Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Smartwatch Review: Does a lot and lasts just as long

The TicWatch Pro 5 has a microphone and a speaker. The essential hardware for phone calls is thus present. However, the smartwatch always needs a Bluetooth connection to the paired smartphone as it cannot use its own SIM card.

The phone app offers most features you would expect. The smartwatch displays call lists, favorites, but also all contacts of the smartphone. Additional numbers can be dialed via a dialpad, and there is quick access to the mailbox.

The voice quality is alright for everyone in the call. The smartwatch's speaker gets loud enough, you do not necessarily have to hold it close to your ear. However, the other party has slight background noise, so the suppression of background noise could have been much better. That being said, the TicWatch Pro 5 is perfectly suitable for short phone calls.

Notifications are well-implemented as well. The TicWatch displays messages sorted by apps. The smartwatch also displays emojis and even pictures, which hardly any competitor can do. Replies are possible via voice input or the virtual keyboard on the watch. Typing is surprisingly good with few incorrect inputs.

We used the new WhatsApp smartwatch app in the test. The TicWatch Pro 5 can access the complete chat history of the smartphone and reply to them after they have been enabled on the smartphone. For the first time, the smartwatch can even play back voice messages from WhattsApp. Sending voice messages is also possible and worked flawlessly in the test. The "read" status is synchronized. Only the creation of new chats is not possible via the smartwatch.

There is a surprise when it comes to the voice assistant — Google Assistant cannot be installed on the TicWatch Pro 5, and it cannot be found in the Play Store. In fact, no voice assistant is installed ex-works. However, Amazon's Alexa can be downloaded via the Play Store and installed without any problems.

After entering the Amazon account on the smartphone, Alexa can be started by selecting the app or by pressing the crown for a long time. However, it is not possible to start the device by voice. Voice commands are recognized reliably and processed quickly. The answers are given both visually on the display and audibly via the speaker. The model's voice quality is significantly better than that of the Amazfit GTR 4.

All measurement results of the smartwatch are compiled in the Mobvoi Health app. The TicWatch Pro 5 provides information about heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and stress level. The respective values can be monitored over the course of a day and also for a week or a month.

The smartwatch not only indicates the lowest and highest heart rates of the day, but also sounds an alarm in case of atrial fibrillation, premature heartbeat (cardiac arrhythmia), and too slow or too fast rates at rest.

In the case of blood oxygen saturation, the smartwatch not only gives the values of the individual measurements of the day, but also an average value. This is also evaluated. The TicWatch Pro 5 only provides a value for VO2Max after training sessions.

The stress value is indicated in four different zones — Relaxed, Low Stress, Medium Stress, and High Stress. The watch assigns the measurements to the zones and provides an overview of what percentage of the day was spent in which zone. To lower the stress level, breathing exercises are possible with the smartwatch. At the end of the exercise, the TicWatch indicates by how many points the stress value has fallen and how high the pulse is.

The TicWatch Pro 5 can track over 100 different sports. Goals can also be set for individual sports, such as reaching a distance, a training time or burning a certain number of calories.

The power-saving display remains active during the workout. A special feature is that Mobvoi uses the different possible colors of the backlight to indicate the current heart rate zone. Depending on the zone, the watch lights up blue, green, yellow, orange or red, giving a quick insight into the current heart rate. It also displays important info like workout duration, time, and steps taken.

If more info is needed, touching the display takes you to the workout overview. Depending on the sport, the smartwatch provides extensive information on different screens about individual parameters such as distance, average heart rate, average speed, and calories burned.

The data can be viewed in the Health app after the end of the workout. After a walk, the values for speed, stride frequency, stride length and the times for one kilometer are displayed. In addition, the times for each heart rate zone are given and the completed distance is plotted on a map. After the workout, the software also gives the VO2Max value and suggests a recovery time without training.

The TicWatch 5 Pro can also automatically detect running and walking, which works reliably in the test. After a few minutes in motion, the smartwatch asks whether the recording should be started. The elapsed time is automatically added up. The auto-pause function is also very good. A pause during training is detected just as quickly and reliably as the restart.

Training data can also be synchronized with the Mobvoi server. The "Sports and Health Data Platform" provides information about fitness and training data via a browser on any device.

The TicWatch Pro 5 can connect to all common satellite systems. To test the accuracy of the measurement, we took the smartwatch on a bike tour together with the Garmin Venu 2. The comparison clearly shows that the Mobvoi recognizes the route, but the radii are not hit well in curves. However, both devices measure the route's length almost equally.

Thanks to WearOS, the TicWatch Pro 5 comes with Google Maps ex-works. Destinations can also be selected directly from the watch. The smartwatch can display the navigation both with arrows and as a map. The TicWatch draws attention to itself before intersections via vibration or voice announcement. However, a paired smartphone is always necessary for navigation due to the missing SIM card.

As in previous models, Mobvoi relies on two displays in the smartwatch that are installed on top of each other. The manufacturer relies on a 1.43-inch AMOLED panel with a resolution of 326 ppi for the main display. Due to the design, the black levels are perfect and the contrasts are crisp. The screen is even convincing when displaying pictures or websites.

The panel's maximum brightness is okay. We measured 472 cd/m² with the brightness sensor disabled. Unfortunately, a measurement with the sensor enabled was not possible. Usually, the maximum brightness is higher with the sensor enabled. In comparison, a Pixel Watch, a Huawei Watch 4 Pro or a Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro are significantly brighter.

The special feature of the TicWatch Pro 5 is its second display. It is monochrome and works with a backlight that can be customized in color. The display is very easy to read, even in bright sunlight, and also saves the smartwatch's battery because the panel is much more energy-efficient than the AMOLED display. Pressing the crown or touching the display makes the main display shine.

The always-on display is always enabled on the TicWatch Pro 5. The smartwatch only allows the user to choose whether the AMOLED or the power-saving display should be used. Overall, the setting options for the display are low. You can only select a time, how long the display stays active, and what happens when the wrist is turned. However, the motion detection works very well.

The always-on display cannot be timed, but it is deactivated in bedtime mode.

Mobvoi installs the latest Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1 in the TicWatch Pro 5. However, the smartwatch does not always perform better in the benchmark measurements than the TicWatch Pro 3 GPS with the Snapdragon Wear 4100. The differences in the benchmarks are within a manageable range, but the predecessor performs better than the TicWatch Pro 5 in both the Sunspider and Kraken benchmarks.

Both Mobvoi watches leave the Pixel Watch and the Galaxy Watch5 Pro with Exynos processors clearly behind in all benchmark measurements. Mobvoi does not install a browser on the TicWatch Pro 5 by default, but an installation via the Play Store is possible without any problems.

A positive aspect is that Mobvoi provides the SiP with two GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. The TicWatch Pro 5 convinces with a smooth UI in everyday use. Transitions are smooth, scrolling works without jerks and apps open quickly. The smartwatch's performance is convincing.

The storage can be used for installing additional apps. It is also possible to make music from streaming services available offline, for example for workouts without a smartphone.

The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 offers a well-rounded overall package. It is particularly successful that the smartwatch with WearOS offers a wide range of functions and a comprehensive app selection and can still be worn for several days without interruption. This is possible even without using the second display.

The battery run time increases further with the second display without any restrictions because Mobvoi has the technology well under control. The readability of the panel also fits. In addition, the TicWatch measures pulse rate and blood oxygen saturation reliably. The satellite connection is usable, but it could have been more accurate.

Thanks to the new Snapdragon processor, the everyday performance is also good and numerous apps can be used smoothly. The smartwatch also offers enough storage space.

The TicWatch Pro 5 is an excellent all-rounder. It masters training and everyday life effortlessly.

Users of the TicWatch Pro 5 will only have to compromise on some special functions. There's no ECG measurement, blood pressure measurement, or return path navigation. We would also like to see an LTE model so that phone calls, payments, and navigation are possible without a paired smartphone.

If apps are less important, it is worth taking a look at the Huawei Watch 4 Pro that offers better battery life and a brighter display but is also much more expensive. WearOS and a similarly good battery life is offered by the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro.