TicWatch Pro review: the durable smartwatch with two displays
A TEST REPORT from David Wurm 
on October 29, 2018, 15:49 p.m. | Write a comment
I had the TicWatch for almost two months Pro now in everyday life on my wrist. Now it's time for a conclusion: Was the smartwatch able to convince me and what makes the wearable with its two displays really unique? All this and more in my review.
Exactly two months ago today I had it TicWatch Pro unpacked here in the blog for you. So I won't go into all the details, such as the scope of delivery, in this review. Rather, review today, I will clarify all the technical details, tracking of sports and performance and battery power in everyday life. Here we go.
Jump to section
The technical details
A not too unimportant point when choosing technology: the technical equipment. That's why I'm listing all the technical details for the TicWatch here Pro in the overview.
- Dimensions: 45 × 12,6 mm
- Battery: 415 mAh
- Operating system: Wear OS 2.1 (as of the test report)
- Display: 1,39-inch AMOLED 400 x 400 pixels + FSTN display
- Connectivity: Bluetooth: 4.2 / WLAN: 802.11bgn 2.4GHz / NFC
- ProProcessor: Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100
- Sensors: accelerometer, magnetic sensor, heart rate monitor, ambient light sensor, GPS
- Memory: 512 MB RAM and 4 GB internal memory
- Water and dust proof: IP68 certification
Processing and feeling
The TicWatch Pro is really comfortable to wear in everyday life, it doesn't really attract attention because of its low weight. Unfortunately, it looks a bit bulky under a t-shirt or sweater - so it's better to wear it over it. All buttons are also well made and have a good pressure point. The included leather strap feels pretty good too - it's made of ridged silicone on the underside of the band. Definitely an advantage during sporting activities or when sweating.
Due to the dimensions of 45 x 12,6mm, the watch probably looks a bit too bulky for women, and is therefore more suitable for a man's wrist. I also wore the watch for various activities and couldn't find any scratches on the case.
The scope of delivery of the TicWatch Pro. (Image: © 2018 TechnikNews)
Design
Sure - there are perhaps more elegant watches than the TicWatch Pro. Due to the materials used, the smartwatch looks elegant and sporty at the same time. If you also set the watch faces according to the occasion, you can watch the watch prowear it to every event. Whether with a shirt, jacket or sports suit. If you like it rimless, you might prefer the current one Fossil Q Explorer HR.
The TicWatch Pro looks classy. (Image: © 2018 TechnikNews)
However, the numbered metal ring around the smartwatch is susceptible to fingerprints. But if you wipe it off, everything looks perfect again. So not real Proproblem I don't understand why they didn't use a rotating bezel like Samsung's smartwatches. To my liking, the metal ring could have been thinner, especially the part on the top and bottom with the arrow.
Everyday performance and operation
Everyone has to decide for themselves whether the operation of Wear OS is intuitive. With the latest version of Google's smartwatch operating system, however, operation has become a lot more comfortable and pleasant. Previously, you could change the watch face by swiping from left to right or vice versa – this is no longer the case. Now, for example, when you swipe to the right, a Google Now-like stream opens. Swiping left takes you to the TicWatch Pro not to Google Fit, but to Mobvoi's own fitness app - too bad.
A few impressions of the TicWatch software Pro. (Image: © 2018 TechnikNews)
The performance was pretty good during my test - except immediately after starting - and opened apps quickly and reacted quickly to any input. Also, typing on the keyboard to reply to messages was not Problem and quite pleasant due to the rather generous display.
A smartwatch for athletes?
The TicWatch is also for sporty people Pro recommended without reservation. Thanks to the integrated GPS and the heart rate monitor, the smartwatch can be used without Probleme for running or other activities without a smartphone. The recording of a test run - even in the forest - was quite accurate and detailed. After a workout, distance, duration and calories burned are displayed. A little further down you get information about your average heart rate and over time, the speed and pace information. There is also a display of the step frequency and step length, how many steps, and the length of these, you average pro minute done.
The TicWatch Pro is also suitable for athletes using GPS and a heart rate monitor. (Image: © 2018 TechnikNews)
30 days of battery life - thanks to two displays
No other smartwatch I know of like the TicWatch Pro lasts so long. The special thing about this specimen are clearly the two displays, which make such a long battery life possible in the first place. When the smartwatch is not currently in use, the watch defaults to the fairly power-efficient FSTN display. The watch also creates a certain retro feeling, also known from older digital watches.
The second display provides a retro look and also helps to save electricity. (Image: © 2018 TechnikNews)
This display shows the current time, together with the date, today's number of steps and the most recently measured heart rate. Either the second display can be activated permanently in "essential mode" or otherwise always when the watch is turned away from the face. In addition, this mode can be activated automatically when the battery drops below 5%. During a workout, the current time, kilometers and heart rate are also displayed. For me, the smartwatch lasted almost 2-3 days in normal mode,
Conclusion
The TicWatch Pro is a cheap smartwatch compared to the competition and their features. For its price of currently 249 euros, of course not a bargain and perhaps not the most beautiful watch. However, you are offered a total package of unbeatably long battery life, GPS and good performance. There is also a speaker and a microphone. The former doesn't really sound high-quality, but it's sufficient for conversations about the smartwatch. NFC is also installed for payments via Google Pay - but I couldn't test it in Austria due to the lack of availability in this country.
In the water or while swimming you can use the TicWatch Pro also use, but is not necessarily recommended. In my test, for example, the dial changed after a short jump into the water. I can recommend the smartwatch to anyone at any time, but I would still not buy it now. Qualcomm recently unveiled the new smartwatchProzessore introduced and this could bring even more power-saving and faster smartwatches to the market. Therefore: currently it is better to wait and see.
