Next-gen Mobvoi TicWatch Pro smartwatch shown off in first major leak
What you need to know
- Italian YouTuber Andrea Galeazzi showed off the packaging for the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS but didn't show the watch itself.
- Mobvoi hasn't announced any such smartwatch as of yet.
- The Ultra will reportedly use the Snapdragon Wear 4100+ chip, a slight upgrade on the latest TicWatches.
- The current TicWatch Pro 3 costs just under $300, making a potential Ultra watch even more expensive.
Mobvoi may have plans to release yet another smartwatch to compete against premium brands, as a follow-up to last year's powerful, stylish, and expensive TicWatch Pro 3 GPS. In the linked video below, prominent Italian tech YouTuber Andrea Galeazzi briefly showed off an official-looking box labeled TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS.
NotebookCheck first spotted the video, and notes Galeazzi's statement (in Italian) that the watch uses the Snapdragon 4100+ and military certification for damage protection.
Current TicWatches use the standard 4100, which is powerful but lacks an efficient coprocessor for running tools while in Always-On Display (AOD) mode. The 4100+ has the same powerful speeds and battery life as the standard one, except its revamped coprocessor can handle tasks like health tracking and AOD watch faces while leaving the battery-draining central processor dormant.
Currently, the Fossil Gen 6 is the only smartwatch with the 4100+ chipset.
While Galeazzi doesn't give you a close-up view of the box art or text, you can see dual pushers and a premium-patterned metallic bezel that looks attractive enough. However, it's hard to see too much difference between it and the standard Pro 3 GPS. The current Pro 3 costs just under $300, so expect the Pro 3 Ultra to jump at least $50 higher, if not more.
Newer TicWatch devices won't receive their Wear OS 3 updates until mid-2022, which would apply to the hypothetical TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS as well. That could be the biggest knock against it, making the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 (which already has it) your main Wear OS 3 alternative.
TicWatch is currently on fire as a brand. The new TicWatch Pro 3 and TicWatch E3 both sit near the top of our best Android smartwatches list, thanks to great hardware, performance, battery life, and health tracking tools. That makes the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS worth checking out, and we're hopeful there will be an official announcement soon.
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Due for a Wear OS upgrade
Rest assured that the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS will be an expensive smartwatch. If you want something more affordable that's also due to receive a Wear OS 3 update next year, the TicWatch E3 is among the best options available. It has three days of battery life in Smartwatch mode, Google Assistant/ Pay, fast performance, GPS, and plenty of helpful health sensors.
Michael is Android Central's resident expert on wearables and fitness. Before joining Android Central, he freelanced for years at Techradar, Wareable, Windows Central, and Digital Trends. Channeling his love of running, he established himself as an expert on fitness watches, testing and reviewing models from Garmin, Fitbit, Samsung, Apple, COROS, Polar, Amazfit, Suunto, and more.