Pixel Watch may need to watch its back; the TicWatch Pro 5, dated May 24, enters the Wear OS 3 market with a powerful processor and impressive battery life that blows away other Android-enabled watches.
As a follow-up to the TicWatch Pro 3, the TicWatch Pro 5 launches with specs that may justify the numbers omitted in the naming. This Wear OS 3 watch is powered by the latest Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chipset and was initially expected to bring a major breakthrough in smartwatch battery life; the TicWatch Pro 5 appears to offer an estimated 80 hours of battery life .
The latest TicWatch's claimed stamina combined with a large 628mAh battery is truly impressive. For comparison, the Pixel Watch has a 294mAh battery for about 24 hours, while the 40mm Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 has a 284mAh battery for up to 40 hours of battery life.
The 80-hour battery life means more than three days of use, which also means you can leave your charger at home when you take the TicWatch Pro 5 on a weekend trip. Since the watch is positioned as an outdoor sports watch with a compass and barometer, the battery life will of course be reduced if you continue to use the GPS while running, hiking, or cycling. [Parent company Mobvoi's fitness tracking platform is connected to the watch, enabling activity tracking with over 100 workout modes, VO2max measurement, automatic workout tracking, sleep tracking, and stress monitoring. The watch also has a "One Tap Measurement" feature that provides a summary of health metrics. This is a feature I enjoy on the Amazfit GTR 3 Pro and will no doubt be welcomed on the new TicWatch device.
TicWatch devices have solidified their position as a Fossil-like second-tier player in the Wear OS market, behind Samsung and Google. However, it is priced at $349.99, the same as the Pixel Watch, a first-class price.
Justifying this price tag may not be easy, as certain models of the TicWatch struggled with laggy performance. However, the TicWatch Pro 5 is the first brand to launch with Wear OS 3, and the added boost of Snapdragon's top wearable chip could make this device a dark horse for the best smartwatch of the year.
I'll be testing the TicWatch Pro 5 to see how it stacks up and whether it lives up to its attractive specs.
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