A year ago, I presented the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5, an extremely complete connected watch featuring a dual-screen system that optimizes battery life over several days. In my opinion, the best WearOS-based connected watch on the market. The manufacturer has improved this version even further, not with a v6, but with a TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro version. An “update”, therefore, of the v5, but one that improves autonomy even further, while revising the design a little. A fan of the brand since its first models, I naturally tested this new version, which raises the bar even higher. I've had it on my wrist for several weeks now, so let's take a closer look. Please note that a lot of things will be repeated from the test of the 2023 model, as the two are very, very similar.
Unpacking and presentation of the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro
The TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro arrives in uncluttered packaging, true to the brand's motto of simply showcasing the connected watch:
On the back, however, are its many features. These include the use of the Snapdragon W5+ Gen1 processor dedicated to connected objects, the dual-screen system, MIL-STD-810H certification ensuring exceptional robustness, water resistance up to 5 meters, integrated GPS and barometer, as well as heart rate tracking, VO2, and much more.
Inside, of course, is the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro, complete with charging cable and instructions.
The case of the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro is made from an alloy of stainless steel, 7000 series aluminum and high-strength nylon (a polyamide-type material filled with glass fiber), offering optimum strength and lightness. The 1.43″ AMOLED display with 466 x 466 pixel resolution is protected by sapphire glass, the kind usually found on luxury watches, instead of the usual Corning Gorilla. This sapphire glass makes the touchscreen even more resistant to knocks and drops. The design of the ring around the case is slightly different from that of its big sister, with ridges instead of a smooth ring.
The originality of Mobvoi watches lies, of course, in the use of a dual-layer screen, an innovation that the manufacturer first put forward with its first models, and which it has continued to refine ever since. Above the color AMOLED screen is a ULP display, which is extremely energy-efficient. This screen constantly displays information such as the time, without the need to “wake up” the watch, and is also used for the essential mode, which shows crucial information during sports sessions, while minimizing energy consumption. It's this manufacturing secret that enables Mobvoi to offer an autonomy of up to a week!
Of course, this “Enduro” version inherits the rotating crown that appeared last year, like those found on Apple and Samsung models, but it has been made slightly larger, making it even easier to use. Simply turn the knob to navigate smoothly through the menus, which proves very practical in use.
Another physical button above the central crown can be customized, for one-click launch of your favorite application or function.
Beneath the watch face are the various sensors for health monitoring: heart rate, blood oxygen level, temperature, and so on.
This is also where you'll find the connector for recharging. No induction recharging here, you'll have to use the manufacturer's cable:
Fortunately, installation is facilitated by a magnetic connection to the watch:
As you can see, this Enduro version is very, very close to the 2023 version. You really have to put them side by side to realize that the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro is indeed thinner than its big sister (50.15 mm x 48 mm x 11.95 mm on this new version). The case is now 0.25 millimetres thinner, which makes it less imposing on smaller wrists.
As for the rest, we find the same elements: 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, a speaker and a microphone (for hands-free telephony in particular), an NFC chip (contactless payment), Bluetooth 5.2 and 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connectivity, and a vibration motor for silent operation.
Finally, while this model comes with a black (obsidian) fluorosilicone strap, it is interchangeable with any standard 24mm strap.
Mobvoi also offers a “slate” version, a pale green color that's also very attractive.
Using the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro smartwatch
To operate, the TicWatch Pro Enduro 5 needs to be connected to a smartphone. This is achieved by pairing it with the Mobvoi application. Although it runs on WearOS 3.5, this model is not compatible with the smartphone's WearOS application. It is therefore essential to use the manufacturer's application.
During set-up, it is possible to automatically synchronize your Google account, enabling you to retrieve your Wi-Fi connections, passwords and usual applications, if these are available on WearOS. This makes getting started a whole lot easier!
The assistant suggests that you install some of the applications available on your smartphone in their smartwatch version (such as Home Assistant, for example), as well as other applications deemed useful on this type of device. Nothing is compulsory, of course, but we appreciate the offer!
It is also possible to configure an unlock mode for the watch. Although this step is optional, it becomes essential if you wish to use contactless payment via Google Wallet. For security reasons, you'll need to define an unlock code or pattern.
Once these few steps have been completed, the smartwatch can be customized according to your preferences. The most visible aspect is, of course, the dial, which can be selected from hundreds of different models, both free and paid.
Some dials even allow you to customize the color and select the information to be displayed.
The smartwatch can display several screens for navigating between different information, called “maps”. Up to 10 different maps can be activated to access various functions or information, such as a calculator, timer, alarm, GPS navigation or music control. The choice is yours.
Various settings can then be adjusted, including which notifications to receive, to prevent the wrist from vibrating permanently at the slightest notification.
Using WearOS offers a considerable advantage over smartwatches running on a proprietary system, as it provides access to the Play Store and a multitude of available applications.
We mentioned contactless payment, as well as GPS navigation via Google Maps. This function is particularly useful for cycling or hiking, as it allows you to get around without having to hold your phone in your hand. Various hiking applications, such as Alltrails, also have their smartwatch counterparts, which is very practical!
We also have music control, such as Spotify:
It's even possible to store a few pieces of music directly on the watch, so you can listen to them even when you're off the network and without a smartphone.
Of course, Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro pays particular attention to health and activity tracking, where it proves extremely comprehensive. The watch itself monitors a wide range of indicators.
Steps tracked throughout the day, with evaluation against target:
Track heart rate throughout the day:
But also over several days, with alerts on the slightest anomaly:
The TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro offers exhaustive monitoring of health indicators, thanks to advanced sensors such as the HD PPG heart rate sensor and the SpO2 sensor for analyzing oxygen levels in the blood. Although it doesn't feature an ECG sensor to monitor blood pressure, as Withings does for example, it can still detect various heart problems such as arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, irregular heartbeats, tachycardia (less than 60 beats/minute) and bradycardia (more than 100 beats/minute).
These indicators can be monitored using the various “maps”, but the one-click measurement function is particularly useful. In a matter of seconds, it measures current heart rate, oxygen in the blood, respiratory rate, stress level and general cardiac health, offering a rapid and comprehensive overview of health status.
Compared with a blood pressure monitor and another Garmin heart rate monitor used for running, the results are almost identical, with a difference of just one beat. So it's safe to say that this TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro is highly accurate in its measurements.
What's more, this smartwatch can measure body temperature, atmospheric pressure (barometer) and altitude (altimeter), features less common on other competing smartwatches.
All this data can also be processed via the Mobvoi health application, which is very comprehensive. Sleep tracking, for example, is one of the most detailed I've seen.
It tracks the different phases of sleep (light, deep), as well as resting heart rate and blood oxygen levels. All of this is done automatically, with the watch detecting when you go to bed or take a nap.
Sleep durations, bedtime and wake-up times, and even a monthly representation of your sleep quality are all available!
In short, it's extremely comprehensive!
This Enduro version also includes a new sleep feature: snoring detection. However, you'll have to start the detection when you go to bed, and stop it once you're awake. You can even select background music to help you sleep.
Although not a medical device, this function will enable you to adjust your sleeping position or seek medical advice based on the data collected.
Note that this advanced function is available via a free 12-month “VIP sleep” subscription in the Mobvoi Health application. After this first free year, you'll need to take out a subscription if you want to continue to benefit from all the snore tracking features.
Of course, you can also track your various sporting activities, such as walking sessions, which are automatically detected by the watch:
This smartwatch is capable of recognizing around a hundred different physical activities (110 to be precise), which can also be selected directly on its dial. Padel, cross-country skiing, back extension, stepper, crunches, etc. are added to the “classic” activities such as walking, running, swimming and so on.
It can also be integrated with third-party fitness applications (Strava, adidasRunning, Nike Run Club, etc.).
The LCD screen, used to display essential information such as time, activity time, heart rate and distance covered, proves particularly practical for outdoor sports activities, thanks to its perfect legibility even in bright sunlight. As with its big sister, the manufacturer has renewed the use of six different screen colors to indicate heart rate zones. This means you can see at a glance where you are in your workout, without having to read detailed information on the screen.
These colors can also be used to make the screen more readable in sunlight, simply by selecting the desired backlight color from the 18 available.
A smartwatch to control your home
Numerous applications are available to control your connected home, such as Nuki to unlock your front door, Hue to manage your lighting, or Home Assistant to control your entire connected home. This is one of the great advantages of having the Android Play Store, unlike more proprietary systems such as Samsung's.
The only fly in the ointment: despite the presence of a built-in microphone and speaker, voice commands via Google Assistant are not available. This function was available on previous versions, but has disappeared with the Pro 5. It's a pity, because we have to admit that having your voice assistant on your wrist to control your home by voice was extremely practical.
What about autonomy?
The TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro is still equipped with a 628 mAh battery, which is considerable for a smartwatch, and which already provided very good autonomy on the v5. For comparison, the battery on a Google Pixel Watch is just 294 mAh…
However, despite the identical battery size, autonomy has been revised upwards thanks to optimizations. The manufacturer has announced autonomy of up to 55 days in essential mode or 90 hours in smart mode (instead of 45 days and 80 hours on the previous model). In short, this connected watch lives up to its name “Enduro”!
However, autonomy will vary according to use, because in reality it will be a mixture of these two modes. It would be a shame to use only the essential mode on such a complete smartwatch.
Functionalities such as 24/7 heart rate monitoring, sleep and blood oxygen level tracking, wrist-movement ignition and notifications naturally have a major impact on battery life. Fortunately, the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro can switch to night mode at a specified time, automatically switch to essential mode when it detects physical activity, and so on. This watch is truly intelligent, capable of automatically adapting to optimize its battery. In practice, with current use, I can go almost a week without needing to recharge it, which is excellent compared to other models I've tested, requiring a recharge every night.
What's more, a full recharge takes around 30 minutes, which is very fast. However, the absence of induction charging in 2024 is regrettable, as it would also have been a great evolution of this model, and would have put an end to the need to carry the proprietary cable. With all the induction chargers out there capable of charging smartphones, headphones, etc., we have to admit that this is becoming very practical, and almost a standard. Fortunately, you can go a few days without a cable without worrying about running out of battery, which will compensate a little for this shortcoming :)
Conclusion
I've always appreciated Mobvoi watches for their innovation, often ahead of the competition. While we may be a little sceptical about the new features of this Enduro version, let's just say that they refine a model that was already very, very good, bordering on excellence. Equipped with the latest processor dedicated to connected objects, which improves both power and autonomy, a rotating crown for navigating menus, a microphone and speaker, GPS, a monstrous battery, etc…. This connected watch meets most needs, and I know of no competitor on the Android watch market. The only regret is that it uses the WearOS 3.5 system, which is a little “dated”, since Wear OS 4 has been out for a year (the Pixel Watch is equipped with it, by the way), and Wear OS 5 is already in the starting blocks. Can we look forward to a future update?
We also regret the absence of induction charging, but fortunately the watch's excellent autonomy makes up for this.
Personally, I love this watch. If I had to choose between a Samsung or Pixel model, I'd definitely go for Mobvoi! Especially as the price of €350 is still very reasonable compared with the competition. After all, these minor improvements don't justify selling your “classic” Pro 5 and upgrading to this “Enduro” model. The manufacturer has made no mistake in not naming it Pro 6, but only Pro 5 Enduro, which clearly means that it's just a variation. If, on the other hand, you're not equipped for it, this Enduro model won't disappoint you!
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