There are a ton of Wear OS smartwatches on the market today, and some of the best are a part of Mobvoi’s TicWatch lineup. Today, the TicWatch Pro 4G has gone official, and it delivers one of the best packages we’ve seen in a Wear OS device in quite some time for a very affordable price. Here’s what you need to know.
At its core, the TicWatch Pro 4G is a lot like the TicWatch Pro that debuted last year. It has the same dual-display technology that improves battery life, a similar design, and, somewhat unfortunately, the same Snapdragon Wear 2100 chipset, too. However, there are some welcome changes that make this watch a big improvement.
The TicWatch Pro 4G is all black with an edged metal border around the display. It’s a more subdued, almost classy look that I much prefer to the watch’s standard version. Further, the new model is also significantly lighter than the original while maintaining a durable frame.
Under the hood, there is, of course, the addition of LTE. That connectivity will allow owners to use their watch without a Bluetooth connection. That includes VoLTE calls, SMS messages, and more. Notifications from your smartphone will also be carried over to the watch, too, even outside of Bluetooth range. There’s also a special “SOS” feature that can dial emergency services and broadcast your location to a 911 call center.
However, it only works over Verizon’s network. Mobvoi tells us that activation won’t work until the end of this month, but when it does, it’ll use a typical Verizon wearable plan that costs $10 a month. When LTE isn’t in use, the TicWatch Pro 4G will continue to function as a normal Wear OS smartwatch over Bluetooth.
The most notable addition to this hardware, however, is that it includes a full 1GB of RAM. Most Wear OS smartwatches only include 512MB of RAM, and based on our early time using the watch, this already makes a tremendous difference in performance. It’s not the first Wear OS watch with 1GB of RAM, but most others cost significantly more.
Rounding out the spec package is an IP68 rating against water and dust, GPS, 1.39-inch AMOLED display, NFC for Google Pay, 4GB of storage, a heart rate sensor Gorilla Glass 3, and a 22mm silicone band. There’s also a 415mAh battery built-in that Mobvoi says should last two days on a charge, or 30 days when using the “Essential Mode.”
As far as the software goes, there’s Google’s Wear OS that comes out of the box with “Update H.” There’s also a small suite of Mobvoi apps including TicHealth and TicPulse. The latter can use the new heart-rate sensor for 24/7 heart-rate monitoring. TicMotion is also on board, which was announced earlier this year, and it can also track workouts automatically.
Pricing for the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 4G normally starts at $299, but to celebrate the launch, the company is offering a discount. From July 10 to August 10, the TicWatch Pro 4G will cost $279 from Amazon and Mobvoi’s own website.
Mobvoi Announces Launch of TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE
Mobvoi’s TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE, one of the only 4G/LTE Wear OS smartwatches powered by Wear OS by Google is available in the U.S. and introduces powerful proactive motion tracking features
San Francisco, July 10, 2019 — Mobvoi Inc., a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company backed by Google™ and Volkswagen, is launching the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE, the highly anticipated second generation of the TicWatch Pro smartwatch line.
The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE is re-engineered to leverage its 4G/LTE wireless connectivity, and introduces new features including Number Sharing and Cloud Synchronization to keep you connected to important messages from your smartphone, without tethering your smartphone; TicMotion 2.0, the next generation of TicMotion, which automatically tracks your workouts without manually tapping a mode to begin recording your workout; and TicPulse, Mobvoi’s new health AI assistant that tracks your heart rate proactively in the background. The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE also retains its patented dual layered-screen technology that enables users to switch between Smart Mode and Essential Mode, extending its battery life for up to 30 days.
As one of the only smartwatches powered with Wear OS by Google™ and Snapdragon chip available with 4G/LTE in the U.S., the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE will be launching on Verizon. Available starting today on Amazon (https://amzn.to/2KGtmCK) for Prime Day, and on Mobvoi’s brand website Mobovi.ai (http://bit.ly/2XJqnNz) the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE retails with an MSRP of $299 USD.
Customers will be able to activate the 4G/LTE feature one month later, and until then can use all other features on the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
During this one month duration, between July 10, 2019 and August 10, 2019, shoppers can purchase the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE at an early adopter price of $279 USD.
“The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE has all the hallmarks of the original TicWatch Pro, including its trademark long battery life, but the Pro 4G combined with 4G/LTE connectivity and Mobvoi’s new TicPulse and TicMotion 2.0, truly takes advantage of Mobvoi’s artificial intelligence breakthroughs, while finally standing alone without an accompanying smartphone,” said Zhifei Li, CEO and Founder of Mobvoi. “We’re also excited to be one of the only 4G smartwatches running Wear OS by Google available in the United States starting today with Verizon.”
Smartphone-Free Connectivity
Enabled by number sharing, your phone number can be shared to your TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE to conduct VoLTE voice calls, send or receive SMS messages, and use your favorite messaging apps, all without tethering your smartwatch to a smartphone. More significantly, the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE’s Cloud Synchronization enables wearers to seamlessly receive app notifications from their smartphone to their TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE smartwatch – all without a tethered Bluetooth connection. In fact, the smartphone and smartwatch are synced directly through the cloud, so that users aren’t required to download a smartwatch app for the most popular messaging, social networking and email applications, including WhatsApp, Gmail, Google Hangouts, among others. So you can switch between using one or the other device without skipping a beat.
The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE also introduces a brand new safety feature, called “SOS,” which can dial 911 and meanwhile broadcast your location to a 911 call center in the event of an emergency with a simple tap of a button.
Proactive Heart Tracking with TicPulse
Thanks to an improved heart rate monitoring sensor, TicPulse on the TicPro 4G/LTE offers 24/7 highly accurate monitoring of your health without the need for a smartphone, and also for the first time displays a comprehensive, real-time history of your heart’s health and steps taken on an hourly basis. In fact, on the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE you can directly view your seven-day historical heart rate chart, which updates your data every day for a few minutes.
Proactive Motion Tracking & Click-free with TicMotion 2.0
With Mobvoi’s TicMotion 2.0 technology, the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE takes a giant leap from the first generation TicMotion, expanding the assistant to autonomously track a wider range of real-time motions including fast-walking and running, while swimming will be rolled out at a later time. Wearers can simply strap on the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE and can let its state-of-the-art artificial intelligence in TicMotion 2.0 track your every movement, while you simply go about living your life. In fact, the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE with TicMotion 2.0 has been enhanced to passively track workouts more granularly including time spent, distance and pace so that it keeps wearers focused on their workouts, and not on the watch itself.
Life On-The-Go with Google Assistant and Google Pay
Integrated with Google Assistant and Google Pay for NFC payments, the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE takes you on the road, enabling you to roam smartphone-free and make purchases with a smartwatch using Google Pay™, while also assisting with Google Assistant you to keep you updated and on track with your daily schedule.
Product Features
- Cellular Connectivity — Enabled by number sharing, your phone number can be shared to your TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE and conduct VoLTE voice calls, to send or receive SMS messages or use your favorite messaging apps
- ‘SOS’ Alerts — Leveraging the 4G/LTE connectivity, SOS immediately dials 911 and broadcasts your immediate location in the event of an emergency
- Long Battery Life — Mobvoi’s trademark “Essential Mode,” first introduced in the TicWatch Pro, uses layered display technology that layers a low power consuming LCD display on top of a brilliant OLED display, so that users can switch from a ‘smart mode’ to a power saving mode (Essential Mode) that extends the battery life from 2 days to up to 30 days
- Premium Watch — Coming in at 11g lighter than the TicWatch Pro, the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE is built to impress and last by sporting a steel bezel and MIL-STD-810G durability
- TicMotion 2.0 — Whether fast-walking or running, TicMotion automatically logs your workout and records your sessions, without the need to activate the exercise(s) manually
- TicPulse — Monitoring your heart rate has never been easier with 24/7 heart rate monitoring that passively records your heart history even in “Essential Mode” for up to 30 days including detailed visualizations of your health for up to 7 days including minimum, maximum and resting heart rates; extreme heart rate alerts for rates not triggered by exercising; and steps taken
- Cloud Synchronization — Sync messaging and email app alerts from your smartphone to your TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE, Bluetooth-free and also without downloading a standalone app for Gmail, WhatsApp, Google Hangouts and SMS on Android smartphones
- IP68+ Suited for Swimming — Shockproof and swim-friendly, the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE is not only tough but also designed to give swimmers an edge
- Google Assistant — Get things done on the go with help from the Google Assistant on your wrist. Just press and hold the power button or say ‘Ok Google’ to manage daily tasks, plan your day or get answers
- NFC Payments — Google Pay™ is the fast, simple way to pay at millions of places. With Google Pay, there’s no need to dig for your cards – you can pay quickly and easily with the smartwatch already on your wrist
- Health and fitness sensors — The TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE includes a PPG heart rate sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, e-compass, ambient light sensor, and low latency off-body sensor
- Endless Watch Face & Apps Options — Select and download from thousands of watch faces and any preferred apps available through Google Play™ to suit your personal style any place, any time
More on Wear OS:
- The best smartwatches for Android you can buy today
- Wear OS app adds handy ‘Tiles’ manager w/ server-side update
- Comment: Wear OS updates are a painfully fragmented mess
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