Over the past few years, we've seen wearables or wearables become popular thanks to a very broad ecosystem with tons of options. Contrary to what is happening in the Apple ecosystem, on Android we have all kinds of watches and bracelets, from the most basic to the most advanced. We have said more than once that there are generally only two types of smartwatches, and neither is better than the other.

We've analyzed a lot of smart wrist devices in 2021 and are going to close the year with one of the most expensive, but also the most complete and interesting, TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra 4G, Mobvoi's most complete facility.

We've been using this watch as our main device for over a week, but I want to clarify that this analysis has a lot of personal feedback because although I've been using wearables for many years, I tend to focus more on autonomy than performance, and the approach of this watch is completely opposite. , not entirely, but most of all.

Features of TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra 4G

If you like classic watches, you'll love this

Mobvoi TicWatch 3 Pro Ultra 4Glvarez del Vayo Free Android

There are watch brands that opt ​​for models with a minimalist design, others have a portfolio of classic watches and other smart watches, and some, like Casio, have gone bolder.

The Ticwatch remains half-way, with a design that is not simple, but also not very ornate. For good or bad, their watches are not much different from traditional watches, with a crown printed with minute seconds and two physical buttons. in this department there can be a rotating dial or a rotating crown, controls that are not essential (the touchscreen is for this) but which are appreciated when we got used to them in other watches.

Mobvoi TicWatch 3 Pro Ultra 4Glvarez del Vayo Free Android

The resistance is not small, although its design is not particularly durable visually. It has an IP68 certificate as well as a MIL-STD-810G certificate. The latter is appreciated on the watch.

Finally, it has to be mentioned that the strap it has has a standard width of 22mm, which allows us to swap it for any other strap we have or buy a special one without leaving a fortune, as is the case with corporate straps.

The performance is more than noticeable

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Ticwatch is one of the few brands last year to use the Snapdragon Wear 4100 as a processor for some of their watches. In 2021, it again insisted on this chipset, which is a success as it is practically the only one who can really take advantage of Wear OS. the company has designed its own coprocessor for recharging and health related tasks.

Added to this is the use of 1 GB of RAM, which is not common in this type of watches, and 8 GB of memory, more than needed for the type of applications we use in watches.

All this makes the use of TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra 4G special. The clock felt like a freezing several times without showing the secondary screen, but it did work when we entered the main interface. This was solved by restarting the device.

Mobvoi TicWatch 3 Pro Ultra 4Glvarez del Vayo Free Android

Of course we have a microphone and a loudspeaker to make calls. The sound is acceptable and loud, at least for a device of this size, of course. It is not intended for use in a noisy environment, but it will allow us to talk on the phone while driving, typing or cooking.

The version we tested is the one with esim that allows you to use the device without having to connect to the phone. We can call and use the messaging application anywhere with 4G connectivity, which is fortunately very normal in Spain.

The only downside to the hardware part, aside from the lack of a crown or knob, is that the vibration is a bit low even if we choose the strongest option. That's not a problem and we don't lose warnings, but could use a little more power.

Lots of sensors, but some are not okay

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It seems Mobvoi wanted to keep the large number of sensors his previous watches had including the 3 Ultra.

We have a pulse oximeter to measure blood saturation, a heart rate monitor that works pretty well (at least we were able to check that it gives us the same pulse as a stationary gym bike) and a barometer.

Of course, while it has a compass, it seems to have been deactivated by the software due to some issues with other components.

In addition, it does not count calories burned well, again compared to counting on a stationary bike.

Mobvoi TicWatch 3 Pro Ultra 4Glvarez del Vayo Free Android

GPS is able to locate us and calculate our exact route, but it takes some time to fix the position. We didn't like the sleep measurement as it was not very precise. If I wake up but stay in bed the clock will understand that I am still asleep.

Yes, NFC worked perfectly because you could pay with your watch, which is very convenient, especially now that the use of contactless payment cards is so common in Spain.

Focused on health

Ticwatch, like the vast majority of watchmakers, has a clear orientation towards its products: health.

The sensors we talked about, the apps all focus on how we can measure our activity.

In addition to measuring over 20 different sports, setting low activity alerts, or encouraging us to move, this watch can help us relax during breathing exercises.

Additionally, although these are not medical measurements, the watch has an Irregular Heartbeat Detection System (IHB) as well as an Atrial Fibrillation Detection System (AFib).

Two screens are the same watch

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The main feature of this watch and its predecessors is undoubtedly the double screen, which allows quite noticeably to increase the autonomy, which is always positive about a watch with Wear OS.

The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra 4G has a 1.4 "AMOLED screen and a resolution of 454 x 454 px, which gives a dot density of 326 per inch. Quality is good even in the sun, with automatic brightness management that passed us by unnoticed, which is very good about it shows.

But the key is on the second screen, with FSTN technology and minimal power consumption so it's always on.

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This screen has a backlight that activates when we turn the wrist, plus we can choose its color, something interesting and helpful in certain situations, in fact we believe that this is one of those features that all smartwatches should have.

Both panels are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass with an anti-fingerprint coating. You could say we inadvertently tested the glass's resistance when we accidentally hit the watch hard.

Great autonomy ... to be a Wear OS watch

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The battery of this watch is 577 mAh, quite an acceptable value for a device that we wear on the wrist.

Battery life depends a lot on how we use it, but also on the configuration of the screens we have. Using a second screen is not the same as Ambient Mode in Wear OS.

In the first test, we spent 60 hours away from the charger using background heart rate measurement, some GPS training, and receiving and responding to alerts.

In subsequent tests, we saw that this figure was quite repeatable, although we could have gotten a few more hours if the usage wasn't particularly high. Of course, achieving three days of autonomy seemed only possible in some scenarios and shouldn't be seen as something normal.

We have the essential mode that turns the terminal into a much more basic device where you can see the time, steps, keystrokes and little else, but it triggers its autonomy after 6 weeks. Yes, weeks, not days.

With all that said, we're facing one of the best Wear OS smartwatches in this section. The FSTN screen helps a lot and allows you to look at the time and other parameters without turning on the main one, which is appreciated and saves battery life.

Well-known interface with manufacturer accents

Wear the operating system interface

One of the highlights of this watch is its operating system: Wear OS, the version of Android for watches that Google started to look after again a few months ago. Of course, it's version 2, not version 3, which the manufacturer says should come out in 2022. .

The fact that Ticwatch still relies on this system maintains great flexibility of its watches thanks to the installation of the app.

That said, even if we don't want to install any, we have features that aren't available on watches like Huawei or Amazfit.

One of the ones I liked the most is the ability to use the Google Assistant from the wrist to control the heater, lighting, etc. Of course, it doesn't always respond the same as it does to speakers or clocks, possibly due to the setup of procedures and shortcuts the wizard Wear OS doesn't control as well as the other versions.

The second feature is the ability to respond to notifications from your wrist, whether it's an emoticon, a predefined response, or dictation or typing, it was more convenient not to have to take your phone out of your pants every now and then.

Pre-installed applications

The downside is Mobvoi's strategy of installing a lot of services and apps on the watch, some of which are twice as high as Google's. This is something similar to what happens on Samsung phones that have two browsers, two photo management apps ... Of course they come in handy There are some manufacturer's applications, such as for taking voice notes, that are synchronized with our phone. We can even rewrite them, but only if we dictate them in English.

In addition, we have to install two applications on the phone, Wear OS and Mobvoi, and the latter leaves much to be desired in design, translation, etc.

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Another problem is revealed when the notification arrives and we use the additional screen. Turning the clock does not activate the normal screen, so we have to touch the touchpad or the physical button. This should be corrected so that the notification appears if we turn the wrist within the next few seconds so that pick them up.

Finally, I want to point out an issue with Wear OS that persists for years. There is no way to change a cell phone without formatting the clock if we have two smartphones and one clock. This is something Google recognizes but doesn't seem to want to. solve it.

TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra 4G is one of the best smartwatches on the market

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The smartwatch sector is experiencing a tablet-like renaissance and it is obvious that Google has decided to give it a try. Brands like Mobvoi have been making very competent watches for years and the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra 4G is a sublimation of that.

This model is one of the best Wear OS watches we can buy, without the arbitrary limitations of some Samsung models not working with some brands' terminals.

Of course, this is not a cheap watch. The analyzed model with LTE can be purchased on mobvoi.com or from Amazon Spain for 359.99 euros. If 4G connectivity is not important to you, you can opt for a variant without it, called GPS. It costs 299, 99 euros.

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