I've owned the Sony Smartwatch 3, LG Watch Sport, Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 4G and now the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 3. Of each of these watches, the TicWatch Pro 3 wins the prize for GPS connection speed (and maintaining a connection) and accuracy. Now, since this is not a Garmin tracker watch (I've owned a basic one of those too), the accuracy won't be close to comparison because Garmin's primary purpose is GPS tracking. So, of all the smartwatches I’ve owned, this one is also the best for GPS run tracking. It really wins the prize for just about everything else as you'll soon read...
I'll get the deltas (or the stuff I thought could be improved) out of the way first.
1) Like the Pro 4G, and maybe this is an industry standard going forward, a charger plug would be great to have rather than guessing if the charger I have laying around the house is suitable and won't blow the watch up if it is left plugged in too long. I get that different countries have different plug configurations and for cost consideration, they don't include one. It's just a drag.
2) The "rubbery" finish of the band seems to be prone to scuffs. The band itself looks great and the scuffing is only visible if you specifically look for it. It is replaceable with a 22mm band of my choosing which is a great plus.
3) I see the blood oxygen sensor is a "bell and whistle" that may be a response to a certain fruity watch including it on their latest watch offering. (The Apple commercial for it even has people in space saying it has a blood oxygen sensor! How many of us are in that situation??) I really don't see the need for it. Maybe the uber athlete has some use for it or those really concerned about COVID... but the average user to me would have little use for it.
4) This is not a knock on the watch or its software.. but a huge negative on Google as Google Play Music no longer is compatible with Wear OS… as it is being moved to the Google cellar of has-been software. What has replaced it in the google-sphere is Youtube Music… but there is no Youtube Music app yet. So, my youtube music subscription is useless for this AND I can’t listen to music without my phone attached to me and use all the extra storage space given to me on this watch. Shame shame google!
5) I'm not happy with the new charger. Wireless would be great, but I think the charger that came with the Pro 4G was better than this one. It comes with a USB-A on one end with a proprietary connector on the other end that magnetically connects to the watch via some pins on the watch. This connection comes off easily if you pick up the watch while it is charging. The charger on the pro 4G was kinda like a case that the whole watch body fit into. That design seems more robust than this one. See the pics. The large rounded one is the Pro 4G charger and the smaller one is the Pro 3 charger.
The Awesomes and Exceptionals!
1) I love that it is lighter, thinner and less intrusive on my wrist compared to the Pro 4G. It is very welcome and comfortable.
2) GPS! GPS! GPS! I use the GNSS app to test this feature and compared to all the previous watches I've used, this one connects the fastest, is the most accurate, and stays connected during my runs. I ran with both the TicWatch 3 and the Pro 4G (without assist from the cellular signal). The Pro 4G lost connection soon after it connected and drained the battery about 20% trying to connect again. The TicWatch Pro 3 stayed connected and only sipped about 2% from the battery during my 1.5 mile run. I used the TicExercise app (that connects directly to Strava btw.. another huge PLUS) to track the run on both watches. The GPS tracking on the Pro3 was right on while the Pro 4G... because it lost connection was way off. See my video of the GPS connection speed on GNSS.
3) Battery Life. Compared to early Wear OS watches, the battery life of this watch is phenomenal.. thanks to the LCD screen that is on all the time and the new processor that is said to be more efficient. I have Wifi, 24 hour pulse tracking, BT, tilt to wake, touch to wake, auto detection of activities enabled. I once had the blood oxygen sensor enabled for all day recording but didn't really see the need for it. What I've found over the last several days is that I can get 2.5 days battery life. I don't plan on testing the "essential mode" battery life.. although my experience with the Pro 4G is that it is phenomenal in that mode.
4) Software. I love the two rows of apps on the app drawer. That is a new thing compared to the Pro 4G. The selection of apps overall is very good for Wear OS.
TicZen-- this is a stress measurement app that can be set to automatically measure stress levels throughout the days and alerts you when your stress is too high… which then sends you to…
TicBreathe-- an app that helps reduce stress with measured breathing exercises. Quite helpful!
TicSleep-- this app uses all the sensors that you let it use to measure things like sleep efficiency, time in each sleep stage, blood oxygen level during sleep (I guess this is useful to see if you stop breathing during sleep… some people do this I hear), pulse during sleep, etc. All the info is then transferred (with your permission, of course), to your mobvoi account and displayed on the Mobvoi app on your phone where you can look at your sleeping history.
TicExercise-- I believe this is the bread and butter of this watch capability… With TicMotion turned on, the watch can detect what kind of exercise you’re doing and start tracking it. I had this on when my son started a tag game in the house. It sensed I was running around the house and started tracking…. and then transferred the activity to Strava. During a road run, time, distance, pulse, calories, speed, pace, # of steps, altitude change, and of course GPS data are tracked. The different exercises available to be tracked are walking, running, swimming, rowing, elliptical, trail running, hiking, and yoga.
TicHearing--it records the decibel level of the noise around you. This is probably used in the ticZen app as well.
VoiceMemo-- This is a handy recording app. It transfers the memo to your phone and provides a transcript of the recording at your request. It doesn’t transcribe automatically.. you have to push a button to make that happen. My test transcription was right on.
4) Watch faces. There are MANY MANY to choose from that are free. And there are MANY MANY MANY more to choose from if you want to pay for them. Some pay watch faces were designed by Mobvoi specifically for the Ticwatches.
5) Phone calls on the watch- When it is connected via Blue Tooth to your phone, you can answer calls while speaking into the watch and hearing the caller on it. Very nice to not have to reach for my phone. The normal notifications and ability to accept or reject calls via the phone work flawlessly.
6) Customer Service... this isn't part of the watch itself but it helps to know that an email to customer service is responded to in a very timely manner. This is my experience anyways. They are very responsive.