Google, at least as of the last Google I/O they had, has a renewed commitment to their Wear OS platform in partnership with Samsung. In that sense, you can expect Samsung to be one of those watchmakers that would be making flagship watches that Google can be proud of. They are not exclusive Wear OS device makers though. The source code for Wear OS is still an open one and currently Tag Heuer and Fossil are on the Google Wear OS boat.
There are plenty of smartwatch makers out in the market. The problem is, every one of them offers a slightly different take on what smartwatches should look like. They all feature different proprietary interfaces with their own OS. Samsung, one of the most successful makers in the wearable space, was working with their own Tizen OS before making the switch to Google.
Then there is Mobvoi. Mobvoi is not new, really. They have existed for a while, and they have been focused on making wearables. They have also been on the Wear OS bandwagon for a while now. The only issue is that their current flagship, the Ticwatch Pro 3 Ultra is still running on an older Wear OS firmware. Solution? Launch a new watch.
Except, it is not that simple. When you are a smaller company like Mobvoi, things do not usually come easily. They need product testers. Where do they go? They email their customers or known reviewers to be a part of the process. So, they did.
They emailed a Reddit user, which in turn leaked it to Reddit, about them looking for reviewers or testers for their new TicWatch that is apparently coming soon. The leak also suggested that there are a few main features on the new flagship TicWatch. One of it is, obviously, flagship. Together with Flagship, Mobvoi also says that it has improved premium design.
There are a few more things that Mobvoi teased about the new TicWatch too. They highlighted that it would have long duration battery, NFC payment compatible with Google Pay, IP68 waterproofing alongside a GPS tracker, speaker, and microphone, and lastly it will have IHB/ AFiB detection and fatigue assessment. Its compatibility with Google Pay via NFC should be clue enough that the upcoming TicWatch will be a Wear OS device.
Currently, Mobvoi’s latest flagship is the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS. It will set you back MYR 1,399. For that money, you get Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 4100 system on a chip (SoC) for wearables. It also features a large 1.4-inch AMOLED display with up to 45 days battery life. You can expect the next flagship TicWatch to set you back around the same price with even more features than before.
Source: 9to5Google
