More hybrid smartwatches have been released than any before, combining connectivity with a fashionable, traditional-looking watch. Hybrids are frequently introduced at a lower price than touchscreen smartwatches, and they’re even made by several watchmakers with impeccable reputations. Is there still a reason to buy a watch with a complete touchscreen? At a tempting price of $160, Mobvoi’s Ticwatch E runs Google’s Wear OS and includes functions that hybrids don’t.
That’s half the price of most touchscreen smartwatches, with the added bonus of a heart rate sensor and built-in GPS, which is rare to see in a watch at this price. Does that mean corners have been cut elsewhere? We’ve been wearing the Ticwatch E for a week to find out.
Unisex design
The appeal of a hybrid is that it does not have the appearance of a smartwatch. The Ticwatch E makes no attempt to hide the fact that it is a smartwatch. The 44mm body is spherical and thick, with a 1.4-inch touchscreen with 400 x 400 pixels. The Ticwatch E Ice in particular, which has a white body with a clear polycarbonate outer cover and a very soft white silicone strap, is what we’re utilizing. The strap is similar to Apple’s Sport band for the Apple Watch, and it resists moisture and keeps you comfy all day.
Ticwatch has made the E a “lefty,” with the crown on the left side of the body, which is unusual. This is unusual in the watch market, but it makes the button simpler to press and prevents it from digging into your wrist. A heart rate sensor is located beneath the body, while an ambient light sensor is located on the top edge. The Ticwatch E has a very simple design that reminds us of a Swatch watch, which was originally developed as a second watch and is available in a variety of colorful colors.
The Ticwatch E makes no attempt to hide the fact that it is a smartwatch.
On the Ticwatch E, we’re undecided. It’s constructed entirely of plastic, from the crown to the clasp, and it looks cheap on the wrist. It fits better on the wrist, and the Ice version’s clear lugs practically disappear, giving the watch a sleeker appearance. They do have a delicate feel to them, and we’re concerned that a hard hit will break them. When swiping over the screen, the Ticwatch E feels cheap since the screen is little sunken in the body and the sides are a touch sharp. A chamfered metal screen edge or a rounded plastic screen edge would improve the watch’s use.
Dim screen, simple software
The 1.4-inch circular screen has a great resolution and is totally circular. Indoors, it’s bright enough, but outdoors, especially in direct sunlight, it suffers – you may need to turn up the brightness to maximum.
The longest work of fiction since Dan Brown last put pen to paper is 48 hours of battery life.
When scrolling through options, the software responds quickly, and the watch doesn’t make Wear OS difficult to operate. Wear OS is nearly identical on every smartwatch that runs it, and the Ticwatch E stands out primarily by offering a variety of watch faces and a fitness app.
Battery and performance
Instead of a Qualcomm or Intel processor, the Ticwatch E employs MediaTek’s wearable technology platform, which helps Mobvoi sell the Ticwatch E at a low price. The good news is that it keeps Wear OS moving along smoothly and at a reasonable pace. In our opinion, the middling speed has more to do with the operating system than with the processor.
Despite having only 512MB of RAM, it happily ran all of the programs we placed on the watch. There’s 4GB of internal storage, which we used to store Google Play Music playlists, which we were able to listen to without issue using Bluetooth headphones.
Mobvoi’s website does not specify the amount of the Ticwatch’s battery, only that it will last for 48 hours. We think the battery is small after using the Ticwatch E for a few weeks, because the 48-hour battery life claim is the biggest work of fiction since Dan Brown last put pen to paper. Our model could only manage a 12-hour working day on average, and that’s without using the built-in GPS.
It’s also unpredictable. We switched the watch on in the middle of the day with around 70% battery left, and it died about 6 p.m. – all it did was respond to notifications. Streaming Bluetooth music and using the heart rate sensor to track activity at the gym depleted the battery in less than an hour.
Every day, without fail, you’ll charge the Ticwatch E.
Price, availability, and warranty
The Ticwatch E is far from flawless, but Mobvoi is aware of this and has priced the watch accordingly. It costs $160, which is less than half the price of several popular Wear OS smartwatches. Here’s where we’ll return to the Swatch comparison. It’s a fashion accessory. We don’t expect it to last forever or go with everything we wear, but it isn’t outrageously priced.
It’s simple to obtain. The Ticwatch E is available for purchase on Ticwatch’s website, as well as Amazon and Best Buy in the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom. It comes with a one-year warranty that covers repairs or replacements for broken timepieces. It excludes the battery and any unintentional damage.