TicWatch Pro 3 LTE: Mobvoi's smartwatch performs better than the Apple Watch and Samsung's Galaxy Watch in the speed test

The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 3 LTE is a TicWatch Pro 3 GPS with integrated cellular communication. This makes the fitness tracker completely self-sufficient - during outdoor sports thanks to GPS and when making calls and retrieving data without a smartphone thanks to the cellular module. On the other hand, it consumes more energy because the battery's capacity of 595 mAh isn't higher than that of its sibling model.

The review of the TicWatch Pro 3 GPS, which is identical except for the cellular module, already describes the case and hardware. Here is a summary of the essentials: Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 4100 is at the core of the hardware, and it can operate with 1 GB of RAM. There's 8 GB at disposal for data in gross terms, but only a bit over 4 GB is available in net terms.

Both models communicate with all current satellite systems and measure heart rate as well as blood oxygen saturation, but they don't generate an ECG. Both download updates and additional apps directly via WLAN instead of via the smartphone.

With a speaker, microphone, and NFC for Google Assistant and Google Pay, they provide the essential functions of any Wear OS smartwatch. They are controlled via the touchscreen and the two buttons on the side.

A special feature is the dual-display design, where Mobvoi puts a low-power FSTN LCD over an AMOLED screen. The FSTN LCD updates the contents displayed only once per second and remains transparent when the AMOLED is active.

The TicWatch Pro 3 has an always-on display. If you deactivate it, the FSTN LCD continues to show the date, time, and step count, but it hardly consumes more energy than if the screen remained black.

The TicWatch Pro 3 can run for several days if the FSTN LCD is generally activated instead of the AMOLED. In this case, however, you also give up the essential smartwatch functions.

To pair the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 3 LTE with an Android smartphone or iPhone, you first download Google's Wear OS app from the respective store.

In addition, there's an app from Mobvoi in both stores. It comes with extensive instructions, synchronizes audio notes created with the TicWatch Pro 3 LTE, and downloads additional watch faces from the Internet. The Mobvoi app also includes a dashboard for the tracked data; you can read more on this under the section regarding health and fitness.

To make sure the dashboard can display all the data tracked during the whole day, you should open all health-related Mobvoi apps on the watch at least once after setup and allow access to the sensors. Nearly all options that are usually controlled by other manufacturers through the app, are controlled by Mobvoi on the watch itself. This includes, for example, whether it measures heart rate and blood oxygen saturation manually or automatically, and whether it warns the user when their heart rate lies outside of defined thresholds.

Like all Wear OS smartwatches, the TicWatch downloads additional apps from the Play Store as required. A short press on the upper button leads to the Play Store and the remaining apps that are installed. A long press launches Google Assistant. A double tap on the lower button launches Google Pay, and a short press launches an individually configurable function or app. A long press on the lower button opens a menu with special functions like making an emergency call, draining the speaker after swimming, or switching to the TicWatch Pro 3's power-saving mode.

As with all Wear OS smartwatches, you use horizontal gestures to swipe through the widgets, which are no longer limited to five on the TicWatch Pro 3 like they used to be. From the top, you bring up a quick panel to mute the smartwatch, put it into sleep or airplane mode, or make the connected smartphone ring when it can't be found. A vertical upward gesture opens the notifications panel.

Mobvoi initially only launched the TicWatch Pro 3 LTE in Germany and the UK, where it only connects to the Vodafone network. The menu item for setting up the eSIM profile on the watch only appears in the Wear OS app when a SIM card with the Vodafone OneNumber service is inserted in the smartphone. After setting up the eSIM profile, you can limit the data volume and deactivate data roaming if necessary.

The watch displays notifications including emojis in a summarized overview. A double tap on a single notification enlarges the preview of the respective notification, but it doesn't open it, so it's never displayed completely. You can delete them individually or all at once.

The TicWatch Pro 3 LTE automatically measures oxygen saturation at night and several times a day if desired. We also compared additional individual manual measurements with a medically certified device; on average, the smartwatch was off by 1% compared with the certified measuring device.

Even if it's not in the name, like with the TicWatch Pro 3 GPS, the TicWatch Pro 3 LTE also works independently of the smartphone during outdoor training thanks to a dedicated GPS. Like its counterpart, it supports all common satellite systems.

A training recognition feature automatically tracks walks, training runs, and bike rides - if activated, because permanent monitoring naturally shortens battery life. The fitness tracker only records the route when you confirm the detected activity. If you ignore the notification, you can still save the run or bike ride at the end; only the map is missing from the log in this case.

The 13 workout modes in the training app, including elliptical trainer, rowing machine, and swimming, are the same as in the GPS model. After specifying the pool length, the sports watch notifies you of an achieved distance or, alternatively, of a time goal that has been reached. Sports like aerobics alternatively report the achievement of the targeted calorie consumption.

The Free Style mode logs multiple sets if required. A HIIT workout mode, such as in the Huawei Watch Fit, or a separate time-controlled interval training mode, such as in the Garmin Lily, is missing. In particular, we miss the Fitify app on the TicWatch Pro 3 LTE, which was nice on the TicWatch Pro 3 GPS with its guided bodyweight workouts like Tabata.

Among the smartwatches that we could subject to a browser test, the superiority of the latest Qualcomm SoC, which is found in both TicWatch Pro 3 models, is impressive. Not only is the Snapdragon Wear 4100 faster than its predecessors, but the TicWatch Pro 3 also performs better than the Galaxy Watch 3 with Samsung's Exynos 9110 and the Apple Watch Series 6 with the Apple S6.

If you are in the United States, you can easily find the TicWatch Pro 3 GPS model on Amazon for $299.99. At the time of writing, the TicWatch Pro 3 LTE's cellular functionality can only be used in the UK, Germany, and Spain. You can find this model on Amazon UK for £329.99 (~$460).