TicWatch E

The Mobvoi TicWatch E is not the first great Android Wear smartwatch, nor is it the best-looking option available. It doesn’t even break new ground, but for such a low price, it doesn’t really have to. 

Available for $159 (£120, AU$202) and commonly lower through Amazon, this smartwatch is aimed squarely at casual users with equally casual budgets. Unlike the sport-focused TicWatch S, this model is unassuming and simple in design, providing little more flourish than a Swatch analog timepiece in its IP67 water-resistant package. 

Coming at a time when the release of Android Wear 2.0-equipped smartwatches has slowed, Mobvoi’s low-end smartwatch ticks all of the boxes – something that big manufacturers seemed to have such a hard time achieving. Better yet, its low price tag more or less removes the biggest hurdle facing more expensive modern smartwatches.

Design

The TicWatch E doesn’t try very hard to make it known that it’s a smartwatch. Aside from the always-on display and the rather thick build, it’d be hard to sort this apart from a batch of analog watches. And that’s an admirable quality, one that we’re surprised can be accomplished at such a low price point and without the usual smartwatch staples like steel and leather tossed into the mix.

As with all Android Wear 2.0 smartwatches, you’ll find a button around the watch’s crown to summon the list of installed apps or Google Assistant itself, which can assist you with tasks like texting or telling you the weather. Unlike most smartwatches, this button is on the watch’s left side, which doesn’t really create an issue – just worth noting.

Compared to the TicWatch 2, the TicWatch E is stripped down in a few rather insignificant ways. Removed is the unique “tickle strip” that let users scroll through the interface by sliding a finger along the side of the watch in lieu of an Apple Watch-esque rotating crown. And, as previously mentioned, this watch gets by on basic build materials, its body being made of polycarbonate and the watch face covered in anti-scratch glass.

On the watch’s bottom, there’s a small optical heart rate sensor sitting in the middle. Unlike some smartwatches, this one doesn’t bulge out from the TicWatch E’s body. Next to the sensor are the charging pins – a proprietary charging method that might not be as easy as the inductive charger included with the TicWatch 2 and many popular models, like the LG Watch Style.

There’s something mildly comforting about trying out another Android Wear smartwatch. Now deep into the lifecycle of Android Wear 2.0, just about every smartwatch provides similar levels of performance. The Mobvoi TicWatch E is no exception, even with its non-standard MediaTek dual-core processor.

Inside of Mobvoi’s affordable smartwatch, there’s 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage for native apps via the Google Play Store and music for on-the-go wireless listening by syncing up a set of Bluetooth headphones.

Speaking on the watch’s performance, it’s just as quick as the others in our list of best Android Wear smartwatches, shifting smoothly through the user interface and launching apps without a hitch. Unlike some models on the market, the TicWatch E includes both a microphone and speaker so you can take calls if you’re in a Wi-Fi-covered environment.

The TicWatch E is compatible with both Android and iOS, as this is a baseline feature granted by Android Wear 2.0. But Mobvoi takes it a step further with its own dedicated app, which honestly isn’t super useful as it just provides a more birds-eye view of your fitness stats.

Fitness

If you’re into working out, the TicWatch E touts all of the necessary features to let you run wild. Best of all, you don’t need to bring your phone to do it. Equipped with a heart rate sensor and built-in GPS, the Mobvoi-provided Fitness app can track your basic vitals rather reliably and show your path of travel. 

No wrist-based wearable is perfect at gathering a completely accurate heart rate, but our results were serviceable and, in the heat of jog or walk during our testing, it seemed to be right on. The built-in GPS was able to find a lock on signal in less than 10 seconds, which is especially impressive in the thick skyline of downtown Manhattan.

The TicWatch E might be serviceable at recording your metrics, but it doesn’t provide the best methods in putting them on display. The Fitness app can track heart rate and GPS data, but the phone app is dreadful at providing those specifics back to you post-workout. Instead, we recommend opting for Google Fit or a run-tracking app like Runtastic.

One of the pitfalls of Android Wear watches, and really, wearables in general, is battery life. Prospects have improved over time with the advancement of software and hardware, and the TicWatch is hovering around the best that smartwatches can offer.

Mobvoi claims that the TicWatch E can last more than two days, depending on usage, and we were able to occasionally squeeze that from it. Since we strived to tap into the watch’s fitness prowess and make sure that native apps ran smoothly, the battery life lasted for just over a day.

The proprietary conductive charger that’s included can power up the TicWatch E to 100% in less than an hour, which is a suitable time frame to get things running again.

Verdict

It’s not hard to find an eligible smartwatch that looks like it might fit into your life. In a world filled with wearables like the Apple Watch 3 and Fitbit Ionic, there’s something for everyone – at least in style. What isn’t so readily available is a smartwatch for a low budget, but the TicWatch E fills that void.

Mobvoi’s budget-friendly smartwatch impresses with its simple design and robust set of features. Less than two years ago, you wouldn’t have been able to find a watch with this much tech in it for less than $300, which alone makes the TicWatch E all the more tempting.

The slightly more expensive TicWatch S is said to have slightly better GPS performance, though our testing didn’t show the TicWatch E being much worse compared to my colleague Andrew London’s review.

For those who haven’t taken the plunge into Android Wear, the TicWatch E is an excellent option for those with simple needs. While lacking in LTE and NFC capabilities, the latter of which would allow for Google Pay mobile transactions, this watch doesn’t feel less without them. 

The best thing that we can say is that, reflecting on the last few years of Android Wear smartwatches, Mobvoi has released one of the few that’s actually worth your money.

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