As someone who forgets that my watch can even record my heart rate, getting a consistent log of that data would be something I’m interested in, if not actually helpful at times.
With TicMotion, Mobvoi’s fitness tracker will now automatically log any detected Excercise without you having to initiate a workout session.
Being a Wear OS device, the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE comes with Assistant out of the box, unfortunately, Google has left the Assistant on Wear OS significantly underpowered with many basic features simply missing, like smart home control. That’s common to all Wear OS devices but certainly one way Google could make Assistant on Wear OS actually useful for more than showing you a tiny version of your calendar.
Overall the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE is an iterative update not a generational change, but in a market that is just a little more than stagnant for those of us wanting a gear Wear OS device, it’s still very welcome.
We will be following up with Mobvoi about a potential Australian future release and will let you know if we get any positive news.
i was so looking forward to this but i feel let down. Why is it so hard for anyone to make an alpha wear os device. Samsung need to allow google pay, then we’d all buy the watch!!
No Digital Crown, No wireless charging makes me sad
No digital crown. 9to5Google has confirmed this.
Why are they using the 2100 chip? Why not the 3100? I’ll be interested to hear their reasoning behind this. I image that they’re aren’t too many people keen on hearing that they are using an older chip.
Apparently paired with 1gb of ram, it does not lag.. Check out 9to5google’s hands on…
I want to love Wear OS… I use it daily but unfortunately it is so underpowered that the lag that I deal with while using it kills me. For example, using NFC for payments. It should be a super convenient way of payment but alas it can take anywhere between 5 – 10 secs to load ready to pay. So unless I’ve thought about it in advance it is just quicker to whip out my phone or even wallet. I’m just not sure what is going on? Are they trying to do too much with the OS? Surely it’s not… Read more »
I gave up on Wear OS some time ago and recently upgraded my Gear S3 Frontier for a Galaxy Watch LTE through Telstra with One number activated so I can leave my phone at home. Sure it doesn’t have Google Pay but Samsung pay works very well and there is no lag to speak of. I got tired of waiting for that great Wear OS device…
As someone who’s considering swapping their Wear device for a Galaxy watch, how does it go with Google services? I’m willing to swap Google Fit for Samsung Fit and Google Pay for Samsung Pay, but otherwise I use Play Music, Pocket Casts, Google Authenticator, Google Messenger, Facebook Messenger, Gmail, Calendar, Reminders and Maps, on a Galaxy S10.
Otherwise I’m just fed up with the poor battery life, laggy performance and really inconsistent notification behaviour of my almost-new Fossil Sport 4th gen.