Verdict:
A fully functional smartwatch that competes alongside the likes of FitBit and Apple Watch. It packs so many features while being one of the cheapest Wear OS watches out there. It’s biggest competitor is its own sibling, the Ticwatch EPros:
FunctionalEasy to use
Easy to see display
great value
Cons:
Low batteryNot waterproof
Ratings:
Key features:
Review price: £180
Company: Mobvoi
Runs Wear OS (Android Wear) 2.0 (Oreo 8)
1.4 inch OLED
Compatible with IOS and Android
Built-in WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and Glonass
Design:
This watches design looks stunning. The bezel with green dots and numbers around the watch face is a very nice contrast. I was sent the Knight colour for review and I found it a pleasure to wear anywhere I went. It goes well with any dress code and it looks great anywhere. What makes it even easier, is the fact that you can change the watch face with one swipe. If you are not a fan of the Knight, you can also opt for Glacier or Aurora.
Display:
The beautiful 1.4 inch OLED display is super easy to see all the time and it is easy to adjust the brightness whenever you like. While this is obviously going to be quite a drain on the battery, it makes using the watch a much better experience. In settings, you will have the option to enable/ disable always-on. I personally disabled this mode as it was a heavy drain on the battery but it is a nice feature to have, considering the Apple Watch doesn’t even allow for this functionality.
Watch faces:
There are 22 Watch faces preloaded to this watch with the ability to use 3rd party Google apps to create your own so the possibilities are endless. With all this choice and variation, you will be able to change the watch face to suit your needs. Within most watch faces, you also have the option to customize what is shown in various places. For example, you might want to change one of the circles to show the battery instead of the weather. There are many possibilities to choose from. There are also a couple of third party apps such as facer to make your own design.
Navigation:
The navigation of the watch is quite simple as there is only one solid button, this is placed to the left of the watch. When pressed once, the screen will turn on. When pressed again, it will bring up the app list. From the home screen, if you swipe down from the top, it will show a few quick settings such as airplane mode, mute on/off brightness, do not disturb and more settings.
When you close an app, it usually automatically stops the app running in the background unless it needs to run. If this is the case, it will show that the app is running in the notification menu. This means that there is no need to close recent apps to save power.
Battery:
Frankly, I found the battery on this device quite disappointing although I cannot put the blame on Mobvoi. There is currently a limit to battery across most smartwatches. Obviously Wear OS is an energy consuming system and not much can be done to improve the battery life from Mobvoi’s end unless they didn’t use Wear OS. I averaged just over a day with mixed use. The only solution would have been for them not to use this platform but I am personally glad they did as this actually makes the watch a worthwhile contender with the Apple Watch. Mobvoi decided not to use the same platform as they used for their Ticwatch 2. If you have used watches by FitBit, Samsung, or Garmin you would probably be used to well over 5 days of use before needing the charger. Although, then when you compare it to the likes of the leading smartwatch producer, Apple, the full day seems ok. You just have to charge it as much as your phone. I found this a small problem personally but it may be too much to bear for some.
This 300mAh battery is exactly in line with all other Wear OS smartwatches so it is hard to be completely disappointed with it. If you can live with charging your watch every day, then you will be be thrilled with all the extra functionality that comes with the watch. Included in the box is one charger. You will need to be careful not to lose this though as it will set you back $20 to get a replacement.
Chip:
The Ticwatch S uses a Mediatek MT2601, 1.2GHz dual-core chipset, paired with 512MB of RAM. While this isn’t quite as fancy as the top of the range Wear OS watches which uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 chipset, you won’t be left wanting with this slightly more budget one. It contains the standard 512mb of RAM and 4GB of ROM which are more than enough to power this device. Switching from app to app worked pretty smoothly with the occasional lag as expected. Overall, I found the Mediatek MT2601 a please to use and had no major problems with it.
Straps:
Unlike the it’s sibling, the Ticwatch S does not feature customizable watch straps. While you are stuck with one colour, it should go very well with any dress style. Also, remember that the main reason the the strap is not changeable is because the GPS antenna is built in to the strap. The Ticwatch S watch band cannot be replaced, unlike the Ticwatch E and Ticwatch 2 series (not even with a screwdriver).
While the option of customization is not there, I have to say that the built-in strap was one of the most comfortable I’ve used before. I was hoping this would be the case as it is very important for a non-changeable strap. In the first few days, it can be quite rigid but eventually it breaks up and becomes more comfortable. I found the soft silicone very nice to wear, and it was easy to keep on while exercising.
Notifications:
As already mentioned, to view notifications, you simply have to swipe up from the bottom. When a notification comes in, it turns the screen on and the notification pops up. Unlike cheap, non-Wear OS watches, if the notifications appears on your phone then it will also show on the watch.
I found this feature very useful and it meant that I didn’t always need my phone in my pocket. If you’re like me, and Android phone user, then you will also be able to enjoy responding to messages straight from your wrist. You can even reply with third party applications such as WhatsApp and Facebook. You have three options when sending a message which are to speak the message, send an emoji from your sketch or simply type the message with the easy-to use swipe keyboard. I usually used the keyboard as it was quick and easy to use and the predictive text was extremely accurate. I found it a pleasure to use and I found myself primarily responding to messages from the watch rather than my phone!
Fitness:
With the stock Google Fit app, tracking exercise is a breeze! There are almost 100 different workout to choose from and you can also pick your favorite ones to show at the top. These range from Aerobics to Zumba. While I mainly used the Google Fit app, there is also a built-in fitness app. This does pretty much the same job but it only has 5 different activities to choose from. That being said, I do prefer its presentation as it is similar to that of the Fitbit Ionic or Versa with a live picture of the activity. If the Fitness app’s design could mix with Google Fit’s functionality it would be a great match.
When tracking an activity such as running, the basic metrics are all shown such as distance, time, duration heart rate and speed. It does also track GPS but a map is not shown on the Google Fit app yet it does with the Fitness app.
Tracking accuracy:
When I compared the heart rate accuracy to my reliable TomTom Spark 3, I found it to be extremely accurate. It was even slightly better for tracking gym workouts as it captured cardio much better. There were no annoying spikes in the results and I found this pleasing to say the least. I would be happy to use the tracker as my daily exercise tracker.
As for the GPS, I found the accuracy to be pinpoint. While I was running races with the distance mapped out, it was accurate over 5k down to the nearest 10m. When your phone is nearby, it will piggyback the GPS signal from that but it is not required to get an extremely accurate reading. Later, in the Google Fit app you can view the route on a satellite map.
Audio:
One reason I was interested in this watch in particular is because of its built-in speaker and mic. These were especially useful for taking calls with. It also helped having a speaker for the alarm. It made waking up much more prompt.
Now, the reason I was excited about the speaker was the fact that it could play music from it. I was not disappointed in the slightest at the sound quality. One problem was the it was sometimes a little quiet but this didn’t stop me from using it when I could. It was loud enough to use when wearing the watch around the house and in bed but it wasn’t quite loud enough for running on the roads with other cars. Obviously it wasn’t designed with music playback in mind but it is a useful feature to note and greatly appreciated!
Compatibility:
Like all Wear OS watches, an Android phone is ideal for connection to your watch but using an IOS device is also ok. You may lose some functionality with IOS but it definitely doesn’t render the watch useless. You won’t be able to respond to messages from the watch or answer calls.
When connecting with my phone, I didn’t once have an issue with pairing and it always went smoothly for me. Anytime my watch and phone were away from each other, I could still get notifications from my phone onto the watch via WIFI. This addition to the watch makes it closer to a fully-fledged phone on your wrist.
What was missing?
For me, I found 3 things to be missing from the smartwatch which I would definitely like to see on Mobvoi’s next smartwatch.
The first would have to be a waterproofing case. While no other Wear OS smartwatch has actually designed this yet, it would be a really nice addition for swimmers like me. This had to be the biggest drawback for me yet it probably wouldn’t be disappointing for some.
The second feature is NFC. This is one thing that was most likely dropped to reduce the cost of the device. I’m not sure how much cost it would add to the device but it would be nice to have a feature like this especially paired with Google Pay as it is so accessible to so many countries.
The last and probably biggest improvement which could be made would have to be the battery life. As I mentioned, it isn’t Mobvoi’s fault but the operating system. 300mAh isn’t very small for a smartwatch but it would be nice to see it last longer than 1-2 days. It would be great to stretch the battery to 3-4 days for the next model but we have to understand the limits so we’ll just have to see what Mobvoi can come up with!
Comparison to Ticwatch E:
If you were considering purchasing the Ticwatch S, chances are you have wondered the differences between this and the Ticwatch E. The short answer is actually quite little. The main differences are mainly aesthetics, being the Ticwatch E has a fully plastic casing with removable Watch straps. The Ticwatch does not share this feature but instead uses a non-removable strap. One other key feature is the fact that the Ticwatch E has GPS built in to the body while the Ticwatch S houses the antenna in the strap. This is meant to make GPS tracking more accurate. Other than these differences, the only other factor is the style. Obviously there are different styles to choose from with the E and S. I personally preferred the styles of the S but it will depend from person to person. The software on the Ticwatch E is exactly the same as that of the Ticwatch S.
If you’re looking for real budget, then I would definitely recommend the Ticwatch E but if you’re looking for style and more accurate GPS tracking at a slightly higher price, I would highly recommend the Ticwatch S.
Disclaimer: I received this item in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinions.
