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TicWatch Pro 3 review: The breakthrough of Wear OS?

TicWatch Pro 3 cover picture
Cover photo: TechnikNews

The TicWatch Pro 3 could be a huge step for Wear OS. The smartwatch is the first Wear OS smartwatch to come onto the market with the new Snapdragon Wear 4100 and that for a price of 300 euros. We tested the smartwatch.

What's in the box

In addition to the smartwatch, the scope of delivery also includes a charging cable, unfortunately no charger. But every customer should have this anyway.

Design and workmanship

On first impression I didn't like the watch as much as the Skagen Falster 3, but after a few weeks I got used to the design. It is a bit bigger than the Skagen watch, but there is also more technology in the watch. The workmanship is also really good, I couldn't find any defects during my test period. What I really missed a lot is a crown that scrolls through the menu. This is available from the competition from Skagen and has made operation a lot easier.

TicWatch Pro 3 processing

The TicWatch Pro 3 sits well on the arm and is not noticeable. (Picture: TechnikNews)

Hardware of the TicWatch Pro 3

The smartwatch is the first watch on the market that is equipped with the Snapdragon Wear 4100. Compared to the Snapdragon Wear 3100, this should offer 85% more performance and power consumption should also be reduced by around 25%.

The main memory is 1 GB and the internal memory has a capacity of 8 GB. The working memory has become a lot faster compared to my old Wear OS watch, which still had 512 MB working memory. Wear OS is finally running as fast as it should be.

The displays are 1,4 "in size. The displays? Yes, the watch has two displays, which are one above the other. The lower display is a 454 x 454 pixel sharp AMOLED display and the second display is an FSTN, which is used as an always-on display. This is done to save power, which can be clearly seen in the battery life.

Some have also been installed on sensors. In addition to GPS, Beidou, Glonass, Galileo, QZSS for navigation, there is also NFC for Google Pay and a loudspeaker with microphone for the Google Assistant and for phone calls. The latter can only be done via Bluetooth, as there is no eSIM functionality.

In addition, the watch is waterproof due to the IP68 standard, in my test time the watch has none Prohad problems with water.

TicWatch Pro 3 Always On

The always-on display of the TicWatch Pro 3 is very good for the battery life! (Picture: TechnikNews)

Software

Google's Wear OS is used as software, for me the software that is theoretically best suited for interaction with Android smartphones. Unfortunately, Google treats the software very negligently, as the example of "YouTube Music" makes very clear.

A little digression – Google discontinued their “Google Play Music” service this year because they switched their music streaming to YouTube Music. A good move for me as YouTube Music has some better features. Wouldn't be at all Problem if Google would have developed a Wear OS app for YouTube Music, which they haven't. Why is this so bad? If I want to go jogging with the watch and listen to music through my headphones, which I have connected to the watch via Bluetooth, the music must be saved offline. This was possible with Google Play Music, now this is no longer the case. You can't do that with Spotify either, as they have a deal with Samsung that this is only available on Samsung watches.

Otherwise offers Wear OS many useful functions. You can reply to messages, make calls like James Bond via the watch, as long as your smartphone is within Bluetooth range. In addition, the Google Assistant can answer many questions and with Google Fit all kinds of sports can be tracked. The manufacturer Mobvoi has even adapted the app overview, the app logos are now much larger and clearer.

Mobvoi has also preinstalled some apps, in addition to useful things such as sleep tracking or a calculator, some fitness apps are also preinstalled. However, these do not come close to the functionality of Google.

Fitness

Due to the closure of the fitness studios in Germany, it was more difficult for me to test the complete fitness functions, but I was still able to jog once with the watch. The 5 km that have been measured are definitely correct. The pulse measurement is of course only a recommendation and should by no means be taken as a medical value. So the sports tracking is really very good thanks to Google Fit and the sensors.

TicWatch Pro 3 fitness

The TicWatch Pro 3 can track jogging very well. (Screenshot: TechnikNews)

TicWatch battery Pro 3

Battery life on Wear OS has always been the greatest Proproblem The functions could be as good as they wanted, if the watch only lasted until noon like my Asus Zenwatch 3 did back then, it was practically unnecessary. This is supposed to be the TicWatch Pro 3 with a 595mAh battery, the Snapdragon Wear 4100 and the FSTN display. In fact, they did it and it was an unusual feeling not having to charge the watch in the evening. Even with intensive use, two days of battery life were easily possible, if I had activated the first energy saving mode, even a full three days.

tick watch Pro 3 battery life

The battery life of the TicWatch Pro 3 is finally on a good level. (Screenshot: TechnikNews)

This is finally the battery life I wanted, but the charging time of two hours is still a bit too long. I would also have liked QI Wireless Charging, which is unfortunately not built in.

TicWatch Pro 3 Conclusion

The TicWatch Pro 3 is the smartwatch I've been wanting for a long time. Finally a good one Proprocessor, which allows the clock to run much more smoothly. Despite the second panel above the actual display, the display is very good and the workmanship is also impressive. I personally don't like the design as much as the Skagen Falster 3, but that is a matter of taste. I also miss the rotating crown of the watch, which definitely needs to be touched up.

The crown would have made operation a lot easier, I would be happy if it was included in a successor. Wear OS is still my favorite smartwatch system for Android phones, but the lack of a YouTube Music app and Spotify's download capability makes streaming music -- especially during workouts -- all but impossible. The battery life of 2 to 3 days is outstanding for Wear OS and brings every other Wear OS watch to its knees. So if you want a top Wear OS watch, you should go to the TicWatch Pro 3 grab. If the design doesn't appeal to you, then you should wait for the smartwatches of the competition in 2021.

This test report was made possible by a TicWatch Pro 3 provided by Mobvoi. We did not receive any money for this review and Mobvoi had no influence on the article. Thanks to Mobvoi for providing it.

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Nils Ahrensmeier

Nils has been with us since 2019 TechnikNews and very interested in smartphones, speakers, smartwatches and SmartHome. In addition to his 'Creative Business' studies, he enjoys pursuing his hobby of athletics and meeting up with friends.

Nils has already written 321 articles and made 32 comments.

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