TicWatch C2

A REWORKING OF THE ORIGINAL TICWATCH.

THE TICWATCH C2 feels more premium than the first generation of this line of watches, and it’s certainly more premium than the TicWatch E or S. All of that said, it doesn’t feel as high-end as the TicWatch Pro and it doesn’t have as many features either.

There’s a 1.3-inch AMOLED display at the heart of the watch with a resolution of 360 x 360, which is what you’ll use to navigate around the UI. There are also two pronounced hardware buttons on the right hand edge of the watch to help you move around the interface.

The top button has an odd indent that’s an orange color, but it gives it a unique look much like how the crown on the Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple Watch 4 has been a different color.

There’s no interesting second screen tech here like you’ll get on the TicWatch Pro, which is a bit of a shame, but it has allowed the company to make this watch both thinner and lighter.

The watch itself is made of stainless steel and comes in silver, black or rose gold. The rose gold variant sports 18mm straps and is a touch thinner at 12.8mm, while the black and silver ones are 13.1mm thick and sport 20mm straps.

It’s actually just the front of the watch that is made of stainless steel. That ensures the most visible part looks premium, but it’s a little less good looking on the rear as that’s plastic. But if you want you’ll be able to keep that a hidden secret next to your wrist.

It’s an odd choice from Mobvoi to initially alienate those who don’t want leather. For anyone who wants to avoid leather or to use this for exercise, you may want to buy a separate third-party silicone strap to put with this.

Back to the thinness, the rose gold variant is particularly thin as there isn’t a lip over the top of the bezel around the display. You can see that clearly in the photo above, and it’s just one way the company has made this version more suitable for smaller wrists.

All versions of the TicWatch C2 are also IP68 water and dust resistant. That means it will be able to survive a jog in the rain, but Mobvoi has confirmed this watch isn’t designed for use in a pool, so you won’t be able to track your swimming stats with this.

PERFORMANCE

How does the TicWatch C2 perform on the inside? The good news is it’s okay, but the bad news is this isn’t going to impress you with its speed.

Speed on a smartwatch isn’t always the most necessary thing, but it’s an odd choice from Mobvoi to include the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 chipset to power the TicWatch C2. That’s a bit of a shame as Qualcomm has now released a new reworked version called the Snapdragon Wear 3100, which offers extra power and better battery life.

We found in our review period that the watch would work as quickly as we needed it to, but it would have been nicer to get that slight speed boost from the newer chipset.

Mobvoi claims the 400mAh cell in the TicWatch C2 is able to last for 1-2 days, and we found that to be about right, with it reaching around two days when you’re not intensively using the watch.

SOFTWARE

The latest Wear OS software is on board here, so you’ll immediately notice the user interface

design changes if you’re used to the original version of Wear OS. The new version makes navigating around smartwatches that bit easier.

Wear OS works much better than Android Wear did at launch, and this device will pair with both iPhones and Android devices as long as they have relatively recent software running on them.

Android users will get a slightly better experience thanks to better integrated Google services, but it’s largely the same as what you’d get if you paired the watch with an iPhone instead.

Wear OS is smooth, and while it may not sport the largest array of apps it does have the necessities covered.

You can download any Wear OS apps directly from the Google Play Store, or you can use the ones that are already loaded onto the watch. A lot of the fitness features – something we’ll get into below – are using Mobvoi’s own apps here.

FITNESS

Everything we’ve come to expect from Mobvoi’s range of Wear OS watches is here, including a heart rate monitor, GPS and normal fitness tracking features that will keep an eye on your step count and track general exercise.

Don’t expect a sport watch experience here though. Although it can do some good normal tracking, this isn’t waterproof so it can’t be taken in a pool and we didn’t find the design to be particularly sport friendly.

The thicker design than some other smartwatches means this isn’t entirely suited to taking out running with you, and the leather-only straps mean you probably won’t want to sweat in this.

You may want to hold off and see if Mobvoi will provide silicone straps for this device, or buy yourself a third-party strap that will fit it.

If you do still want to exercise with the watch, we found the heart rate tracker to be accurate if a little slow to work. It will encourage you to be still to get the most accurate reading, so don’t expect to get the best results when you’re out mid-stride on a run.

VERDICT

It’s difficult to get excited about the Mobvoi TicWatch C2 as it doesn’t do much that’s all that different to other smartwatches on the market.

Where it gets exciting is the price, and the fact that this is a significant discount on a lot of other Wear OS watches on the market is a big deal.

A lot of what most people will want from a smartwatch is on offer here, so you can expect the TicWatch C2 to suit you if you want to be able to use Google Pay or just get notifications directly to your wrist.