The Mobvoi TicWatch range has been one of the standard bearers for Google’s Wear OS software. However, on the company’s latest model, the Android-based wearable operating system is nowhere to be seen.
The new TicWatch GTX runs a proprietary operating system we don’t really know much about yet, but it does appear like this is somewhat less advanced than Wear OS. It has a 1.28-inch, 240 x 240 display.
Mobvoi’s latest smartwatch comes at a budget £54.99/$59.99 price with an impressive 10-days of battery life, which may be attributable to the lower power-demands of the operating system, as well as the shockingly underpowered innards. The device has just 160KB RAM alongside the RLC8762C processor.
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The company says: “The watch will sustain seven days of battery life with regular use, while those wishing to conserve battery can opt for Power Saving Mode, which can last up to 10 days.”
Despite the lack of a known OS, the GTX will still provide smartphone connectivity for incoming notifications, music control, and find my phone features.
There’s 24/7 heart-rate tracking, minus the need for a smartphone, while hourly readings on your heart health and steps are prodvided. There are 14 workout modes, including running, cycling, swimming and yoga. There’s sleep tracking too. Swimming? Yes, the watch is IP68 water resistant, which is a bonus on a £55 watch.
Some additional features advertised today are a torchlight, weather app, stopwatch and timer. However, there’s no build-in Wi-Fi, no GPS and connectivity is via Bluetooth 5.0.
The TicWatch GTX goes on sale on September 6. You an pre-order it now and get a 10% discount from Mobvoi.com.
What this means for the future of Wear OS remains to be seen. We do expect TicWatches to run the Android-based operating system on more expensive devices. However, it is significant that Mobvoi has moved away from Google at a time the platform is struggling significantly against the likes of Apple’s watchOS and Samsung’s Tizen alternatives.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.