TicWatch E3 review: One to watch for the future?

(Pocket-lint) - The TicWatch E3 is the mid-range smartwatch enactment successful Chinese outfit Mobvoi's collection, with the TicWatch Pro 3 sitting up astatine the apical and its budget-tastic TicWatch GTH down astatine the different end.

With the E3, you're getting a batch of the features included successful the Pro 3, including built-in GPS, Mobvoi's ain suite of wellness and fittingness apps, and it each runs connected Google's Wear OS platform.

It's besides powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 4100 processor and, on with the Ticwatch Pro 3, volition beryllium upgraded to Wear OS 3 - which has already featured connected the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4. So portion the TicWatch E3 could extremity up being a large smartwatch successful the aboriginal acknowledgment to this OS upgrade, is it a bully smartwatch to ain close now? 

Design and display

• 1.3-inch AMOLED display, 360 x 360 resolution
• IP68 dust- and water-resistance
• 20mm interchangeable bands
• 12.6mm thick

The Ticwatch E3 packs a nicely-sized 44mm circular ticker lawsuit that's made from polycarbonate and solid fibre. It weighs successful astir 32g erstwhile you origin successful the accompanying 20mm strap.

That lawsuit is disposable successful a Panther Black colour, which is truly a precise matte grey shadiness that offers a astute but harmless look. You tin swiftly region the strap to driblet successful thing a bolder and much vibrant than the achromatic silicone fig it comes with.

Breaking up that beauteous elemental look are 2 carnal buttons connected the close broadside of the case, which tin beryllium utilized to get you into the app surface and offers a shortcut to Mobvoi's ain workout tracking features.

That's accompanied by a 2.5D solid screen, which does assistance to springiness the E3 a much aesthetically pleasing look. Front and centre is simply a 1.3-inch LCD display, which makes it a smaller surface than the 1 connected the TicWatch Pro 3. It's besides little solution and it isn't the AMOLED benignant similar you'll find connected the Pro, but it's a agleam and colourful show wide - and it's 1 you tin usage successful always-on show mode if you privation the surface awake 24/7.

Like the bulk of Mobvoi's TicWatch devices, this is simply a smartwatch you tin spell swimming with and permission it connected erstwhile you leap into the ablution successful the morning. That's due to the fact that it carries an IP68 rating.

Software and performance

• Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100
• Works with Google Pay
• Works with Android and iOS
• Includes Mobvoi suite of apps

The E3 runs connected Google's Wear OS 2, giving you features similar entree to the Google Play Store, Google Assistant, notifications, and there's NFC connected committee to marque payments with Google Pay. Mobvoi besides adds successful immoderate of its ain idiosyncratic interface (UI) elements, specified arsenic swapping the modular Wear app surface for its own, which we deliberation is overmuch nicer to interact with and feels amended optimised to the circular display.

Ultimately though, you're utilizing the aforesaid Wear gestures to get around, similar swiping near to spot Mobvoi and Google's Tiles (widgets), swiping up to spot your watercourse of notifications, oregon swiping down to spot those speedy settings. Using Wear OS is fine, but continues to deficiency the other polish you'll find connected thing similar Apple's watchOS. 

That could possibly alteration with the caller mentation of Wear OS, which is being built by Google and Samsung, and it has been confirmed that the E3 is susceptible of moving it and volition beryllium updated astatine immoderate constituent either successful 2021 oregon 2022. 

The cardinal present to the E3 getting that upgrade seems to prevarication with what's powering it. It runs connected Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform, which fewer Wear OS watches really include, with the TicWatch Pro 3 the different notable ticker to see it. That's accompanied by 1GB oregon RAM and 8GB of storage, which arsenic a bundle keeps things moving bully and smoothly connected the E3 - and we person zero complaints astir the wide performance.. 

The operation of Google and Mobvoi bundle elements enactment nicely connected the whole. What volition beryllium absorbing is however Wear OS 3 volition alteration that. Will Mobvoi's beingness beryllium arsenic strong? Particularly erstwhile Samsung and Fitbit volition person beardown influences connected the aboriginal of the platform. Only clip volition tell.

What doesn't enactment rather truthful good is the request to person 2 companion apps. You request Google's ain Wear OS to acceptable things up, positive the Mobvoi one. The second has been fixed a invited clean-up and, arsenic a result, is simply a overmuch nicer app to usage - but is inactive precise clunky successful places. Hopefully everything volition yet beryllium brought into 1 unified app erstwhile Wear OS 3 arrives, which would marque the acquisition of pairing, syncing, viewing information and tweaking settings a acold much straightforward one.

Sports and fittingness tracking 

• Automatic workout tracking
• Built-in bosom complaint show and GPS
• New HIIT workout mode

The E3 has each of the cardinal sensors connected committee to marque it a perchance apical notch smartwatch for tracking your wellness and fitness. In reality, it does a bully capable occupation of it, but there's surely country for improvement.

On the sensor front, you're getting a PPG optical bosom complaint show for measuring bosom complaint 24/7 and during exercise. There's besides an SpO2 sensor to measurement humor oxygen levels passim the time and night, but it's not a diagnostic designed for aesculapian use. You person staple wearable question sensors to way indoor workout and excavation swimming - with GPS, Glonass and Beidou outer systems supported to accurately seizure outdoor moving and cycling sessions.

For sports tracking, you tin prime retired a third-party app from the Play Store oregon opt for Mobvoi's ain workout app. It offers 20 nonrecreational modes and that includes the likes of running, cycling (indoor and outdoor), indoor rowing, and much niche pursuits Tawekwondo and Badminton.  

It's besides introduced a caller HIIT mode wherever you tin make HIIT workouts to travel connected the watch. There's a radical of exercises to prime from and portion Mobvoi does connection automatic workout designation enactment for immoderate modes, it's not susceptible of counting your squats and burpees. It's a good designed mode, though, and with HIIT grooming a large fittingness trend, it's bully to spot Mobvoi amended cater for it.

On shorter 20-30 infinitesimal outdoor runs, the E3 held up good connected the GPS accuracy beforehand against the Garmin Forerunner 245 and moving metrics similar mean gait was mostly reliable. However, bosom complaint show isn't perfect, usually pushing into different bosom complaint portion compared to a Garmin HRM-Pro thorax strap monitor.

If you attraction much astir fittingness tracking, you tin number your steps present from Mobvoi's ain apps oregon Google Fit. There's slumber monitoring present excessively with Mobvoi's TicSleep 2.0 offering a breakdown of slumber duration and slumber stages - including REM sleep, which is tied to representation and learning. On the accuracy front, it offered akin regular measurement counts to a Garmin fittingness tracker and halfway slumber stats held up against the Fitbit Sense.

For wellness monitoring, Mobvoi offers a postulation of apps that volition assistance you show bosom rate, humor oxygen levels, sound exposure, accent and marque usage of guided breathing exercises to get you backmost to a calmer state. There's besides a caller TicCare enactment successful the Mobvoi app that lets you support a person oculus connected wellness stats from different TicWatch users successful your family.

The 24/7 bosom complaint monitoring didn't consciousness hugely reliable though - and was astatine times 20bpm disconnected our accustomed resting bosom rate. That besides meant bosom complaint powered accent monitoring didn't consciousness hugely insightful either. Blood oxygen measurements were much accurate, but lacked immoderate actionable insights.

The TicHearing app - which uses the onboard microphone to measurement dependable successful your situation - felt a small connected the delicate broadside recognising comparatively quiescent noises arsenic overmuch louder ones.

The E3 truthful feels similar a amended acceptable arsenic a fittingness tracker than a sports oregon wellness ticker based connected our experience.

Battery life

• 380mAh artillery capacity
• Essential mode for extended use

Wear OS smartwatches connected the full don't committedness overmuch connected the artillery beforehand - and that doesn't alteration with the E3. Its artillery capableness is bully for 1 day. You could compression retired a spot much than that, but you'd person to beryllium much restrictive with the features you usage - things similar utilizing GPS and having the surface successful always-on mode.

We saw a drop-off of astir 50-60 per cent connected astir days - and that was including a tracked workout. If you instrumentality it to furniture for slumber tracking too, past we recovered it was moving debased the adjacent morning.

Mobvoi does connection its Essential mode, which kicks successful erstwhile artillery drops beneath 5 per cent. That switches the ticker to conscionable a azygous surface wherever you tin presumption the clip and day and volition inactive show bosom complaint and measurement count. It's amended than immoderate powerfulness redeeming modes you'll find connected different smartwatches, but yet we'd similar if this ticker could compression retired much than conscionable a day's afloat usage successful afloat smartwatch mode.

Writing by Michael Sawh. Editing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 9 September 2021.