Earlier in the week, Polar launched a premium-priced rugged smartwatch aimed at outdoor adventurers. Now China's Mobvoi is joining Polar on the mountain hike with a cheaper take on the tough fitness wearable, the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS.
The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS wears a case fashioned using stainless steel, nylon and glass fiber, and as with other members of the Pro family, this model comes with a dual-layer display setup, in this instance comprising a 1.4-inch, 454 x 454 (326 ppi) AMOLED display topped by a FSTN (Film-compensated Super Twisted Nematic) display that shows time, steps and power, both protected by Corning Gorilla Glass.
It comes with IP68 water resistance and has been tested to MIL-STD-810G durability standards, so it should continue to operate in extreme temperatures, high humidity, shock and be a reliable companion on rain-soaked runs or in the pool.
Mobvoi says that users can look forward to a considerable speed and performance boost over previous TicWatch models thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+ chipset, supported by a gigabyte or RAM and 8 GB of storage.
The 41-g (1.45-oz) Wear OS smartwatch includes Bluetooth 5.0 and 802.11n Wi-Fi connectivity, comes with GPS, Beidou, GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS global satellite systems, as well as a built-in compass and barometer, and there's an integrated speaker and microphone for making or taking calls from a paired smartphone, or chatting with Google Assistant. Offline Spotify listening to is possible too, and users will also be able to send and receive messages, get weather alerts, read the latest news, get appointment alarms and more.
The Pro 3 Ultra GPS has more than 20 pro workout modes pre-installed, with real-time stats displayed onscreen, there are heart rate and SpO2 sensors for 24/7 health monitoring, and the smartwatch will alert the wearer if any irregular heartbeats are detected. And its 577-mAh battery is reckoned good for up to 72 hours of per-charge use in full "smart mode," or 45 days with just the essentials on show.
The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS is on sale now and comes in black only for US$299.99. A 4G LTE variant follows in November for $329.99, and will allow users to make or take calls without needing to pair to a smartphone.
Product page: TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS