The Apple Milanese Loop can be considered a mid-range Apple Watch band offering, coming in at $99 / £99 / AU$149. It’s neither as cheap and cheerful as the $49 / £49 / AU$69 Sport Bands, nor as unabashedly expensive as the premium $349 / £299 / AU$549 Link Bracelet bands. It can also be picked up in a newer Titanium edition for the Apple Watch Ultra 2, which retails for $199 / £199 / AU$299.
Its stainless steel mesh wraps smoothly around the wrist, free of any kinks or rigidity, feeling comfortable yet suitably premium. And for those who are sustainability conscious, it’s made of 65% recycled materials, while 100% of the energy used for manufacture is from renewable sources. Here we review the dark gray Slate color; but the Milanese Loop is available in a Gold and silvery Natural finish, too.
Putting it on and taking it off is a breeze. As is the case with all of the best Apple Watch bands, clicking it into place simply requires you to slide it into the connectors on either side of the Apple Watch, while to disconnect it, you simply press the release buttons on the Watch’s underside. Tightening and fastening the clasp is achieved via a magnetic clasp that affixes to the band itself, which feels delightfully innovative and typically Apple-esque. Unfortunately, it does have a slight tendency to snap to itself when you’re just trying to adjust the strap; this isn't a deal breaker, but it can make things more fiddly than they need to be.
We found during our Yoohoo Adjustable Metal Strap review that the lookalike band showed quite a bit of scuffing after just a few weeks of wear. Conversely, the Apple Milanese Loop looks as perfect now as the day I first clasped it round my wrist. While I didn’t risk wearing it during high-risk activities such as weightlifting, this band's superior build quality will shrug off damage like John Wick wearing a kevlar business suit.
Its mesh build also makes it far more breathable than many other Apple Watch bands. During my weekly bouldering session, the skin beneath my Milanese Loop strap didn’t become sweaty as it can with synthetic rubber straps, while flexing sufficiently to remain comfortable. I also found I rarely needed to take it off to shower; in contrast to Apple’s sports bands, which trapped water against my skin, the Milanese Loop allowed my skin to stay dry and protected, even when wearing it for days on end.
The weave of the Milanese Loop does periodically pick up fibers here and there. Unlike the Yoohoo Adjustable Metal Strap, it doesn’t tend to leave your garments looking like a shorn spring lamb, although it does occasionally require you to undo it to pluck out rogue threads. All in all, I didn’t find this happened often enough to be a bother, however.
All in all, the Apple Milanese Loop is a fantastic Apple Watch band. It looks great, it’s relatively sustainable, and it's more hard-wearing than cheaper rivals. Ultimately, whether you decide it’s the right strap for you will come down to cost. If you’re happy parting with $99 / £99 / AU$149 for an accessory for your smartwatch, it’s an easy recommend. If not, a cheaper lookalike such as the Yoohoo Adjustable Metal Strap might suit you better.
(Image credit: Future)
Apple Milanese Loop review: Price & specs
Released alongside the original Apple Watch back on September 9, 2014, the Milanese Loop is available now direct from Apple for $99 / £99 / AU$149. It arrives in Natural, Gold and Slate finishes. Alternatively, if you own a Titanium watch such as the Apple Watch Ultra 2 or Apple Watch 10, you can pick up the Titanium edition of the strap to match, which will be as hard-wearing as your wearable.
(Image credit: Future)
Should I buy the Apple Milanese Loop?
Buy it if…
You want a band that will always look its best Not only is Apple’s Milanese Loop gorgeously premium in its design, it’s hardy too. After two weeks of solid testing, it looks as good as it did out of the box – which is more than we can say for some of its cheaper rivals.
You’re interested in sustainability Given 65% of it is made from recycled sources, while 100% of the energy used to make it comes from renewables, this is a suitably green option for anyone wanting a strap that doesn’t deplete the earth’s resources.
Don’t buy it if…
You want an affordable Apple Watch band At $99 / £99 / AU$149, the Milanese Loop is hardly the most inexpensive Apple Watch band on the market. While not an unreasonable price to pay, given its quality, if you don’t want a quarter of the cost of your Apple Watch to be its band, you’d be wise to look elsewhere.
You don’t want a lint trap on your wrist It isn't quite as bad as options such as the Yoohoo Adjustable Metal Strap, but the Milanese Loop still likes to accumulate errant fibers. It won’t depilate your favourite cardigan, but you will occasionally need to pluck the odd filament out of its mesh.
Apple Milanese Loop review: also consider
Yoohoo Adjustable Metal Strap The Yoohoo Adjustable Metal Strap comes with a couple of compromises: it can be a bit stiff to slide in and out of your Apple Watch, and it scuffs more easily. On the flip side, however, it looks great, it’s breathable and, most importantly, it’s super affordable – it costs from as little as £8.99 to a max price of £15.99, making it an easy choice for someone who wants their Watch to look fancy but can’t quite stretch to the Milanese Loop’s asking price.
In my 10 years of using Apple Watch, the Amazfit Active 2 is the closest I've ever come to ditching my Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Subjectively, the styling of the Active 2 isn't normally what I'd lean to, but Amazfit has nailed a clearly classic stainless steel design that will delight fans looking for a more subtle, understated smartwatch.
For just $99, the Amazfit Active 2 far outstrips its price tag, punching well above its weight in terms of features, fitness tracking accuracy, and more. Its battery life is to be lauded and definitely holds up to Amazfit's claims.
It's not perfect: it doesn't quite sit flush on my wrist, and to get NFC you have to pay $30 extra for the premium model. However, the astonishing $99 price tag covers up all of the quirks to render this a pure five-star pick in my book.
It's miles ahead of the CMF Watch Pro 2, and easily on a par with some more expensive mainstream offerings.
Nitfy features including an on-board AI assistant add to the experience. The Strength Training feature could use a little refinement, but its intelligent rep counter and timer are handy in the gym.
Overall, there's very little not to like here, and even the $129 premium model (not tested here) strikes me as good value for money.
Amazfit Active 2: Specifications
Amazfit Active 2: Price and Availability
(Image credit: Future)
$99/£99/AU(tbc)
Two versions
Premium version is more expensive and includes premium strap, NFC
The Amazfit Active 2 is available now from the company's website, as well as Amazon and a range of third-party retailers.
The base model reviewed here costs $99/£99, with Australia pricing and availability to be confirmed. For that you get the Watch, a sport strap, and the charging puck (but no USB-C cable).
The premium version is $129/£129 and includes a more premium leather strap, as well as a free silicone sport band. Upgrading to the premium version also gets you more durable sapphire glass and NFC for contactless payments.
Given the overall quality and what you get for your money, I think it's a fantastic price and a real value-for-money pick.
I'll touch on this more in my review, but given the overall price and what you get extra, I'd also have no reservations recommending the more premium model. However, both are excellent value.
Value score: 5/5
Amazfit Active 2: Design
(Image credit: Future)
New round display
Classic look with premium stainless steel
Imperfect fit
When it comes to smartwatches, I'm definitely team squircle. However, Amazfit made a big change with the design of the Active 2 that is slowly growing on me.
Where the original was really a clone of the Apple Watch in many respects, the Amazfit Active 2 boasts a stunning round design with a stainless steel body.
This is absolutely a smartwatch designed to look like a classic watch, with a really premium feel and finish. It's much more refined and less bulky than the CMF Watch Pro 2 I tested recently, and it's also really comfortable.
You get two buttons used for power, triggering workouts, and activating the AI assistant, as well as various other tasks you can assign.
I honestly can't believe how premium the design feels for a $99 smartwatch, Amazfit has really smashed it with this one and there's very little not to like.
(Image credit: Future)
Of course, it's not perfect: the bezel between the stainless steel chassis and the edge of the display is a little large, but even this doesn't look out of place and actually lends to the overall aesthetic.
The display is a 1.32-inch AMOLED display identical (in size and shape) to the aforementioned CMF Watch Pro 2. However, this one puts out 2,000 nits of peak brightness rather than Nothing's 600 nits.
On the back you get your usual array of heart rate tracking paraphernalia and LED sensors. The Active 2 is extremely light; our model tested here weighs less than 30 grams. It's super comfortable, although I did find the fit to be slightly imperfect, as it doesn't quite sit flush to my wrist. However, this is a very minor issue and doesn't detract from the overall experience. The sport strap, while comfortable, is also a little finicky to apply at first. The premium version features a more elegant black leather strap that I'd wager is easier to put on, and you get the sports strap included for free anyway.
These are very small gripes though. I have to say that at this price point, the Active 2 is one of the most impressive-looking smartwatches on the market, and will delight prospective users looking for a more classic look and feel rather than the chunkier aesthetic of other cheap smartwatches.
It's also one of the most comfortable I've ever worn, and you'll forget you're wearing it after a few hours out of the box.
Compared to the slightly cheaper CMF Watch Pro 2, a top pick in our best cheap smartwatch guide, the Active 2 has several key design advantages despite only being 30 bucks more.
There's the aforementioned brightness gulf, and crucially the Active 2 also has 5 ATM water-resistance, meaning it can withstand up to 50 meters of pressure, and can be worn for showers or brief swims. It's not waterproof by any means, but it's a lot better than most other options in this cheap smartwatch bracket, and it's really nice to know you don't have to take it off for every shower, cold plunge, or hot tub session.
Other impressive features include anti-fingerprint coating glass on the standard version. If you opt for the premium model, you don't get this, but you do get sapphire glass, which is much harder to scratch.
Design score: 4.5/5
Amazfit Active 2: Features
(Image credit: Future)
Vast feature set
Unique strength training and HYROX Race modes
AI coach, 164 sport modes, extensive health tracking
I'm frankly astounded at how many features you get with the Amazfit Active 2 considering its price tag.
I'd say the Active 2's feature-set is impressive for a smartwatch of any price tag, let alone one that costs less than $100. Starting with sport, exercise, and health, the Active 2 features nearly every feature you'd expect in a cheap smartwatch.
There's workout tracking for 164 sport modes, with a couple of unique advanced features. If you're training strength, there's smart recognition of 25 movements, automatic rep tracking, and a built-in exercise timer/workout plan generator you can follow. (I'll address the efficacy of this more in the performance section).
Runners will find a Track Run mode, smart trajectory correction, and even a virtual pacer. There's also Zepp Coach, an AI-powered workout companion that can generate customized training plans.
Health-wise, you'll find a daily Readiness score and insights and monitoring for heart rate, as well as blood oxygen, stress, temperature, heart rate, sleep heart rate variability, sleep stages and schedule, sleep scores, and more. There are reminders on board for high and low heart rates, low blood oxygen, and even high stress levels with prompts to perform breathing exercises.
Elsewhere, there's an onboard AI companion, Zepp Flow, that can pull up metrics with voice commands and change settings. Zepp Pay, powered by NFC, is only available on the more expensive premium model we didn't test, so if that's an important feature to you, it might be worth paying the extra.
You do get a separate wallet app for membership cards though, and other cool software features like To Do List. The Active 2 works with both Android and iPhone, and can be used to control your phone's music via Bluetooth, you'll also get call and SMS notifications as well as app notifications, and even Find My Phone.
Under the hood, you get GPS (Amazfit says there are five satellite positioning systems but hasn't shared any further info) and Bluetooth 5.2 BLE, as well as a microphone and speaker. It also, rather essentially for a watch, tells the time.
If I were being harsh, reserving NFC for the premium model is arguably a shame, but this is a technicality. Honestly, I can't believe how much smartwatch you get from the Active 2 for $99. You don't find features like ECG at this price point in the smartwatch market(even the doubly expensive Apple Watch SE doesn't offer it), but it's important to note that there are always going to be limitations in a $99 smartwatch.
Still, at this price, you'll struggle to find a more extensive set of features in a smartwatch, and the lack of NFC isn't enough to merit deducting any points when you can add it for $30.
Features score: 5/5
Amazfit Active 2: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
Exceptional battery life
Very accurate fitness and heart rate tracking
Snappy everyday use
Useful AI assistant
All of these features don't mean much if a smartwatch can't perform, but I'm happy to report that the Amazfit Active 2 has excelled in testing, handling everything I've thrown at it with ease.
Starting off with everyday use, the Active 2 is very snappy to use in day-to-day tasks. I've found scrolling menus, changing settings, reading messages, and more to all be very responsive and seamless.
Obviously, the Active 2 doesn't have the same polish as Apple's watchOS 11, and doesn't even run Wear OS, but it's still very impressive. It also features some very sharp-looking faces including the Vital face pictured here.
I conducted a series of tests to check the accuracy of the Active 2's exercise tracking and was really impressed. A gentle 34-minute run with the Active 2 on my left wrist and the best Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Ultra 2, on my right wrist, yielded exceptional parity.
The Active 2 nailed the GPS route map and the exact distance within two decimal places. Apple Watch gave my average heart rate as 135 bpm, while the Active 2 said 136.
Active calories for the Apple Watch and Active 2 were listed as 341 and 372 respectively, which is a bigger gap but still respectable. The jury is out on just how accurate any smartwatch calorie tracker is, so just being in the relative ballpark is enough for us here. For all we know, the Active 2 could well be the more accurate reading.
The Active 2 pinged 1km intervals at exactly the same time as the Ultra 2, and its heart rate monitor is actually more responsive, delivering more frequent reading updates than Apple's version, always within one or two bpm.
Comparing every metric gave a positive match, which I can only conclude indicates that this Active 2 can keep up with pretty much any smartwatch on the market when it comes to fitness tracking. It of course lacks the depth of the best Garmins, but so does pretty much every other smartwatch out there.
(Image credit: Future)
The Active 2 delivered similar competitive measurements versus the Ultra 2 during a strength workout test I did. It was here that I was first exposed to the Active 2's unique Strength Training features.
The watch features a built-in rep counter and system for logging weight, timing rest, and more. I can see that with plenty of practice, this could be a handy tool for strength training, because you can track your weightlifting on the fly and check your progress after the fact.
I found the automatic rep tracking worked most of the time, it's not perfect and obviously not as useful for exercises that don't involve moving your arms, but there's promise here. There's also a gym routine planner in the app, however, this is less intuitive. I was able to put together a test workout and follow the plan in the gym, but was left bamboozled by a number of strange quirks.
Each unit you add to the training is called an "interval", not to be confused with actual interval training. The app refers to reps (how many times you lift in a single set) as "times", and these are, somewhat confusingly, logged under the duration section of the exercise you want to add.
Likewise, sets (the number of times you do a certain number of reps) are referred to as "repeats" or "loop counts". The terminology is very confusing, and the first few times I tried to create a workout I really mangled it. The language is generic so that it can also be applied to other workout modes including intervals, running, and more, which is fine, but it's definitely clunky.
Furthermore, rest isn't added automatically between sets, but has to be put in manually. With practice I'm sure it's helpful but it is definitely not easy to do.
(Image credit: Future)
This was my only wrinkle in an otherwise flawless performance. The Strength Training feature is a very small part of the overall experience, so again it doesn't detract too much, and it's nice to have.
In my opinion, the coup de grace is battery life. Rated for up to 10 days of "typical usage," I started my battery life testing at around 9 am with 55%. 24 hours later I had used barely 15% battery.
53 hours later, my battery was 13%, using up less than 0.8% an hour, almost bang on the up to 5 days of heavy usage Amazfit promises. During that time I conducted three strength workouts, a run, and two full nights of sleep tracking, never taking the watch off or charging it.
As with any smartwatch, your mileage may vary and battery life can be influenced by a ton of factors including GPS usage and the always-on display. As it stands, though, the Active 2 is certainly good for its promised longevity.
The Active 2 also has an AI assistant party piece dubbed Zepp Flow. Powered by OpenAI, it's like Amazfit's own version of Siri, except it actually works and is useful. You can assign it one of the buttons for quick access, and use your voice to input simple commands.
You can adjust and tweak settings, call up health metrics using questions such as "How many steps have I walked today?", and even reply to messages on Android with the feature. Of all the prompts and questions I tried, Zepp Flow didn't put a foot wrong once, and it's incredible to see an AI-powered wrist assistant that's actually useful, especially on a $99 smartwatch.
Performance score: 4.5/5
Amazfit Active 2: Scorecard
Amazfit Active 2: Should I buy?
(Image credit: Future)
Buy it if...
You want the ultimate cheap smartwatch
You won't find a better smartwatch at this price, or one with this many features.
You're on a budget
This is much less expensive than cheap options from the likes of Garmin and Apple.
Don't buy it if...
You want elite fitness tracking
The Active 2 can't keep up with Garmin's industry-leading fitness tracking, and there are more capable pure fitness watches out there.
You want full iPhone or Android integration
Eschewing watchOS or Wear OS will always lead to quirks, so if you want the most seamless experience with your iPhone or Android, buy an Apple Watch or Wear OS model respectively.
Amazfit Active 2: How we tested
I used the Amazfit Active 2 as my main smartwatch for an entire week. I tested it during running and strength workouts, as well as overnight for sleep tracking. Comparisons were conducted using the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and I tried and tested all of the Zepp app features and functionality using an iPhone 16 Pro.
Amazfit Active 2: Also consider
The Original CMF Watch Pro is a pretty stylish and capable watch. It's cheaper than the Active 2, and has better battery life and a larger display over the newer CMF Watch Pro 2.
In terms of features and performance, the Active 2 is actually closer to the Apple Watch SE 2 than it does a lot of cheap smartwatches. Apple's version is more polished and the perfect iPhone option, but is much more expensive.
Writing this OnePlus Watch 3 review, I was struck by how much smaller of a leap we've seen from the OnePlus Watch 2 to the OnePlus Watch 3, compared to the leap the Watch 2 made from the original. The first OnePlus Watch was considered bad by every metric, but the OnePlus Watch 2 was a spectacular improvement in every way.
The OnePlus Watch 3 has much less work to do, iterating on an already successful design. Like the OnePlus Watch 2, it’s got the look of a classic dress watch with its outer casing and bezel, now upgraded from stainless steel to titanium. Its AMOLED display is now comprised of 2D sapphire crystal for improved durability, and its battery life has been extended from the OnePlus Watch 2’s 100 hours to 120 hours, beating rivals like the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra and Apple Watch Ultra for longevity.
I’ve only used it for a few hours, but functionally it performs as smoothly and as well as any Wear OS watch I’ve yet used, including the Google Pixel Watch 3. It’s an option most Android phone users should consider, and it’s sure to make its way into our best Android watches list in future.
Its usability is vastly improved by the addition of a rotating digital crown, allowing for easier scrolling and navigation, especially during sweaty workouts in which the touchscreen would be harder (or grosser) to use.
My main gripe is with the watch’s size: I would have loved to see OnePlus bring out a second, smaller model for those with smaller wrists. Many people, including a lot of women, will find it’s just too big and heavy for daily wear. However, this issue aside, it’s a powerful, robust daily driver with modern health tools and a timeless look.
OnePlus Watch 3: Specifications
OnePlus Watch 3: price and availability
(Image credit: Future)
£319 in the UK (approximately $400 / AU$630)
Available in the UK / EU
Availability for other regions is TBC
The OnePlus Watch 3 is available in the UK, where it's priced at £319 (approximately $400 / AU$630), and in the EU. It's available to order from today.
We’re currently unsure if the watch will be available in the US and AU markets, but will update this full review with that information when we get it.
OnePlus Watch 3: Design
(Image credit: Future)
Sumptuous screen
Rotating crown
Very big for smaller wrists
As mentioned, the OnePlus Watch 3 shares many design similarities with the OnePlus Watch 2. However, there are a few changes both under the hood and, erm, over it. The watch still runs Wear OS 5 on its Snapdragon W5 chipset, but it also runs a second operating system, RTOS, powered by a new BES2800 MCU chip.
By switching from Wear OS to the low-power RTOS, the OnePLus Watch 3 is able to extend its battery life. In conjunction with the new chip, a bigger 631mAh battery means the Watch 3 lasts up to 120 hours, compared with the older model's 100 hours.
The shape and design of the OnePlus Watch 3 are very similar to the Watch 2 pictured below. At 46.6mm x 47.6mm x 11mm, not including the thickness of the sensor, it’s a hefty watch at 81g including strap. It might look like a timeless metal dress watch, which helps, but the sheer size of it will be off-putting to a lot of people.
However, its size does mean it’s packing a lovely big screen. Its 2D sapphire crystal and buttery-smooth AMOLED puts out 2,000 nits, the same brightness as the Apple Watch Ultra 2. The big screen makes reading messages and notifications a pleasure rather than an annoyance to, doubly so thanks to the other big new addition: a rotating digital crown. Pressing the crown takes you back to the main menu, and its wheel is used for scrolling, while the side button starts workouts. Coupled with the touchscreen, it’s all very intuitive, and a design that will be familiar to users of the best Apple Watches.
OnePlus Watch 3: Features
(Image credit: Future)
60-second heart health check-in
New ECG functionality
Dual-frequency GPS
As well as the rotating digital crown, tougher new screen and bezel, and longer battery life, there are software features aplenty, both new and returning. The beauty of the best Android watches (much like the best Apple Watches) is that you can stuff them full of third-party apps, and it’s the same case here. I’ve already got Strava, Spotify, AllTrails, Audible… all my usual suspects.
First up among the new stuff is the 60-second health check-in. By pressing your finger on the All-In_one sensor button, the OnePlus Watch 3 measures your heart rate, conducts an electrocardiograph scan (this feature will be available later in the year), and tracks blood oxygen levels, mental wellness, wrist temperature, sleep quality, and a new metric called ‘vascular age’, similar to Garmin’s Fitness Age, but specifically tailored to heart health.
A big emphasis is placed on heart heath, with vascular elasticity measured and the new ECG functionality working with this to create benchmarks based on age. Essentially, the OnePlus Watch 3 can tell you a rough idea of how 'old' your heart is in comparison to the rest of your body. If you’re in your thirties but very fit, you might have the heart of a 25-year-old for example, whereas someone out-of-shape might have a heart age edging towards the forties.
GPS is now dual-frequency for additional accuracy. The Watch’s basic workout app supports over 100 different sports mode, but only 11 of these offer ‘professional modes’ or unique metrics, such as running. The rest are nice-to-haves for instant input into your digital training diary.
I’ll be adding a Performance section, along with final scores, in my full review after I've worn and tested the watch over a longer period. Check back soon!
The CMF Watch Pro 2 is undoubtedly one of the best cheap smartwatches you can buy right now, if not the absolute best pick, and it wins huge points purely for its incredibly affordable price tag.
Despite the cost-saving efforts, it has an impressive design and build and comes with plenty of features that make it a perfect beginner smartwatch for anyone new to the form factor. The screen is perfectly adequate, the software works well enough, and there are myriad smartwatch features including workout tracking, sleep monitoring, GPS, and more.
However, it lacks a couple of key features, including NFC payments, and it can't really be used in water. Also, some of its features, like raise and tap to wake, as well as workout detection, are a little temperamental. Perhaps my biggest issue with it is that I prefer the larger, squircle shape of the previous model, but I've reviewed it here on its own merits.
Nothing still sells both, and it's a big departure from what I believe is the ultimate smartwatch success formula. However, it does deliver some good upgrades, including a better display and more watch faces.
CMF Watch Pro 2: Specifications
CMF Watch Pro 2: Price and Availability
(Image credit: Future)
$69 / £69 / AU$99
Four colors
The CMF Watch Pro 2 is available now in two colors from Nothing's website as well as from retailers like Amazon. It costs $69 / £69 / AU$99 but does occasionally see discounts of up to 25%.
There's only one size, the 42mm watch face, available in four colors: Blue, Ash Grey, Orange, and Dark Grey pictured here.
Pound for pound, this has to be the best-value smartwatch you can buy on the market right now, considering it's compatible with both iPhone and Android and it has an impressive feature set. It only gets a 5/5 because I can't award a higher score.
Value score: 5/5
CMF Watch Pro 2: Design
(Image credit: Future)
Cool circular display
Divisive change from the 1st-gen
Solid, premium build
You're going to hear a lot of "for a $69 watch" in the next few minutes. But honestly, for a $69 Watch, the CMF Watch Pro 2 is a really impressive piece of design.
Nothing is famous for making cool-looking tech gadgets, and the CMF Watch Pro 2 is no different. However, we need to talk about the elephant in the room. I'm very much team "smartwatches should be squircle," but the CMF Watch Pro 2 eschews the design of the first CMF Watch Pro in favor of a completely circular design more akin to the Google Pixel Watch 3. It's a big change, and one fans of the first watch might not like. The 42mm display is housed in a 45mm chassis, and the rather thick bezel is tapered towards the middle to create a unique bowl effect.
While the styling is divisive, it's certainly not generic. The digital crown is also premium and feels nice and responsive to use. My only build gripe is the liquid silicon strap, which is pretty thin and not very premium-feeling. That being said, it is comfortable, and I didn't experience much in the way of wrist fatigue during any of my testing.
The bezel is interchangeable, so you can pop it off and replace it with a purchased alternative to change up the style and color of your watch pretty quickly. This is another fairly unique feature that you won't really find on other smartwatches.
(Image credit: Future)
The display is a 1.32-inch AMOLED measuring 466x466. It's a slight upgrade on the previous generation, now putting out 620 nits of peak brightness with a 60fps refresh rate, vs 58Hz and 600 nits in the old one. The display is considerably smaller than the previous model, another divisive change. However, the overall shift makes the watch much smaller in profile, so people with smaller wrists or those who want a more unintrusive experience will prefer this.
The screen has a new auto-brightness feature, as well as five levels you can manually select from. At 620 nits peak, it's not exactly a looker (even the Apple Watch SE 2 puts out 1,000 nits) but it's perfectly adequate. In fact, for a $69 watch, it's definitely a decent display.
Some colors look a little washed out, like the temperature dials on my multifunction face. But colorful faces like the Prismatic Time face definitely have some pop to them. There are some weird pixel-shifting issues I've seen on some of the interfaces, lines that should be straight are wonky in places, but I can't tell if this is a hardware or a software issue. At a glance, it's not really that noticeable.
Durability-wise, the CMF Watch Pro 2 comes with an IP68 water rating. That means it's dustproof and can withstand immersion in up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes. However, Nothing says the Watch Pro isn't suitable for use while swimming, in the shower, saunas, steam rooms, or any kind of water sports or activity. Basically, water is a no-go, which is definitely a key weak spot.
Design score: 4/5
CMF Watch Pro 2: Features
(Image credit: Future)
Lots of sports tracking and health metrics
Bluetooth, GPS, heart rate metrics
No NFC
For a $69 watch (I won't stop), there's an awful lot going on here. The CMF Watch Pro 2 offers a myriad of features you'd expect to find in a smartwatch, with a couple of key missing features reflective of the price.
Let's start with what you do get. Underpinning most of the best smartwatches these days is health and fitness, and the CMF Watch Pro 2 offers 120 sport modes, as well as five smart recognition activities that can detect your workouts without manual input (I'll get to whether this works in the Performance section). Some exercises even have a warm-up option that triggers a quick slew of animated warm-up stretches and movements before you work out, something you won't even find on any of the best Apple Watches.
Health tracking delivers an Active Score, round-the-clock heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring, sleep tracking, menstrual cycle tracking, step count, calories, resting heart rate, and alerts for abnormal heart rate and blood oxygen.
You also get key features like reminders, music controls, a remote camera control, a calendar, a calculator, and alarms. The Watch Pro 2 works with both iOS (13 and above) or Android (8.0 and above), so you should get plenty of cross-compatibility and synchronization between features like reminders and alarms on your watch and whichever smartphone you use.
You'll also get a Find My Phone feature, flashlight, and a voice assistant functionality, although I found the latter one is a bit of a gimmick, it's supposed to trigger your phone's voice assistant, and while I could see the watch waking up Siri on my iPhone, I couldn't actually ask questions or use it for anything.
Crucially, the Watch Pro 2 lacks NFC, so can't be used to make mobile payments from your wrist, which might be a deal breaker for some.
Features score: 4.5/5
CMF Watch Pro 2: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
Decent workout tracking
Some obvious quirks
Snappy day-to-day use
Good battery life
I'll start with the performance positives because there are a couple of quirks with the CMF Watch Pro 2 you should be aware of.
I generally found workout tracking to be consistent. A direct test with my Apple Watch Series 10 for an indoor run measured almost identical readings for distance traveled. The average heart rate was just one bpm off, and the range was pretty much spot-on. As far as workout tracking on a smartwatch can be accurate (the jury is out on just how useful it is generally), I'd say the CMF Watch Pro 2 delivers pretty reasonable accuracy across the board.
I've seen other reviews comment on GPS quirks, but I didn't experience any issues with it. Battery life on the Watch Pro 2 is pretty impressive, rated for up to 11 days of typical use, 9 days of heavy use, or 25 hours using GPS. I've found that generally to hold true in testing, and the battery life is definitely one of the positives.
(Image credit: Future)
While syncing with iOS and my iPhone was generally seamless, it doesn't play nice with Apple's notifications because these are restricted for third-party hardware. As such, iOS Focus modes don't work, one consideration for iPhone users. Notifications are pretty limited in use also, whereas you can respond to them in watchOS on devices like the Apple Watch or Wear OS, all you can do is read and dismiss them here.
As you might have picked up, the CMF Watch Pro 2 runs Nothing's proprietary smartwatch software rather than Wear OS. I actually prefer the look and feel over Wear OS, but like Wear OS, some elements of the UI remain poorly optimized for the circular display. Scrolling and swiping were very snappy overall, and I never experienced any performance lags. In fact, the Watch Pro 2 is noticeably snappier than even the Garmin Instinct 3 I was recently hands-on with.
Throughout my testing, I couldn't get 'raise to wake' to work at all. I even wrote this portion of the review, describing it as the CMF Watch Pro 2's biggest flaw and one that really hobbled the user experience. Then, out of nowhere, the feature began to work perfectly.
Now, whenever I lift my wrist, the watch immediately springs into life. Tap to wake is less reliable, and I've seen other reviews flag that raise to wake is an issue. So while I can no longer say it doesn't work full stop, it is definitely quirky and a problem to watch out for.
Workout detection does work, sort of. While out walking, my watch notified me that I was doing exactly that and asked if I'd like to track the experience. I tapped yes, but the tracker started from zero. Workout detection on Apple Watch is always running in the background, so if you get a detection notice after 10 minutes of walking, that 10 minutes of activity is included in your metrics. The Watch Pro 2 starts from scratch, which isn't exactly how I'd expect workout detection to function. Basically, it's handy if you forget to start your workout and need a reminder.
One final flaw, the vibration motor isn't nice. It resonates at just the wrong frequency and shakes the whole watch with an annoying, high-pitched buzz, it's the only part of the experience that feels cheap.
Performance score: 3/5
CMF Watch Pro 2: Scorecard
CMF Watch Pro 2: Should I buy?
Buy it if...
You've never had a smartwatch before
This is a perfect beginner smartwatch, an easy investment to see if using one is for you.
You're on a budget
You'll struggle to find a better smartwatch at this price.
Don't buy it if...
You like water
Nothing warns against use in any kind of water, so this is not the pick if you want a watch you never have to take off.
You want true software synchronization
Both Apple Watch or Wear OS models are going to offer better integration with their respective operating systems
CMF Watch Pro 2: How we tested
I used the CMF Watch Pro 2 over a number of weeks, as a daily smartwatch, during workouts, and more. I tested all of its main features and it was connected to an iPhone for the duration of testing.
CMF Watch Pro 2: Also consider
The original CMF Watch Pro is still fantastic, similarly priced, bigger, and has more battery life. It's a great alternative, as there aren't a ton of improvements in the new one.
For exactly the same price, this Amazfit offers a similar experience with a more Apple Watch-esque design. It's GPS is impressive and it's light and comfortable, but you won't get the same build quality or workout tracking accuracy. Really, consider this pick vindication that Nothing is king of the cheap smartwatch.
It's possible to buy super-affordable smartwatches, but sometimes they tend to fall short in terms of design and features. By way of example, the standout cheap watch in our best smartwatches guide is the CMF Watch Pro by Nothing, which is stylish but quite basic, although our best cheap smartwatches guide offers plenty of sub-$300 / £250 / AU$500 alternatives.
That's why I was so intrigued when the Watch GS Explorer dropped through my door. At $155 / £121, the latest smartwatch from Mibro appears to hit all the right notes when it comes to specs. Let me list just a few: rugged military-grade durability, an AMOLED display, dual-frequency GPS with 5 satellites, and comprehensive sports & health modes.
Does that sound too good to be true? Surely they've cut some corners somewhere. I was so excited and determined to find out that I threw the watch on charge and got it on my wrist as soon as was humanly possible. It's been sitting there for around two months.
Let’s begin with the design. The watch itself has passed a total of 15 military standard tests in compliance with MIL-STD-810H-2019, which guarantees stability and reliability in extreme environments. Having used the watch in wet and cold conditions, I can testify that it's durable and waterproof. I also dropped it a few times and didn't suffer any scratches or screen cracks thanks to its Corning Gorilla glass.
All of this 'ruggedness' comes with some tradeoffs, though, the first of which is that it's enormous. If your wrist is on the slender side, then this is not the watch for you. The design is also far too chunky and lacking detail. You could even call it brutalist. The stretchy rubber strap also makes it sit a little uncomfortably on the skin and, at times, grip painfully onto any hair that gets caught underneath it.
(Image credit: Future)
At the centre of the watch is a 1.32-inch AMOLED display with a 466x466 resolution and 353 PPI. There’s little not to love about the display and at 1500 nits, it’s bright enough in almost all environments. However, while operating the touch screen, the chunky outer bezel gets in the way of efficient swiping. I appreciate that this probably provides protection to the glass, but in my opinion it simply gets in the way.
While we’re on the subject of operation, the three buttons, located on the right-hand side of the watch, are a little clunky and even a little 'sticky’ at times, which hampered efficient and enjoyable navigation. I think if Mibro reduces the protrusion of the bezel and engineers the buttons better, then the user experience will be greatly improved.
The abundance of health and fitness tracking features and data can be accessed through both the watch and the associated Mibro app. You’ll find the ability to track basic health measurements, including heart rate and SpO2, but not much beyond that. Heart rate and SpO2 measurements were commensurate with the accurate Huawei GT 5 Pro, although the latter was slow to read.
The GS Explorer wants to come into its own when users are undertaking outdoor activities including climbing, swimming, and running. It is here that I experienced some of the more significant problems, namely to do with GPS accuracy. Tracking lines went off route and therefore couldn’t be trusted for distances and as a result, pacing was off. Exercise graphs are displayed on the screen but are unfortunately too small to really tell what’s going on outside of the companion app. More positively, training stats including heart rate tracking and ground contact time during runs appeared more accurate.
My general feeling of this watch was a mixed bag. It has some impressive features that perform well especially considering the low price, while other more basic and necessary measurements struggle for accuracy. As a result, this is a watch to get if you value premium features at a budget price, but is certainly not to be purchased if accuracy is paramount.
Mibro Watch GS Explorer: Specifications
Mibro Watch GS Explorer: Price and availability
$155 / £121
Extremely cheap for features
Not available in Australia
The Mibro Watch GS Explorer is only available in one size and retails at $155 US / £121 UK (around $238 AUS), which is insanely cheap for the screen and number of features available.
The only part of the watch that can be customized is the strap color with black, white, or green being your available options. The watch is not available in Australia or China.
Value score: 4.5/5
Mibro Watch GS Explorer: Scorecard
Mibro Watch GS Explorer: Should I buy?
(Image credit: Future)
Buy if it...
You’re on a budget At $155 / £121, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more capable Garmin Fenix clone at this price point.
You want a smartwatch that’s as hard as nails The Mibro Watch GS Explorer is built to last so you can rest assured it’ll stand the test of time.
You like chunky smartwatches With a 47.8mm diameter, this smartwatch sits solidly and proudly on your wrist.
Don't buy it if...
You need top-notch accuracy The GS Explorer has some accuracy issues so can’t be relied upon for super accurate measurements.
You have a slender wrist This smartwatch is too large for smaller wrists. You might be better off getting one of the best fitness trackers.
I wore the Mibro Watch GS Explorer for around eight weeks, which gave me a good period of time to fully test the watch features and battery life. As it’s billed as an outdoor watch, I also made sure to get out and about for special ‘assignments’ as well as integrate it into my daily activities.
The Coros Pace Pro is a higher-priced model for the brand as the company sets its sights on the Garmin, Suunto, and Polar competition. As such you have a watch that's crammed with all the best features you'd expect from a premium all-sports smartwatch.
So why pay for this over a similarly priced Garmin Forerunner 265? Well, the AMOLED screen on this is the same one found in the Apple Watch with a whopping 1500-nits of brightness, making it a stunner you can read in all light conditions. It does this while remaining battery efficient too for a top class 38 hours with all sensors up and running, or a good 20 days of standby time – with a zippy two-hour recharge time.
It is a lot lighter than a lot of the competition too, as light as 37g with the right strap, yet is still made from robust casing materials and features a useful rotating crown button. The display covering does let it down though, as it's made from mineral glass rather than the hardier Gorilla Glass you'll find from the competition.
GPS and HR accuracy aren't perfect but will be more than good enough to serve most needs, and it's the best on a Coros device yet. If you want even more accuracy you'll need to pay more for the top-end kit or factor in buying a chest or arm strap HR monitor too.
Coros Pace Pro: Specs
Coros Pace Pro (Image credit: Future)
Coros Pace Pro: Price and Availability
Coros Pace Pro (Image credit: Future)
$349 / £349 / AU$599
Cheaper than some premium smartwatches
Relatively affordable despite AMOLED
The Coros Pace Pro steps out from the usual business model for this company - of undercutting the competition - instead standing more alongside. As such it is more expensive than many models that have gone before.
The Coros Pace Pro is available to buy now starting at $349 / £349 / AU$599.
For all the specs this offers - including AMOLED display, multi-band GPS, mapping and navigation, and music onboard - this is a really well-priced option. The mineral glass screen is not as impressive as the competition and means it will be more prone to damage.
The watch comes in Black, Grey, or Blue options. There are silicone or nylon band options, which vary the weight from 49g for silicon to just 37g for nylon. The silicon comes as standard but these bands are in the optional extras section, charged at $29 on top of the standard price if you want a second type.
All decent, but when you consider you can buy a Garmin Forerunner 265 for the same price, which is a far more established and reliable brand, this price doesn't seem quite so impressive.
Value score: 4/5
Coros Pace Pro: Design
Coros Pace Pro (Image credit: Future)
Useful rotating crown
Bright AMOLED display
Super lightweight
Right from the outset the Coros Pace Pro feels so light compared to the competition, which is great news for runners and longer-distance triathletes. I did think it felt a bit less premium as a result, but once I got used to it I realized it's built to a very high-quality finish just with lightness in mind rather than flashy materials.
The watch features a stunning 1.3-inch AMOLED, with a whopping 1500-nits brightness. This is actually the same screen technology used in the recent Apple Watch models – meaning a very bright and color-rich display no matter the conditions. Even reading it underwater feels better than any of the competition.
Unfortunately, the use of mineral glass, instead of the sapphire crystal that Garmin uses, can mean more damage is likely from this less resilient material. Not that I got any damage while testing this, even with heavy gym use.
The watch is a touchscreen, which works fantastically well in a super responsive way, but there is also a rotating crown option. This doubles as one of the two buttons on the watch. Press and hold to unlock then push again to access the various sports which you can scroll through using the rotation. This is so effortless and effective that I found myself using that instead of the touchscreen mostly – keeping the screen lovely and smudge-free.
The second button can be touched to cycle through on-screen metrics, like steps, heart rate, sunset and sunrise, and more. Or press and hold that to access the system settings, alarms, maps, music, and more.
Coros Pace Pro (Image credit: Future)
The menus in general deserve a mention as part of the design section as they're clearly well thought out with a minimalism that makes use intuitive and – crucially – fast. You can go from locked to run tracking in as little as four button touches. That crown comes into use again when training as a quick roll can often be easier than using the touchscreen, thanks to that very tactile analog feel.
Round the back, you've got a new optical heart rate sensor with green lights, which also come with the more advanced red light for the detection of SpO2 data and even ECG recordings. Despite the case size moving up to 46mm from the Pace 3's 42mm, this is still compact enough to be worn comfortably on most wrists.
The charger is similar to Garmin's, but is bespoke. It uses a cable that plugs into USB-C so can work with many outlets and charger blocks too. All that and it charges back to full in just two hours.
Design score: 4/5
Coros Pace Pro: Features
Lots of sensors
Always-on display
Offline TOPO maps
Coros Pace Pro (Image credit: Future)
The Coros Pace Pro is packed full of smart sensors meaning you can enjoy a broad range of tracking. That includes – deep breath – Optical Heart Rate Sensor, Barometric Altimeter, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Electronic Compass, Pulse Oximeter (SpO2) and ECG.
That all means this will offer tracking while exercising, sleeping, walking, and on-demand for things like SpO2 measurement. But it also means everything can be combined to offer smarter overall measurements and more effective feedback on things like training readiness or recovery needs.
That super bright display is also worth mentioning here as it's very clear even in direct sunlight, but won't cost you too much battery – with a decent 38 hours with all systems tracking. There is the option to go for always-on, or intermittent, with the former costing you about 6 days on that 20-day standby battery life. In always-on, you'll see the clock dimmed and it will brighten when you lift to look, as opposed to only doing that to turn on with the intermittent option. I found it super responsive either way.
Coros Pace Pro (Image credit: Future)
The inclusion of offline TOPO maps elevates this model forward over its predecessor. It means you can have maps and routes, although it doesn't offer auto re-routing when on the move, unfortunately. Much like the maps, which can be a faff to get routes loaded onto the watch, music is also a drag-and-drop affair as there's no offline Spotify support – although the 32GB storage is plenty.
Run-specific features are fantastic, with this clearly aimed at the racers or those who want to get to that level. You have a workout builder to plan training with dedicated plans, training status so you know if it's time to rest or get out there, a virtual pacer, and a race predictor. All really useful features that can be viewed both in the app and on the watch itself.
The watch does offer notifications for text and WhatsApp messages which come through right away and with that big screen, messages are clear and easy to read. Unfortunately, there isn't yet support for emojis, which might have been a nice touch given the AMOLED display.
Features score: 3.5/5
Coros Pace Pro: Performance
Coros Pace Pro (Image credit: Future)
Decent battery life
Fantastic display
Good GPS but average HR
To start on a really positive point, the display is stunning not only to view but also to control. Thanks to a new processor in this model that doubles the speed, the sensitivity and responsiveness are super-premium meaning accessing all the menus is a pleasure. The large and clear display is good for going through your data, including graphs, without the need to reach for the phone and app as it's so fast, responsive, and clear. That applies to mid-training too where even movements don't seem to put off that tactile responsiveness.
Tracking is good but not amazing when you consider how many GPS systems are at play here. GPS acquisition is fast and a helpful bar system shows you signal strength too. While tracking is very accurate over longer distances (5K+), you may find that shorter than that and with hills in the mix can leave you a little less clear. And cycling performance was a little off too, even over longer distances. We're talking meters here, nothing huge, but still not quite as accurate as the smarter algorithms that the competition uses to work out your movements. To be clear, it performs well compared to most watches – and is the best Coros yet – just not quite as well as the latest top-end premium offerings from more established brands.
Heart rate tracking is the other area that wasn't perfect. While some longer runs and gym sessions were well-recorded – compared to a leading brand chest strap there were some inaccuracies. For higher heart rate bursts or longer rides, the accuracy wasn't as good as it perhaps could have been. That said, I've found similar issues with higher-priced competitors so it's not a deal breaker – I'm just being super clear. Coros does offer an armband heart rate monitor which may help improve this output if high-intensity work is what you need to track very accurately – or you're working in zone training.
Coros Pace Pro (Image credit: Future)
Battery life is excellent with the 20-day standby time easily being reached or surpassed in my testing. Even training, with all sensors on and music playing over a Bluetooth headset, was still as good as predicted at 38 hours, if not better. I did use the watch with the display off when not in use though, so if you want the always-on display option expect the standby figure to drop by a few days. The USB charger and two-hour charge time combination do make battery something you won't really need to worry about often – which is the goal right?
Get into the app and you're met with clear, bright, and helpful displays that give you data in various forms without getting too complex as some of the competition does. I found it refreshing to have everything I needed there, with breakdowns available front and center, but without feeling like I had to dig around menus or be overwhelmed with too much information in my face. A difficult combination to achieve which Coros seems to have managed in record time.
I did have a few connectivity issues where the WiFi wouldn't work on the watch until I tried to sync a few times. Usefully you can also sync over Bluetooth, which takes longer but gets the job done. Hopefully, the WiFi issue will be fixed with updates although I've had two while testing this and it's still not working perfectly.
The silicon strap is super comfortable, very accurate to fit many wrist sizes, and it doesn't move about at all. That secure fit does mean it's a bit fiddly to get back on each time, so if you remove your watch regularly this might be worth keeping in mind if you're considering buying a different strap.
Performance score: 3.5/5
Coros Pace Pro: Scorecard
Coros Pace Pro: Should I buy?
Buy it if...
You want a superb display
That 1500-nits of brightness on the rich AMOLED display is stunning and the responsiveness of the touchscreen is second-to-none.
You want better battery life
The battery life is long enough that you don't need to charge often, and can use it regularly.
You want comfort
This is super lightweight and a perfect fit with that strap making it ideal for longer distance training and sleep tracking comfort.
Don't buy it if...
You want durability
The mineral glass display cover isn't the strongest so you'll have to be careful not to damage it.
You want music streaming
Yes, this has onboard music but not streaming support for the likes of Spotify making loading up a bit more effort.
You want adaptive navigation
You have maps here, and navigation, but it won't adapt on the fly so it's not ideal for all uses.
Also consider
Apple Watch Ultra 2
A fully fledgedhigh-performance premium smartwatch.
I've been putting the Apple Braided Solo Loop through its paces to see how well it compared to the Sport Band that came with my Apple Watch. Everything was rosy at first (helped along by the gorgeous magenta color), and I was feeling set to give the Apple Braided Solo Loop a blinding review. But then I saw the price.
The Apple Braided Solo Loop has a list price of $99 / £99 / AU$149 on the official Apple website. I understand that large brands such as Apple sell a high enough volume of products to allow them access to higher-quality materials and more sustainable production processes, which warrants them charging a premium, but £99 for, in my case at least, a teeny-tiny Watch band feels somewhat far-fetched. My mind was made up further when I found that the 80% recycled stainless steel Apple Milanese Loop strap is the same price, despite using what I would imagine to be more expensive materials.
I liked the nifty tool on the Apple website that gave me step-by-step instructions to measure my wrist to ensure I ordered the correct Watch band size. I can confirm that the size of the Apple Braided Solo Loop I received was a good fit, sitting comfortably tight on my wrist. However, this tightness and lack of adjustability brought with it one slight issue, this being the squeezing caused a slight bulging of skin on either side, which isn’t the most attractive of looks.
As the name suggests, the Apple Braided Solo Loop consists of one continuous braided strap made from weaving 16,000 recycled polyester yarn filaments around ultra-thin silicone threads, which made this Watch strap stretchy enough to get over my hand without losing its structure once in place around my slimmer-than-average wrists. Despite my beef with the cost, I must applaud Apple for their sustainable practice here, with this strap stated to be carbon-neutral, with the 100 percent post-consumer recycled polyester yarn and 80% recycled stainless steel manufactured using clean energy.
The Apple Braided Solo Loop is compatible with 40, 41, and 42mm Apple Watch models and there are ten watch band lengths to choose from. It’s water and sweat-resistant and so far has proven to be adequately breathable, unlike my previous silicone strap, which I would have to remove and dry off after every skincare routine as it would never dry on its own.
In a nutshell, I am a big fan of the Apple Braided Solo Loop, and I support Apple’s sustainable approach, but the cost has proven a major turn-off for me – especially considering this is a quarter of the price of an Apple Watch Series 10 with a silicone strap included. That being said, if you’re looking into this before purchasing an Apple Watch, there is a saving to be made if you select an Apple Braided Solo Loop as part of the initial Apple Watch purchase, which at the time of writing is around fifty percent, so that’s definitely something to keep in mind.
If you’d like to see what other Apple Watch band options are out there, we’ve got a broad range of options over in our guide to the best Apple Watch bands.
(Image credit: Cesci Angell / Future)
Apple Braided Solo Loop review: Price & specs
(Image credit: Cesci Angell / Future)
Should I buy the Apple Braided Solo Loop?
Buy it if…
You want a guaranteed fit With its stretchy nature and the help of the Apple sizing guide, getting a good fit is super easy.
You want something breathable If you're not a fan of water-trapping silicone Watch bands, then this woven polyester alternative should prove more suitable.
Don't buy it if…
You're on a budget The cost will be fine for some who expect to pay sky-high prices for Apple quality, but for most of us mere mortals, this cost is bonkers for an unessential purchase.
You want a smooth silhouette One issue with close-fitting, stretchable Watch bands such as the Apple Braided Solo Loop is that it reduces its size to fit, inevitably leaving a little overhang above and below the band. This may not be bothersome for some, but it's worth considering before you buy.
Apple Braided Solo Loop review: Also consider
Apple Solo Loop Again, this is a continuous band with no closure, made from liquid silicone rubber, so it's a simple case of pulling it on and off. The upside of the silicone material is that it's perfect for swimming, so if you're someone who likes to take a dip in the pool on the reg, this would be the best alternative.View Deal
The TicWatch Atlas is a brilliant rugged Android smartwatch and a fantastic alternative to mainstream options like the Google Pixel Watch or the Samsung Galaxy Range. It boasts an impressive chassis made of stainless steel, aluminum, and fiberglass that feels really premium and sturdy, and it’s competitively priced around other Android smartwatches while offering the rugged durability you’d expect from an Apple Watch Ultra or Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra.
The dual display means you can switch between a healthy-looking AMOLED display or an essentials-only low-power option that’s good for 45 days of battery life. The TicWatch Atlas comes absolutely packed with fitness and health-tracking tools and features, including more than 100 exercises. It also features heart-rate monitoring, sleep tracking, blood oxygen monitoring, and more.
The Snapdragon W5+ chip ensures performance all-round is snappy with no hang-ups, and there’s a wealth of health data at your fingertips. The screen isn’t as vibrant as an Apple Watch display, and blood oxygen readings weren’t always spot on, but overall fitness tracking for calories and heart rate kept up with more expensive Apple Watch alternatives, and the GPS showed pretty solid accuracy.
The TicWatch Atlas currently runs Wear OS 4 with no sign of Wear OS 5 coming any time soon, but for those who can do without the latest software, it’s an extremely enticing option in this price bracket and one of the best Android smartwatches this year.
TicWatch Atlas: Specifications
TicWatch Atlas: Price and Availability
(Image credit: Future)
$349/£329/AU$519
Two colors
The TicWatch Atlas is available now from Mobvoi.com and Amazon in a multitude of territories. There’s only one size and two colors, retailing at $349 / £329 / AU$519. We’ve seen it officially discounted through Mobvoi’s website and Amazon in the UK to just £264.99. In Wear OS terms, that’s around the same price as the list price of the Galaxy Watch 7, but cheaper than the similarly-sized Pixel Watch 3. It’s also, confusingly, the same price as Ticwatch’s other smartwatch offerings, the Pro 5 Enduro and the regular Pro 5.
Value score: 4/5
TicWatch Atlas: Design and screen
(Image credit: Future)
Premium design
Very rugged and durable
Dual display is enticing
Out of the box, the Ticwatch Atlas really dazzles as a rugged and well-designed smartwatch. The circular chassis measures 52.2mm in height by 47.8mm in width, and the whole package is just 12.05mm thick. The watch housing itself is a mixture of stainless steel, 7000-series aluminum, and nylon with fiberglass. That means you aren’t getting the premium titanium finish of an Apple Watch Ultra or the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, but the whole package exudes premium build quality and a rugged durability that really gives you confidence in the watch day-to-day. The TicWatch Atlas is Mobvoi’s adventure-going watch for the great outdoors and the company has really nailed it with this fantastic design.
Garmin fans will find themselves at home here thanks to a raised, chunky bezel that houses a circular AMOLED display, and to one side are a side button and a crown for scrolling. The latter is smooth and precise to operate, and the former takes you to Wear OS 4’s recent apps with a satisfying click, or Google Wallet with a double click.
The fluororubber band shipped as standard is also really excellent – the rubber is soft and grippy, and the metal clasp feels safe and secure to use.
The TicWatch Atlas boasts a dual-display configuration, with an always-on AMOLED and the Ultra-low-power display. Starting with the AMOLED, this tech definitely lags behind options like the Apple Watch Series 10, which looks altogether more vibrant. Upping the brightness to full really improved the experience, but at the default setting I thought it looked ever-so-slightly washed out. However, the text and metrics all look very clear, and the default Wear OS faces show good color performance. Raise-to-wake was a tad sluggish for my liking, but I’m really nitpicking what’s otherwise a very enjoyable experience.
(Image credit: Future)
There’s also the Ultra-low-power display, which gives you a slew of essential metrics (date, time, steps, heart rate, battery) in a crisp two-tone format. You can pick the color, and the low-power display also has dynamic color changes that reflect your heart rate, so you can gauge what HR zone you’re running in with the quickest of glances. The real selling point of this Ultra-low-power display, however, is the battery life, with TicWatch promising up to 45 days of use in Essential Mode using this feature.
Overall, the TicWatch Atlas is really comfortable on the wrist, with no noticeable wrist fatigue. At 47.2 grams it’s not a heavy beast, but you’ll definitely notice its presence. As noted, it’s circular and quite a bit wider than your average Apple Watch, which I’d say disqualifies it for use in strength training. That’s because the design, coupled with the protruding crown, lends itself to accidental button presses, a fatal flaw that also hamstrings the Apple Watch.
Worth mentioning design-wise are the Atlas’ durability ratings. It’s 5ATM waterproof-rated for open-water swims, and certified to MIL-STD-810H military-grade durability. Essentially, the TicWatch Atlas can handle almost everything you throw at it, rain or shine.
Design score: 4/5
TicWatch Atlas: Features
(Image credit: Future)
Packed with fitness-tracking features
Heart rate monitoring and Afib alerts
Wear OS 4
TicWatch Atlas arrives sporting Wear OS 4 and a host of impressive features. A lot of these will be familiar to anyone who’s used any of the best Android smartwatches on the market. There are workout tracking modes for over 100 different exercises, including all the usual suspects. You’ll also get 24/7 heart-rate monitoring, recovery time readouts, VO2 Max measurements, calories, blood oxygen, and more.
Overnight there’s sleep tracking which triggers automatically, and health features like irregular heartbeat sensing and atrial fibrillation detection, which are constantly monitored in the background.
Safety features include emergency SOS and Fall Detection, the effectiveness of which I can attest to because I accidentally triggered it during a gym workout when I flopped a bit too dramatically onto a bench while doing barbell bench presses.
Navigation is provided by GPS tracking, which can also give you retrospective routes for your outdoor workouts and is impressively accurate, even when not tethered to a phone. There’s also a compass and barometer, the latter of which will be of particular note to climbers and hikers, who can use it to gauge height and atmospheric conditions that could indicate changes in the weather.
Another standout feature that I wasn’t able to test was Heat Map. With GPS and network connectivity, you can track your heat map for ball games including American football, Aussie rules, basketball, rugby, soccer, and tennis, as well as Frisbee, with your activity displayed as a satellite image of your exploits that you can customize and share with friends.
There’s also TicMotion, proactive tracking for outdoor workouts that can detect walking, running, or cycling without the need for user input, providing heart rate, calories, and VO2 max info automatically. I’ve already mentioned the dynamic screen, which changes color to match your heart rate in Ultra-low-power mode, another epic feature for fitness enthusiasts.
You also get the usual slew of Wear OS features from Google, including G-Suite integration for Maps, Calendar, and Gmail, apps from the Play Store, messaging, Google Wallet, and more. 32GB of onboard storage ensures you can load music and playlists onto your device, so you can run without your smartphone if you’d prefer
Overall, the TicWatch Atlas is packed with features for a $329 smartwatch. The feature-set generally lends itself to the adventuring fitness enthusiast, there is a lot going on when it comes to fitness tracking, health, performance, and more. I’d be inclined to compare the Atlas more to some of the best Garmin watches on the market, rather than something like a Google Pixel Watch 3. As with TicWatch’s Pro 5 offering, LTE is the only glaring omission. Mobvoi has also confirmed to us that there isn’t currently any information about Wear OS 5 support, the rollout of which to old Pixel models was confirmed recently, so this doesn’t put it at a huge disadvantage versus other Android rivals.
(Image credit: Future)
Features score: 4.5/5
TicWatch Atlas: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
Snappy processor
Accurate metrics
Phenomenal battery life
In my three weeks using the Atlas TicWatch I’ve been really impressed by the overall performance. My daily driver is usually an Apple Watch Series 10, or latterly, the Ultra 2. Personally, I find that the animations of Wear OS 4 leave a bit to be desired, with the lack of bounce and responsiveness versus watchOS 11 making for a more clunky experience; however, the TicWatch’s Snapdragon W5+ chip is more than enough to handle Wear OS. The user experience overall is snappy and responsive, with no processor hang-ups. The Atlas can process a lot of workout data including heart rate metrics, steps and calories, and cadence, and it’s definitely a solid piece of kit.
Accuracy-wise, it leaves little to be desired. In side-by-side tests with my $699 Apple Watch Ultra 2, the TicWatch broadly kept up with heart rate measurements including changes to my pulse. In a 1km test walk, the TicWatch slightly over-egged the distance, giving me 1km when I’d only walked 956m, with a slightly ambitious GPS route that artificially inflated the distance. However, that’s not a massive margin of error, and the Atlas clocked my average heart rate at 89bpm compared to the Apple Watch’s 90, and calories burned at 58 vs Apple Watch’s 60. For almost everyone that’s a perfectly acceptable margin of error, and an impressive set of results. In fact, I was surprised that workout summaries and metrics generally felt more comprehensive than with the Apple Watch and iOS, with step count, VO2 max, average speed, and workout zones served up in addition to Apple’s data offering.
(Image credit: Future)
The only suspect reading I’ve found on the Atlas is blood oxygen, with a couple of erratic readings suggesting that my level was changing quite rapidly to as low as 92% percent and as high as 100%. It seems to have evened out over time, but I’ve wondered if the TicWatch has been giving me readings even when it wasn’t quite able to. On other occasions, however, it matched the Apple Watch in more controlled conditions. Given that this measurement relies heavily on you being at rest and having your watch fitted properly, this could be an error, and it’s one I’m keeping an eye on with continued testing.
Metrics and results are delivered via the Mobvoi Health app, available on the Google Play Store. It’s certainly comprehensive and colorful, but the app’s design and interface aren’t enthralling. Still, it’s practical and easy to navigate.
The aforementioned TicMotion workout detection is impressive, as is the automatic sleep tracking, however, the Atlas’ party piece is definitely its battery life. The TicWatch Atlas is rated for 90 hours of use as a regular smartwatch, or an eye-watering 45 days using the ultra-low-power display. In three weeks of use, I’ve only had to charge it twice, and it easily clears three days of constant use on a single charge, including one workout a day. Charging speed is also impressive, and the standard included cable is good for 2 days of usage from just 30 minutes of charging. Otherwise, a full charge in my experience takes about 90 minutes, and TicWatch’s interface shows the battery charging in real-time to two decimal places for a reassuring sense of progress.
Performance score: 4.5/5
TicWatch Atlas review: Scorecard
TicWatch Atlas: Should I buy?
Buy it if...
You want a rugged Wear OS fitness tracker
The TicWatch Atlas excels at fitness and health tracking and has a brilliant, rugged durability.
You want a stylish alternative to mainstream Android smartwatches
The TicWatch Atlas’ design stands out against Pixel Watch and Galaxy alternatives.
Don't buy it if...
You own an iPhone
The TicWatch Atlas is an Android-only smartwatch.
You want Wear OS 5
The TicWatch Atlas doesn’t currently support the latest Android wearable software.
TicWatch Atlas: How we tested
I used the TicWatch Atlas for almost three weeks as my main smartwatch. It was connected to a Samsung S21 Ultra, on which I tested the Mobvoi Health app and connectivity. I used the watch to track my sleeping, as well as multiple strength and running workouts. I also conducted controlled testing to directly compare metrics to the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and the Series 10, including a 1km test walk to measure the accuracy of heart rate and calorie tracking.
With its brilliant OLED screen, comprehensive fitness tracking, and great battery life, the Garmin Forerunner 265 is a great alternative for runners, although slightly more expensive.
Smart rings have been picking up steam in the wearables space since the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Ring, which helped to put this burgeoning tech trend on the map. However, hone in on the price – or the ongoing subscription fees – and it’s easy to be put off. That’s where a more affordable option such as the RingConn Gen 2 smart ring comes in.
At $299 (around £250 / AU$485) it isn't "cheap" in real terms, but next to the competition the RingConn Gen 2 is an appealing option – especially when you consider it delivers solid health metric tracking in a sleek and stylish package.
It tracks your sleep, heart rate, activity, and stress, to determine your overall wellness score – plus it can gamify keeping healthy further with badges awarded for good habits. You’ll find it falls down somewhat when it comes to fitness tracking, because it doesn’t start this tracking automatically, so you can forget to log your workouts. In addition, it only tracks running, cycling, and walking right now. So if you’re someone looking for tech to help you achieve your sporting goals, this ring is unlikely to be for you.
The band itself – which comes in sizes 6 to 14, in black, gold or silver – looks just like any other regular ring, and it’s durable with a top-class IP68 dust-proof and waterproof rating plus a design that even after a few weeks of regular use didn't appear to become scratched.
The RingConn Gen 2 also offers a supremely long battery life, remaining charged for up to 12 days. With the charging case you can get an additional 150 days out of it before you need to search out a plug socket again.
This long battery life helps ensure the RingConn Gen 2 won’t run out of power overnight for several nights in a row, which is of importance for its new sleep apnea monitoring feature. It isn't yet FDA-approved, but it does apparently boast a 90.7% accuracy rating, and can help to either warn you of potential health issues or provide some peace of mind – although it isn't a replacement for a medical professional.
Overall, then, the RingConn Gen 2 is a solid option for people who want to try a smart ring but don’t want to over-commit, and while it's a little pricier than its predecessor, the upgrades go some way to justify its higher price.
(Image credit: Future)
RingConn Gen 2: Specs
RingConn Gen 2: Price and Availability
The RingConn Gen 2 is available for purchase online through the company's website for $299 or around £250 / AU$485. RingConn does ship to the UK and Australia, although the price online is only given in dollars.
One major cost advantage of the RingConn Gen 2 and its predecessor – beyond their already relatively budget-friendly price – is that RingConn doesn’t charge you a monthly fee to access its full set of features. On the flipside the RingConn’s tracking isn’t quite as in depth as you’ll find from pricier options on our list of the best smart rings.
It’s a slight disappointment that the Gen 2 model is pricier than its $279 predecessor, although given how frequently the previous model was on sale, we expect this new RingConn smart ring will be discounted regularly, too. In particular, keep an eye out for sales events such as Black Friday to see if you can pick it up for a lower price.
RingConn Gen 2: Design
Thin yet durable design
Comes in three colors
Supports sizes from 6 to 14
The RingConn Gen 2 doesn't reinvent the wheel, so to speak, when it comes to smart ring design. It's a classic band shape that's available in sizes from 6 to 14. Based on your size, it weighs between 2g and 3g, and has a width of 6.8mm, and a thickness of 2mm. In essence, you won't be able to tell the difference between this ring and any other band unless someone catches it glowing when the sensors are monitoring your health metrics.
It's available in three colors; I’m a fan of the matte black finish, but jewelry traditionalists might prefer the silver or gold options. Whichever band you choose, the RingConn Gen 2 arrives with an IP68 dust-proof and waterproof rating, so it can survive being worn to the beach, or when you’re washing the dishes.
(Image credit: Future)
I can’t speak for the durability of the other bands, but even following several weeks of constant use, my matte black RingConn Gen 2 is showing no visible signs of wear and tear – the band is scuff-free and about as pristine as the day I received it in the mail.
Just a few point to note for those of you who haven’t used a smart ring before. Before buying a RingConn smart ring, I’d recommend requesting a free sizing kit – you do this when you order your ring by selecting the “Don’t know my size” option. I'd request the kit even if you regularly wear a ring or have a smart ring from a different brand, since the RingConn sizes might not be an exact match to what you’re wearing because of the bumps on the inside edge from the placement of sensors.
Wear the dummy rings constantly for a couple of days; your ring size fluctuates through the day, so the "perfect fit" at the time you happen test could end up being too big or too small overall. The ideal size will fit snuggly: it shouldn’t slide off, but neither should it be a struggle to remove. This will mean the ring sits in the correct position throughout the day, rather than moving out of its proper orientation – something that can lead to inaccurate readings. Place your order once you’re certain of the size you need.
In addition, if like me you're not a regular ring wearer, you’ll need to get into the habit of not losing your band when you take it off. I recommend putting the ring in its case if you do take it off, or leaving it in a specific spot each time.
Design score: 4/5
RingConn Gen 2: Features
New sleep apnea tracking
Monitors health vitals, sleep, stress and activity
Limited fitness tracking
Using the smart ring and accompanying RingConn app, you can monitor five key stats: Sleep, Activity, Stress, Heart Rate and SpO2 levels. Using these metrics, the RingConn app provides you with an overall Wellness Balance score, and tips on how to improve your rating. I’ve taken it easy these past few days, so right now for me it’s recommending I try some moderate or high-intensity workouts to relieve some stress and up my activity rating.
Beyond a simple score for each metric you can click into the Sleep, Stress, Vital Signs and Activity sub-menus to view more in-depth stats such as a graph of your sleep cycle, your heart rate throughout the day, and a record of the calories the ring estimates you’ve burned.
If stats alone aren’t enough to keep you motivated, the app awards badges for achieving optimal health targets for a little added gamification.
(Image credit: Future)
In addition to the main stats, there’s also a fifth menu for the RingConn Gen 2’s brand new Sleep Apnea tracking, which is reportedly 90.7% reliable according to RingConn’s studies (although it's yet to be FDA approved). After initiating a comprehensive assessment over three nights of sleep, the app will either end regular monitoring if you don’t appear to have an issue, or will recommend that you speak to a medical professional if it believes you might have sleep apnea.
While the RingConn Gen 2 isn't suitable for in-depth monitoring or treatment of the condition, the sleep apnea feature can help to put your mind at ease if you’re concerned about your sleep health (although a doctor is the best person to speak to if you’re worried about sleep apnea).
However, it's with fitness tracking that the RingConn Gen 2 falls down. It doesn't have the capability to automatically detect when you start exercising; you have to manually start tracking from within the app – with it currently only supporting running, cycling and walking. As such, I often didn't remember to activate fitness tracking, meaning much of my activity went unrecorded.
Features score: 3.5/5
RingConn Gen 2: Performance
12-day battery life
In-depth sleep stats
Fitness tracking is easy to forget to activate
Throughout the day, the RingConn Gen 2 automatically collects your health metrics – at five- or thirty-minute intervals based on your preferences – and stores them on the device until it can sync with the RingConn app. Note, however, that you can manually request a scan using the RingConn app.
I did find it had some occasional syncing issues during testing, although on these occasions I was simply left waiting for a few more seconds for the app to update with the latest info. Overall, it was a seamless experience.
The app itself is fairly intuitive, and while there is a fair amount going on, the homescreen struck the right balance between busy and informative. Conversely, the sub-menus that deliver more in-depth analysis of your stats were a little more cluttered, although the ability to edit those busier menus and rearrange the blocks meant I was able to move the stats I cared most about to the top to help simplify my health data monitoring.
When it comes to accuracy, the RingConn Gen 2 appears to do a great job, with its results matching up closely with the scores achieved through my Fitbit.
(Image credit: RingConn)
The smart ring’s fitness tracking it isn't too bad, but as mentioned, it's held back by limited sports options and the fact it doesn’t activate automatically. If you do switch it on for your walk, run, or bike ride, the app will deliver an in-depth breakdown in the activity menu that shows how far you travelled (complete with a map of your route), the number of calories you burned, and a graph of your heart rate, color-coded to different heart rate zones such as Warm-Up, Fat Burning, and Aerobic. In terms of the latter, it will even break down precisely how long you spent in each zone as you'll see with other fitness trackers.
The one area that the RingConn Gen 2 is truly superb is battery life, with its 12-day offering trumping even top-end rivals such as the Samsung Galaxy Ring with its seven-day battery life. During tests, the RingConn Gen 2 delivered on its promise, and when it did eventually start to run low, the ring’s charging case – which can store an additional 150 days worth of charge – was able to top it up fairly speedily.
Now, I simply charge the ring whenever I take a shower, to keep it hovering steadily around the upper end of its battery life. In the app I can see the percentage and estimated usage time it has remaining by tapping on the ring icon in the top-right corner.
Performance score: 4/5
Should you buy the RingConn Gen 2
Buy it if...
You want an affordable option At only $299, and with no monthly fees, the RingConn Gen 2 smart ring is a solid, affordable yet still well-specced alternative to the best smart rings out there.
You need a long battery life Offering a 12-day battery life and a charging case that can extend it to 150 days before you need to rely on a power outlet, this smart ring can definitely go the distance.
You’re not sure about smart rings With its relatively easy set-up process and low(ish) cost, the RingConn Gen 2 is an excellent choice for people who want to try the smart ring experience without over-committing.
Don’t buy it if…
You want a fitness tracker Smart rings are useful for health monitoring, but this ring isn’t the best for fitness tracking due to limited workout options and because it won’t turn on automatically.
You want something high-end While there’s a lot to be said for an affordable option, high-end models from rivals such as Oura and Samsung do offer a more seamless and in-depth experience (albeit at a higher cost).
You value function over fashion Smart rings are ideal for people who want to wear a regular watch but don’t want to lose out on health tracking. If you’d rather get something more feature-rich, a smartwatch or fitness tracker would be a better bet.
Also Consider
Samsung Galaxy Ring With excellent software, and no monthly payments, the Galaxy Ring is our current pick for the best smart ring available. It's pricier, but its added benefits could be enough to sway you. Read our Samsung Galaxy Ring review
Oura Gen 4 Oura is almost synonymous with smart rings, and its latest gen 4 model has just entered the scene. While it's pricier (especially when you factor in the subscription), those interested in buying a smart ring should at least give this one some attention. Read our Oura Ring 4 review
Fitbit Luxe If you aren’t dead-set on getting a smart ring, then the Fitbit Luxe is our pick for the best fitness tracker in general thanks to its excellent monitoring abilities and stylish design Read our Fitbit Luxe review
How I tested the RingConn Gen 2
To test the RingConn Gen 2 I wore it pretty much all day, every day for a few weeks. It tracked me while I worked from home, when I did workouts, when I went out for walks, and while I slept. This meant I was able to see how well the ring performed in my regular daily routine as a health monitoring tool.
For a few days of testing the RingConn Gen 2, I wore my trusty Fitbit tracker alongside to compare the results of both devices and gauge accuracy. The results weren’t always an exact match, but for the stats that both devices were monitoring, they did align fairly closely.
The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro, the brand's new flagship wearable, promises a longer battery life among other enhanced features over its previous incarnation, the TicWatch Pro 5.
The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro is a well-engineered device with a robust feel, yet it’s light and relatively slender for a fitness-focused watch. The screen glass is dense and feels tough enough to withstand the rigors of more extreme activities, while the display is clear and renders the UI very well. It’s responsive to gestures, but unfortunately, contact still registers through various materials, so accidental swipes when brushed against clothes and the like are possible.
Aesthetically, the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro is no standout, but it’s discreet enough to be worn on any occasion. The included straps are durable, but as someone who prefers nylon over rubber, I didn’t find them to be the most comfortable, and the loop failed to keep the excess slack in place consistently.
Running Google’s Wear OS, the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro is a fast performer, for the most part, thanks to the Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chip. I did experience the occasional stutter and instances where apps and various functions didn’t work as intended, but nothing that drastically derailed the overall experience.
The Mobvoi Health Android app is great for tracking your workouts and physical data, with a clear layout, stable performance, and plentiful features and functionality. As you would expect, there’s a miscellany of health and fitness apps available on the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro right out of the box. Some of these work better than others: the measurements for steps and distance covered appear quite accurate, while those for activity, blood oxygen and anaerobic exercise seem to miss the mark.
All the performance and functionality of the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro comes at a cost. While there are certainly more expensive fitness wearables out there, there are also cheaper models, including the Fitbit Inspire 3 and the Apple Watch SE 2, that offer the same levels of performance and functionality (or close to them).
(Image credit: Future)
Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro review: specs
(Image credit: Future)
Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro review: price & availability
$349 / £329 / about AU$504
Available in Slate or Obsidian colorways
Costs more than some Apple Watch models
The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro costs $349 / £329 / about AU$504 and is available in two color schemes: Slate, which is a pale shade of green, and Obsidian.
The Enduro is priced the same as its predecessor, the TicWatch Pro 5, which is still available to buy. However, it has a few more enhancements, including a battery with a longer life and fast charging, a new ultra-low-power display, and new biometric measurement tools.
It’s cheaper than some dedicated fitness wearables, such as the Garmin Forerunner 265, but considerably more than other popular smartwatches, such as the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and the Apple Watch SE. These both offer similar fitness credentials to the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro, although they lack ECG features and blood oxygen sensors.
If you’re only buying a wearable for health and fitness purposes, the Fitbit Luxe is our pick as the best fitness tracker around, or the Fitbit Inspire 3 if you’re after the best cheap fitness tracker.
Value score: 2/5
(Image credit: Future)
Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro review: design
Solid build
Anonymous looks
Sleek interface
In line with other Mobvoi TicWatch models, the Pro 5 Enduro sports a round face with a thick chassis that’s not too bulky. As someone with small wrists, it didn’t feel oversized, although it isn’t as sleek as some wearables on the market, such as the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 or the Apple Watch.
As for the build quality, the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro feels very well put together, with a sturdy yet lightweight construction, and a rugged strap that feels secure and durable. However, I found it too thick to be breathable, generating quite a lot of sweat during physical activity, which makes for an uncomfortable sensation. This is an issue I usually have with most rubberized straps; I much prefer nylon.
Mobvoi does sell replacement straps, and there are plenty of compatible third-party ones out there. The TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro utilizes pins common on many standard watches to secure each end in place, with sliding bolts that allow you to install new straps without needing any tools.
The loop has a nodule that’s supposed to fit into the empty strap holes to secure it in place, but this didn’t work for me: at least once or twice a day, the strap would escape the loop, which is especially inconvenient during exercise.
What’s more impressive on the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro is the switches. The swivel on the crown is smooth and offers good haptic feedback, which is noticeable without being intrusive. Presses are also pleasingly tactile and the same goes for the side button above. This can be customized to perform various actions and functions, such as setting it as a shortcut for opening apps of your choosing. All these factors combine to make it easy to operate the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro.
The interface itself is sleek and minimal. Menus are easy to navigate, for the most part, and the UI is laid out clearly. There are also a generous amount of watch faces to choose from, with varying degrees of information displayed that can be customized further in the Mobvoi Health app. The included TimeShow app offers even more face designs, but requires a paid subscription.
There is a variety of display settings that can only be controlled when the main watch face appears, such as when you tilt the watch towards you. The AMOLED display is clear and bright, making it easy to view in all but the sunniest of conditions. The default ultra-low-power display, however, is hard to see no matter what the ambient lighting is like, regardless of what backlight setting you choose.
Design score: 3.5/5
(Image credit: Future)
Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro review: Features
Accurate GPS
Plenty of fitness functions
Good customization options
Setting up the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro was simple enough, requiring the Mobvoi Health app to get going. You’ll also need to create an account (or sign in with your Google account) to save your workouts and other health data.
At time of writing, the app had a poor rating among users on the Play Store, scoring a meager 1.9 from 3,000 reviews, but during my time with it, I struggled to find much to criticize. It has a clear layout and a good set of customization options, with plenty of health data available for you to dig into. I didn’t experience any performance issues with it either. My only real complaint is that you can’t adjust the same number of settings as you can on the watch itself.
Once set up, the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro recommends apps to install, including those that are already present on your phone. Even though I checked the boxes for this during my setup, they failed to install as the Wi-Fi took a while to establish a connection. Thankfully, the Play Store app on the watch has the same list, enabling you to install your phone apps whenever you wish.
There are numerous Mobvoi apps related to fitness, which can seem overwhelming at first. The main one is TicHealth, which tracks metrics such as your steps and calories burned, as well as your heart rate, sleep and blood oxygen. Many of these require an initial measurement to get set up, which can be done via the new one-tap measurement app and takes only 90 seconds to complete its assessment.
Another key app is TicExercise, which can track your workouts. It offers a myriad of activities to track, from walking and yoga to Tai Chi and Motocross, and includes individual exercises in addition to overall routines.
As a fully-fledged Wear OS watch, the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro can run popular third-party apps downloaded from the Google Play Store, including Strava, Spotify, Audible, Microsoft Outlook, and WhatsApp, as well as Google’s own suite of apps, including Maps, Docs, and Keep. Although the selection is a far cry from what’s available on mobile devices, it’s still enough to make having a Wear OS smartwatch useful.
Features score: 4/5
(Image credit: Future)
Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro review: performance
Lots of data available
Inconsistent measurements
Average battery life
Although many of the aforementioned TicWatch apps are effective for giving a general overview of your stats, they’re far from perfect. While the heart rate monitor seemed reasonably accurate, I found the sleep and blood oxygen measurements inconsistent. The latter was particularly dubious, ranging from 100% to 91% after taking numerous readings (bearing in mind that below 94% indicates insufficient oxygen supply). Naturally, Mobvoi does issue a disclaimer that the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro cannot be used for medical purposes.
It also gives some tips for improving your blood oxygen that verge on the eccentric, including recommendations to eat liver and fungus for their plentiful iron stores, as well as informing you that oxygen cylinders are used to increase oxygen saturation.
As for sleep tracking, there were times when it seemed to get the hours spot on, and know how many quality hours of sleep I got. However, there were also times when it grossly underestimated the amount of sleep, such as when it said I only got 3 hours and 15 minutes. Admittedly, this was a fitful night, but I certainly got more hours than this.
Activity monitoring was also inaccurate in its assessments, telling me on more than one occasion that I had been active for three hours from 9am to 12pm, despite the fact I was sitting at my desk the whole time. It also gave me a prompt to get more steps in to meet my daily target, straight after going for a 10-minute dog walk. And it failed to notice my three-minute run to catch a train, not even registering my elevated heart rate. Admittedly, this could be explained by how loose I had the strap at that moment – a consequence of the discomfort it caused me.
Despite the TicExercise app having a wide variety of exercises available for tracking, in practice, they didn’t offer the tailor-made experience I was hoping for. When using the weightlifting option for one of my workouts, the only data it offered was duration, calories burnt, and heart rate. It also broke down my workout time into warm-up, fat-burning, cardio, anaerobic and danger zone phases.
I found this breakdown quite inaccurate, since it said I spent most of the time in warm-up, a minimal amount in cardio, and none in the anaerobic state – essentially the opposite of how my actual workout went. I’m not an athlete by any stretch, but I certainly exerted my muscles during the workout, far beyond what the watch impertinently thought was a “warm-up”, and I certainly did more anaerobic than aerobic work.
(Image credit: Future)
For my outdoor run, it seemed much more accurate with its account of my pace, max speed, and time spent in a cardio-intensive state – although strangely it did seem to think that for five of my 18 minutes spent running, I was in an anaerobic state. It also split my times per kilometer covered, and offered average and maximum readings of my heart rate, pace, cadence, and stride length. It provided a very detailed route map too, showing exactly where I had been, along with a reading of the elevation gain, so the GPS certainly functions well, and I found it established a signal fairly quickly too. Clearly, TicExercise is at its best when assessing aerobic rather than anaerobic activity.
In terms of general use, the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro is responsive, with swipes being smooth, fast, and easy to perform. Functions and apps are quick to run too, and overall the Wear OS integrates nicely with Android devices, receiving push notifications and messages promptly – even when there’s no Wear OS app equivalent (Slack was a case in point here). There’s a good degree of cross-platform functionality as well, including the ability to easily control media playback from your smartphone on the watch.
There are a few minor usability issues, such as the watch failing to wake up when I brought my arm up, particularly when lying down at night, and coming on when I didn't want it to. Gestures occasionally failed to register, and some apps failed to open on the first tap. Notification and media playback symbols can also obscure the battery level indicator on some watch face designs. Overall, though, my experience with the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro wasn’t ruined by these niggles and minor bugs.
Third-party apps perform well on the whole. However, Spotify – an app many are likely to use during their workouts – did give me a few issues, ranging from playback and UI failures to Bluetooth headphones disconnecting unbidden. Whether the blame lies with the Spotify app or the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro is hard to determine, but it’s an issue worth mentioning.
Mobvoi claims that the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro battery lasts up to 90 hours, 10 hours more than the Pro 5. During my tests, however, I was getting substantially less than this. Over the course of 12 hours, I went from full to 70% with minimal use. The upshot is that I was getting closer to three days of use out of the TicWatch rather than four. On the positive side, charging is quick, thanks to its fast charging capability.
You can turn on essential mode to extend the battery life to up to 45 days, but you can’t access any of the other features beyond what’s shown on the ultra-low-power display. Since you can’t access the settings or control the watch from your phone in this mode, to return to normal you have to restart by holding the side button, which takes longer than it should. It feels as if the mode switching could’ve been implemented better than this.
Performance score: 3/5
Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro: Scorecard
Should I buy the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro?
Buy it if...
You do aerobic exercise The TicWatch is at its most accurate when counting steps and tracking distance, with useful pace and route tracking functionality, thanks to the excellent GPS.
You have an Android phone As a Wear OS device, the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro integrates superbly with Androids. Some of your favorite apps are also available from the Play Store.
Don't buy it if...
You do anaerobic activity While runs can be tracked comprehensively, resistance training tracking isn’t at the same level.
You’re on a budget With an asking price of $349 / £329 / about AU$504, it's more expensive than most Fitbit and even some Apple Watch models, and these may be better options depending on what you want from a smartwatch.
You have an iPhone The TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro doesn’t work with Apple’s smartphones, so you’ll need to go for a Fitbit, Apple Watch or other compatible wearable if you want cross-device support.
Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro review: also consider
Apple Watch SE Apple still reigns supreme in the smartwatch space, and for good reason. Although it’s not strictly billed as a fitness watch, there are plenty of apps for the Apple Watch SE, both first and third-party, that can add that capability. And at $249, it’s cheaper than the TicWatch. You will, of course, need an iPhone to get going with it, though, and beware: there’s no ECG or blood oxygen sensor.Read our full Apple Watch SE review
Fitbit Luxe Fitbit was one of the first to kickstart the fitness wearables trend, and it’s still going strong with various models. In our Fitbit Luxe review, we said it’s one of the company’s best models. Note, however, that there have been a number of controversial changes to Fitbit services of late, including the axing of much-loved features, casting doubts over its longevity.
How I tested the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro
Tested for one week
All features and first-party apps used
Regularly active
I tested the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro for a week, wearing it every day and some nights. During that time I went about my normal routine, which included working at a desk, walking and exercising. I did a mixture of resistance training and cardio work, both indoors on a treadmill and out in the wild.
I also used as many of the available functions and apps the watch had to offer as possible, including all the preinstalled health and fitness apps, as well as other third-party apps.
I partake in physical activities, such as walking and resistance training, between two to three times a week, with some cardio thrown in when I can. I also commute to work, which can vary from taking public transport – including 10-minute walks either side – or walking the whole two miles each way to the office and back.
