The TicWatch Professional 5 has been a very long time coming. And after following an exhausting path of teasers and leaks since final summer season, we now formally have the brand new Mobvoi smartwatch on our wrists.
Fortunately, the wait seems to have been value it – and there is loads to dive into right here.
The Professional 5 arrives as the primary and solely smartwatch to run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5+ platform, and it is also (a bit much less impressively) the primary of the corporate’s smartwatches to assist Wear OS 3.
The last-gen fashions are nonetheless in line for that long-overdue replace, however, for now, the Professional 5 stands alone on this regard.
Some core parts have remained, such because the dual-display know-how and prolonged battery life estimations, however Mobvoi has added loads right here that seem to place it among the many top watches for Android users.
We’ll be seeking to ship our ultimate verdict on the TicWatch Professional 5 after extra in-depth testing, however, for now, listed here are our preliminary impressions.
Design and show
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Mobvoi has at all times stored issues fairly easy with the look of the TicWatch Professional line, and it is the identical story with the Professional 5.
This implies it is tough to get too excited concerning the look on the wrist, however, on the similar time, there’s particular worth in a smartwatch with a design this broad.
We would not essentially credit score it as being one of the unisex designs on the market, nevertheless it’s definitely generic sufficient to put on for each formal events and your every day train.
It is also very snug on the wrist, regardless of the spec sheet suggesting the 50.15 x 48 x 12.2mm case could be fairly substantial.
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Plenty of that, we suspect, is as a result of case materials being aluminum and never stainless-steel. To date, it is proved gentle sufficient to put on across the clock and in addition stay free from any bumps and grazes.
Whereas the outer shell lacks some character, then, Mobvoi has achieved a superb job so as to add and improve a few of its design options.
One enchancment is the button format. Whereas the earlier era had a reasonably pointy two-pusher array positioned at 2 o’clock and 5 o’clock, Mobvoi has as an alternative opted for a rotating crown and streamlined button above for the Professional 5.
The rotating crown is a revelation, permitting you to hurry by means of menus and notifications streams, and it does not undergo from the identical lag we have discovered with different Put on OS watches with the identical design function.
Then there’s the trademark TicWatch dual-display know-how. We liked the corporate’s revolutionary, power-saving method to providing an always-on show within the earlier era, and it really works even higher right here because of a few upgrades.
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This Extremely Low Energy (ULP) show now works with the rotating crown to show totally different tiles to customers, which means you’ll be able to simply cycle by means of calorie burn, coronary heart charge, and blood oxygen knowledge with out waking the OLED show up.
The principle always-on display nonetheless consists of the time, step counts, day and date, battery degree, and connectivity standing, too, as proven above.
We’re intrigued to see how the TicWatch Professional 5 design holds up after a few weeks, however we definitely approve of the course Mobvoi has taken right here. It does not really feel like essentially the most premium or outlandish smartwatch accessible at this worth, nevertheless it’s extremely intuitive and simple to put on.
Put on OS 3 and Snapdragon W5+
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Whereas the design adjustments are definitely notable, it is the upgrades to the processor and software program which are the Professional 5’s most promising property.
And judging from our first few days of use, efficiency is a substantial improve on the previous-gen Snapdragon 4100 platform – or, at the very least, is a significantly better match for Put on OS 3.
We have not used an Android watch as fast to snap between menus because the Professional 5; it is lastly like utilizing an Apple Watch, the place each contact outcomes immediately response.
There is no lagging when scrolling by means of notifications, apps open inside 1-2 seconds, and particulars load with none actual delay.
We have by no means discovered vital points on TicWatch fashions that ran Put on OS 2, to be honest, however now we have used Put on OS 3 units with the old-gen Qualcomm processor that really feel fairly a distance behind this.
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The improve to internals and software program means the Professional 5 is now roughly consistent with top-tier units Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 or Google Pixel Watch, and Put on OS 3 itself continues to get higher on a regular basis.
We now have an app ecosystem that features seamless Spotify and WhatsApp integration, with Google’s personal suite of apps – like Maps and Pockets – now infinitely extra helpful and simple to make use of than after we final examined a TicWatch.
We’re semi-concerned about when (or even when) the Professional 5 will obtain the Wear OS 4 update coming later this 12 months, given how lengthy Mobvoi has taken to stand up to hurry with Put on OS 3, however the early indicators recommend that it is a extremely competent smartwatch regardless.
Exercise monitoring and well being options
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Given we have solely had the Professional 5 on our wrist for a number of days, we’re but to actually set up correct baselines or put it by means of our normal array of stress exams.
Nonetheless, we’ll observe that there are an absolute ton of latest well being and monitoring options to dive into right here.
Mobvoi has added restoration time estimates, VO2 Max predictions, Multi-GNSS, a compass, and a barometer for individuals who have been hoping for a bump in exercise monitoring efficiency, whereas each open water swimming and path working profiles have been added to a listing that features over 100 totally different actions.
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The MIL-STD-810H design additionally suggests it ought to stay extraordinarily sturdy, with 5ATM water resistance which means it may possibly stand up to pressures equal to 50m depth.
An improved optical coronary heart charge monitor can be being touted. Mobvoi suggests this could result in improved well being insights referring to blood oxygen, irregular heartbeats, and AFib, in addition to common coronary heart charge monitoring.
A ‘One-tap measurement’ app additionally provides customers a snapshot view of their coronary heart charge, respiratory charge, stress ranges, and blood oxygen, with sleep monitoring additionally including pores and skin temperature and an array of sleep reviews.
As we are saying, there are many claimed enhancements to get into right here, and we’ll be placing all of them to the take a look at over the approaching weeks.
Battery life and charging
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The TicWatch Professional line has at all times been one of many higher performers in relation to battery life, and the transfer to Snapdragon’s newest platform seems to have yielded much more positives on this space.
Far faraway from a few of its Put on OS rivals that battle to make it by means of 24 hours, the Professional 5 might wind up being the longest-lasting Android watch we have ever examined.
With default settings and reasonable use, the every day drop-off has thus far confirmed to be round 25-30%, which might see it far outlast each the Professional 3 Extremely mannequin and newer watches from Samsung and Fossil.
Charging can be breezy, with Mobvoi’s claimed 65% bump from half-hour proving about proper. It means you’ll be able to allay any battery nervousness by shortly gaining sufficient juice to go out for an hour of working whereas listening to Spotify, so we’re happy with this one.
Nonetheless, we must always stress that we’re within the early phases of all our battery testing.
It’s extremely attainable that the every day drop-off is considerably affected by altering the always-on show mode (default settings imply the Professional 5 use the ULP show), hammering the GPS in out of doors exercises, and monitoring blood oxygen and the likes throughout sleep.
Once more, although, as with different areas of the watch, the preliminary indicators are very encouraging.