Review TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS : The Pros And Cons Of Mobvoi’s Rugged Wear OS Smartwatch

The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra is a good smartwatch for tracking fitness. It has a long battery life and a great screen. When Wear OS 3 comes out, it should be even better.

The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS may not be the most interesting Wear OS smartwatch on the market, but it has a longer battery life than most of its competitors. This smartwatch has a smart design, a bright screen, and good fitness tracking.

The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS is a large outdoor sports watch that tries to fit in with its military-grade durability rating and full GPS connectivity. But it puts a lot of emphasis on being durable. With certain settings turned on, this smartwatch can last up to 45 days.

1. Design

Mobvoi sells the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS as a tough smartwatch that can keep up with adventures in the great outdoors. Even though it doesn’t look as sporty as the Apple Watch Ultra or the Garmin Instinct 2, it’s the same size (47mm) and strength as many of the other best GPS watches.
Compared to this TicWatch, the Apple Watch Ultra is 49mm, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is 46mm, and the regular Garmin Fenix 7 is 47mm. All of these watches feel a bit big to me, but I think the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra will be a good fit for people with bigger wrists.

With IP68 and MIL-STD-810G certifications, the watch is made to last in harsh conditions that the average wearer might face. This includes places with a lot of open water, rocks, and extreme heat or cold. I didn’t test the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra in these conditions, but I felt safe knowing that it could be dropped and not break.

The 1.4-inch, full-color AMOLED screen is kept safe by a raised bezel. I liked how bright the screen was and how it stayed on all the time. Not only was the “awake” mode easy to read in direct sunlight, but I also liked that it was always on. It changes into an FSTN (Film Compensated Super-Twisted Nematic) display, which not only lets me see the time at a glance but also saves battery life and adds to the watch’s outdoorsy look.

2. Features

The TicWatch Pro 3 is a Wear OS watch, so you can get apps like Spotify, Strava, and Adidas Running from other companies. It comes with Google Assistant, but you can also download other Google apps, such as Google Maps and Google Translate. It doesn’t work as well with Google as the Pixel Watch, but that was to be expected.

Still, the interface is the same as that of the Pixel Watch and other Wear OS watches. You can swipe through tiles on the main screen and scroll through an alphabetical list of apps by pressing the top side button. I sometimes had trouble getting around. For example, when I opened an app, it would close right away, or there would be a bit of lag when I swiped between tiles. This has happened to me before with watches that were running the old version of Wear OS. I hope that these bugs will be fixed in Wear OS 3, and the software should be updated by the end of this year.

And the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS has one advantage over the Pixel Watch: it works with both Android and iOS, so I could test it out on my iPhone. It even showed me what my iPhone was telling me. The number of smartwatches that work with both Android and iOS seems to be decreasing, so I’m glad to see that TicWatch devices still give you options. However, calls only work when the device is paired with an Android phone, so there are some limitations you’ll need to think about based on your phone.

3. Battery

The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS has a better battery life than the Pixel Watch, Galaxy Watch, and Apple Watch. In my experience, it lasts about three full days with normal use, which includes fitness tracking, sleep tracking, and a few hours of GPS use per day. In a power-saving mode called “Essential Mode,” which turns on the FSTN display, the smartwatch can last up to 45 days.

If you compare the battery life of the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra to that of the best Garmin watches or the best Fitbit smartwatches (like the new Fitbit Sense 2), you might not be impressed. In the same way, some Amazfit watches can last for weeks after being fully charged. But since the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS has a lot of smart features, it makes sense to compare its battery life to that of more common smartwatches.

Verdict

The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS is one of the best Android and iOS smartwatches you can buy right now. It’s especially good for people who care about battery life and like rugged designs. You might not like the software, but a full Wear OS 3 update should be coming by the end of 2022 to fix bugs and make it work better with Google.

At $299, the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS is also cheaper than many outdoor-focused smartwatches on the market right now. The Garmin Fenix 7 starts at $699, while the Apple Watch Ultra costs $799. If you want something similar for less money, the $199 Amazfit T-Rex 2 might be a good choice, but you’ll have to give up third-party apps and other smart features.

I could also make a case for waiting to buy the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS until Wear OS 3 is out, but if you want a well-rounded smartwatch experience right now, this is a good option.