Ticwatch Pro 3 LTE smartwatch, Wear OS by Google, Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform, heart rate sleep tracking and NFC, IP68 ready to swim, long battery life, Vodafone only

I purchased the TicWatch Pro 3 off the back of already owning the TicWatch Pro 2020, which is a superb device. As soon as the TicWatch Pro 3 came out, I knew I wanted one and I’m glad I bought it.PackagingOutwardly, the packaging of the watch was very similar to the Pro 2020 version, a high-quality box containing the watch, instructions and charger, all packaged with care to ensure a flawless product on delivery.Watch DesignThis is a beautiful and surprisingly light smartwatch. I was expecting the design and feel to be very similar to the Pro 2020, but it is MUCH lighter and more comfortable. The materials of the watch feel durable and are attractive.The black bezel has a nice reflective quality, and numbers etched on it in 5-minute intervals. The bezel does not rotate, but this is expected.The side buttons both feel robust and are unobtrusive even when bending the wrist (if you wear it on your left wrist like I do, some watch buttons can get pressed when bending the wrist)The watch is thinner than the Pro 2020 model by around 2-3mm, and weighs 17g less (yes, I weighed them, see pics!)StrapThe supplied strap is a 22mm quick-release band, which appears to be made from silicone, but has an attractive red stitch pattern which gives the impression of a leather strap. The benefit of it being silicone is all down to comfort, and this strap is incredibly smooth and comfortable.DisplayThis is where the Ticwatch really shines. Using the clever 1.4” dual display, the majority of the time the watch will be using the low-power always-on LCD screen. This screen shows the essential information like Time, Date, Step count, and battery. By either clicking a button, or tilting your wrist, this activates the AMOLED display which then allows the full smart watch functionality, with responsive touch screen and a host of apps at your disposal.The LCD display is great for viewing in light areas, and is perfectly readable in direct sunlight, which a lot of smart watches cannot do. The LCD also seems to include a backlight mode, which the previous model did not, this makes it easier to read the LCD in darker areas.The full AMOLED display is bright and vibrant with excellent viewing angles, and dark blacks.AppsMost of the apps are fairly standard from a Google Watch OS standpoint. All the regulars are there like Google Fit, Phone, Memo, Calc, Alarm, Stopwatch/Timer, Weather etc. With the benefit of access to the Google Play store to download thousands of other apps.My most used apps such as Google Keep, Strava, Spotify all worked flawlessly.Another big plus is Google Pay, which is fully supported on this watch. I programmed the bottom hardware button to be a single press to Google Pay (though by default the double click also does this), and I have made numerous purchases using it, as it is SO convenient. In case you’re worried about security, if using Google Pay you must set up a PIN or pattern, which activates every time you put on the watch. Therefore, if the watch was taken from you, Google Pay would not function without it.I was interested in trying out the Tic built in apps, and was pleasantly surprised by them:• I have TicSleep monitoring my sleep, as the watch is comfortable enough to wear to bed (something the Pro 2020 model was not IMO).• I’ve used TicZen and TicBreath to de-stress which is something I was already doing using a mindfulness app on my phone, but now integrated into the watch is convenient and easy to use.• TicHearing has been useful to show just how loud my kids are shouting when playing Fortnite and Rocket League – over 100dB at times!• TicPulse is used to monitor my heart rate, which I have set to do 24/7 monitoring. Accuracy seems consistent with the Pro 2020.• TicOxygen measures blood oxygen levels. I also have this running 24/7.• TicExercise has all the modes you would expect from an exercise tracking app – Run, Walk, Treadmill, Cycling, Freestyle, and many more including Swimming due to the IP68 water resistant rating. It can also upload to Strava, which is my exercise hub of choice.• All of this gets pulled into the TicHealth app which gives a nice overview of all the above functions.TouchScreen and HardwareThe screen is responsive to touch, easily as responsive as the Pro 2020 and perhaps feels smoother to touch, though this could just be due to the snapper hardware. One of the main selling points of this watch is that it uses the brand-new Qualcomm Snapdragon 4100 platform, which is a powerful applications processor and ultra-low power co-processor. This should have significant improvements in terms of battery life, and performance.Battery LifeI was pleased to see that the battery life of this new model was as good as if not better than the previous one, even when I was using the watch with so many features running, such as the 24/7hr and blood oxygen, and also wearing it to monitor sleep. From first charge, I was able to eek out 2.5 days, including 2 nights. I haven’t used it in essential mode, which shuts down all smart performance, limits you to the LCD screen and only monitors steps, but this mode should allow up to 45 days!UIThe UI on this feels buttery smooth, with no lag that I can detect. All touches are recognised, and no delays between presses and apps opening.ChargingGone is the older magnetic charging base, and this includes a much more welcome magnetic charging clip. It clicks into place effortlessly, and allows the watch to sit at a slight angle, which would be nice for a bedside if you’re not wearing it to bed along with TicSleep :-pConclusionSo in conclusion, this is a superb and very comfortable smartwatch that I can see myself wearing for years to come!

I've already got a TicWatch 2020 which I've been very impressed with, having had a Garmin VivoActiveHR before that. When I bought the 2020 I did consider getting the LTE version, but decided the additional cost was not worth it at the time.Then the opportunity arose to get the new TicWatch Pro3 LTE at no additional cost to me, so I thought I'd give it a go - it's always useful to have a spare watch in any case, especially smartwatches that require regular charging.I have to say, although TicWatch is probably considered a mid-price brand the quality of their watches is really good. Easily as good as Garmin for build quality (probably better actually) and with Google WearOS they're far less likely to suffer from the software/firmware glitches that plague Garmin devices in general.Things I like about both the 2020 and the Pro3 LTE:Proper, full, notifications from my Android phone and the ability to respond to them, including using voice commands and dictation.The ability to make phone calls from the watch for when my hands are too full or too dirty to get my phone out!24/7 health stats monitoring - not lab-accurate, but good enough for general health monitoring as well as recording the more spontaneous exercise/workouts I do (when cycling in general I use a Wahoo computer on my bike).Flexibility and customisation thanks to Google WearOS.Decent battery life when compared to a mobile phone rather than non-smart watch (more on that later).Differences between 2020 and Pro3 LTE:The Pro3 LTE is slightly slimmer and lighter, not much to notice off the wrist, but it makes a noticeable difference when wearing it - surprisingly so.The charger for the 2020 is a magnetic cradle for the whole watch, whereas the Pro3 LTE charger attaches via magnet to the charging contacts. The 2020 charging cradle is just better - more secure, watch lays flat when charging. Unfortunately they're not interchangeable either, so I just have to carefully place the Pro3 LTE down when charging to avoid the charger being knocked off and the watch kind of sits a little awkwardly on the table or whatever surface I'm charging it on. The magnets on the Pro3 LTE charger are pretty strong, so it's not a major issue, but I do think the old version was a better design.The battery life on the Pro3 LTE is better. Significantly so. The 2020 is good enough - it will always get through a day easily, but it can be a challenge to get all the way through a second day to a point that you can take it off and charge it. However, the Pro3 LTE lasts a clear 2 days and into a third. As both watches have sleep monitoring (as well as 24/7 heart rate) you miss the 'overnight every night' charging opportunity so have to find convenient times in the evening to take it off for a couple of hours - which makes that extra day's capacity a significant advantage for the Pro3.The Pro3 has more storage (8Gb instead of 4Gb of storage/ROM - it has the same 1Gb of RAM) and a newer, faster processor. It is a little smoother and faster as a result, but when both watches are new and not too loaded up with extra apps they both function perfectly well. I suspect the Pro3 will not slow down as quickly as the 2020 over time though (no evidence to base this on as yet though).The Pro3 LTE monitors blood oxygen saturation as well as heart rate. This is another nice piece of health info to have, but isn't accurate enough to make much use of and isn't something that varies significantly enough due to fitness to really tell you anything more generally. The only reasons I can think of why your blood oxygen would generally drop and not cause something more acute that you'd notice (like an asthma attack) are carbon monoxide poisoning and smoking - so if you're giving up smoking and want to see your blood oxygen levels recover, or are worried about CO in your house this might be useful!Using the LTE function to make calls on the Pro3 LTE without being in range of your phone requires a Vodafone contract (which luckily I have already) and costs an additional £7 per month (on my tariff at least!). This wouldn't be so bad if the price difference for the LTE version of the watch wasn't also significantly higher (£40 at the time of writing) - if the watch was more expensive and there was no additional monthly cost then it would definitely be worth it, likewise if the watch was a very similar price to the non-LTE version and there was a monthly cost it might be worth having. Having to pay more the watch and then more to use your existing Vodafone contract to make phone-free calls with it makes it harder to justify if you don't _really_ need to leave your phone at home, or are particularly worried about your phone battery dying and needing to call someone.The straps are both made of silicon (although the 2020 has a leather top) and traditional two piece strap and clasp style. I've never liked silicon straps and changed the 2020 to a stainless steel one almost immediately - the silicon was not kind to my wrist at all and became uncomfortable within a couple of days. Thankfully changing straps is a doddle thanks to the quick release. The Pro3 LTE was a different matter - a couple of weeks in and I'm still using the original silicon strap. I'm not sure what the difference is, and to be honest I probably will swap it for the stainless one at some point (it has the same easy quick release system), but to date it hasn't caused me any skin sweatiness or irritation problems. Which is good, because the heart rate (and in the case of the Pro3 the oxygen saturation monitoring) monitoring works much better when the watch is fairly tight.Other points of note:I could add the Pro3 LTE to my Google Wear OS app on my phone very easily and both watches are now synced there. However, it looks like the Mobvoi app can only have one watch registered to it. Also, when I added my Pro3 LTE it took a couple of days for the Mobvoi app to realise and update the watch description. It seems a little quicker to swap now when I swap watches, but I still can't seem to connect both to the app concurrently - I have to power off the one I'm not using and wait or restart the Mobvoi app to get the powered on one connected.I'm not sure how much the Mobvoi app adds to the bare WearOS app - I have it installed anyway and it does record my blood oxygen history which it doesn't look like makes it into Google Fit, but other than that I can't find anything not already in either the WearOS app or Google Fit.So, my overall thoughts:Both the 2020 and the Pro3 LTE are great watches.The Pro3 LTE has some significant advantages - it's definitely a progression from the 2020.Is LTE worth it? Definitely yes if you know you will be (or want to be) without your phone regularly, probably not if you'll always have your phone with you.