Mobvoi Ticwatch 2 Smartwatch Review

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Ticwatch 2 Pros&Cons

Packaging

Whilst Mobvoi certainly didn’t go the ultra-premium route with the packaging for the Ticwatch 2, they’ve done a great job nonetheless – a simple black, textured cube with the word “ticwatch”. It doesn’t get much more minimal and to the point than that.
Lifting up the lid reveals the Ticwatch 2, held securely by a divider and little watch-pillow (the type you’d usually see in the packaging of traditional wrist watches).

 

What’s in the box?

• Ticwatch 2
• USB cable
• Wireless charging pad
• Instruction manual

 

What Is It?

Well, you guessed it – a smartwatch. But the Ticwatch 2 is a little different from similar items you’d get from the likes of Samsung and Motorola. What the Ticwatch 2 promises to bring to the table is a premium smartwatch experience at a more budget friendly price. How does $200 sound?

Of course, as with any product, there are certain limitations and short comings. But, for the most part, the Ticwatch 2 leaves quite an impression.

 

Design

As with pretty much all smartwatches, the Ticwatch 2 is designed to somewhat mimic the look of a traditional wristwatch. One design element that has been implemented is a very nifty quick change watch strap system. This doesn’t mean that the strap system is proprietry, though. Having a lug width of 20mm means that you can use any 20mm traditional watch strap if you wish, even if it’s only got a regular ol’ spring loaded pin. But this quick change strap certainly does open your eyes to the absolute convenience of being able to change straps in a matter of seconds, as opposed to having to fumble around with a special little tool to remove traditional spring loaded pins. A nice Barton quick release strap would look rather dashing on the Ticwatch 2.
The case is a bit on the large side – larger than that of the Gear S2, for example. So it can look a bit out of proportion on smaller wrists. But it is a very comfortable design nonetheless.

But enough about the straps, let’s have a chat about the main case and all the goodies it contains.
The 400×400 resolution 1.4-inch screen is better than what you might expect from such a budget-friendly device. It’s even got a slightly pixel density than the Gear S2 and S3 – coming in at 287 PPI versus the 278 PPI on the Samsungs. Not a great deal of difference, sure, but you’d almost expect the big brands to implement a better screen. That’s a definite point to the Ticwatch 2. The only thing that I personally don’t like is how close the display is to the glass. This looks great on a smartphone, but on a smartwatch I prefer a more recessed display. This is purely because it seems to mimic the watch face of a traditional analogue wristwatch more. But again, this is completely subjective on the basis of aesthetics.

Something else which seems rather odd at first is the fact that the “crown” is on the left of the case, rather than the right. But, there’s a reasonable explanation for this, and it’s kinda cool. Most people wear a watch on the left wrist, irrespective if they’re right or left-handed, and as such most people would interact with the device using their right hand. For this reason the crown was placed on the left of the casing in order to implement a “tickle” sensor on the right of the case. Ok, it’s not a tickle sensor linked to some sort of “giggle meter”. But it’s a touch sensitive area which is used to interact with the device.
One thing that’s really nifty about the Gear S2 and S3 devices is the rotating bezel. So with the Ticwatch 2, the touch sensitive area on the casing serves a similar purpose. Yes, it does have a touch screen, but the side touch area is pretty interesting and useful nonetheless.

Read: Samsung’s Gear Icon X heart-rate fitness earbuds, first attempt in wearable smart earphones

Functionality

Ok, so the Ticwatch 2 isn’t quite like other smartwatches out there. For starters, it doesn’t operate on the Android Wear or Tizen platform, but rather based on Android, an OS that has been dubbed Ticwear. For the most part, it’s quite similar to Android Wear, but there’s a definite bit of “flavouring” going on.
Overall it’s got a very well-thought-out interface, and performance is snappier than what we expected. Considering that the Ticwatch 2 comes from such a relatively small company, you’d think that it would be practically impossible for them to create a decent smartwatch at such a low price. Apparently not.

There’s only the occasional hiccup and lag when switching between tasks, and sometimes with the touch area on the case. But overall, this feels like a genuinely well-made product once you experience the UI and how it handles day-to-day tasks.

Oh, before we forget, the Ticwatch 2 also has voice commands. The voice command software is designed by Mobvoi too, and can be accessed by either swiping left from the home screen (watch face), or by saying “OK Tico”. To be perfectly honest, the accuracy of the system doesn’t seem far off (if at all) from that of the system implemented in the Samsung devices.

Another interesting feature is that the Ticwatch 2 has a built in speaker. This is used to play a notification tone, or to read out certain data, such weather info.

As with many smartwatches, there has also been a focus put into the fitness department. In fact, the Ticwatch 2 might even be one of the better units out there.
This comes down to the fact that it has built-in GPS functionality – great for those who want to use it for fitness.

One area of the Ticwatch 2 which works less than ideally, is trying to get more apps. You first have to go to the Ticwatch 2 specific app store via an app on the smartwatch, and then you’re guided on how to get hold of an app to install on your phone in order to browse the store on your phone.

Battery-life is a bit of a sore-point, though. The Gear S2 has a nearly 17% smaller battery, but can last up to a maximum of 3 days without needing a charge (with conservative usage). The Ticwatch 2, on the other hand, manages an absolute maximum of around a day and a half.
As with a number of smartwatches that have come before the Ticwatch 2, you fill up the smatwatch’s battery via a wireless charging dock.

Value

So, at an asking price of $200, is the Ticwatch 2 a worthy investment? Well, there would be a couple of things that need to be considered.
Firstly, it does perform well. As far as a smartwatch is concerned, the Ticwatch 2 does the job.
It also seems really well-made, and overall like a quality item. Our main concern comes into long-term ownership. The great thing about buying a product from big name brands like Sony, Samsung, Apple, etc., is that they’ve got a massive sales network. And so, it’s so much easier to buy their products locally. But more important is that if you get a problem with the device, it’s so much easier to get support for it locally.
And really, this is the main downside from buying devices like the Ticwatch 2. If you do get a problem with the device, it’s going to cost you a pretty penny to courier it off for servicing. Given the relatively short battery-life too, how long will it take before the battery has reached a point where it won’t be able to hold a decent charge anymore? A year, 2 years? These are the long term questions that you’d need to keep in the back of your mind.
But still, 200 bucks isn’t bad for a quality item, and as such the Ticwatch 2 still seems like a value-packed product.

Read: Wearable Headphones a new Project in the Wearable Burst

Rating

The TECH MERIT rating system is designed to take as many aspects of the product into account as possible, and is generally a good indicator of how it stacks up to its rivals in terms of features and specs.

Packaging
Look and feel: 8 / 10

Build
Quality control: 10 / 10
Seems durable: YES

Performance
UI Responsiveness: 8 / 10
Battery life: 6 / 10

Value
Competitive price-point: YES
Relative value: 8 / 10

Bonus Points
Lots of apps available: –
Built-in GPS: YES
Can replace straps with traditional straps: YES

Final Rating: 8.5

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