In the wake of the launch of the TicWatch Pro 5 last week, discounts are easy to find for the previous-generation TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra and TicWatch E3 – you probably shouldn’t buy either one, though.
The TicWatch E3 is a $199 smartwatch that was launched in 2021 as a budget-friendly Wear OS smartwatch that didn’t sacrifice much to hit its price point. To this day, it’s still one of the best values in a full-feature smartwatch for Android users, and at this point, it’s even more affordable.
As it stands today, an on-page coupon on Amazon brings the price of the TicWatch E3 down even lower – just $140, which is frankly a steal given the hardware at play.
Meanwhile, the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra, released later in 2021, offers a similar core spec sheet with Snapdragon Wear 4100, but with a bigger display, big battery, and dual display that enables an extra-long battery and a power-saving mode that can last weeks at a time.
And, at the moment, Amazon is selling the Pro 3 Ultra for $209, $80 below its usual $299 price tag.
Personally, I’m all for getting discounted products, and getting a last-gen smartwatch is a great way to save. But in the current state of Mobvoi’s products, I can only actively discourage prospective buyers from picking up these smartwatches, even at a discount.
Top comment by Jonathan Figueroa
I got the TicWatch 3 Pro GPS and had it going on 3+ years now and still love it. It has been an amazing daily driver smartwatch that still lasts 2½ days per charge measuring everything in the world that it can. I'd still recommend it if you could get it on a great sale. Smart watches don't need to be the lastest and greatest like their phone companions. They just need to function when you need them to and last long enough to enjoy them. The TicWatch 3 Pro series does that perfectly even to this day. Wear OS 3.0 would be nice but I wouldn't want to lose my Google assistant for it. I use that on my watch constantly and for the perks that 3.0 give it isn't enough to justify the sacrifice.
Mobvoi has been incredibly slow to bring the promised Wear OS 3 update to these TicWatch models. Fossil delivered Wear OS 3 over seven months ago at this point, while Mobvoi has only offered a vague statement about some proprietary hardware in the TicWatch E3 and Pro 3 Ultra leading to the lengthy delay, and that testing is apparently finally underway. When we asked again last week, Mobvoi only reiterated that work is “ongoing.”
In other words, we still have no clue when these watches will get the long-awaited update, which is becoming increasingly important for future app functionality, even if it comes with the trade-off of losing Google Assistant.
Don’t fall for the discount, at least for now.
The TicWatch Pro 5 is available now, with Wear OS 3 out of the box. And if you’re looking for a discounted option, maybe go for a refurbished Galaxy Watch 4 at just over $100 or a Galaxy Watch 5, which Samsung is currently discounting by as much as $70.
More on Wear OS:
- TicWatch Pro 5 Review: A fast but bloated Wear OS 3 watch that lasts for days
- Source: Google planning to launch Pixel Watch 2 with Pixel 8
- Galaxy Watch 6 Classic leaks with the return of the rotating bezel [Gallery]
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