TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE review: Great built-in GPS and 24/7 heart rate monitoring

I am a brand new smartwatch wearer. I've read about them, I've researched them and written about them, I've seen and talked to people who use them, but the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE is the first smartwatch I've actually owned and used myself. Overall, there were positive and negative aspects of my experience. In comparison to some of the other smartwatches on the market, I think this one is a bit pricey for what it is; however, it does come with a built-in GPS system (which I love), and a lot of other viable health, fitness, and smart features. I would recommend the TicWatch Pro to people that would directly benefit from a built-in GPS and 24/7 heart rate monitoring.

Great features What I love

The battery life on this watch is incredible. I really wanted to test it, so I didn't charge it for a few weeks and it was still alive and kicking in "Essential mode" after a two-week span. This watch can operate in Essential mode without a charge for up to a whopping 30 days! That means it can perform basic tasks and track your heart rate, steps, and show the date and time every day for a month without a single charge.

You get two to five full days of battery life with the watch in "Smart mode," which means having access to features like "Google Assistant," instant notifications and quick replies, contactless payments, built-in GPS, sport modes, and thousands of apps through the on-watch play store. I love the superior battery life on this watch as I find charging your wearables every day to be a pain.

I am definitely the person that loses her phone all of the time at home. Chasing after my 8-month old daughter has me leaving it in strange places; wedged between seat cushions or on top of the refrigerator, one time I even found it in the freezer – that's what sleep deprivation will do to you. If you're like me and you lose your phone frequently, tapping the find my phone feature on your TicWatch will make your phone ring wherever it's hiding. Take note, your Bluetooth and your smartphone must be on and synched with your watch for this feature to work.

Another great feature is the 24/7 heart rate monitoring. Mobvoi says they've improved their heart rate monitoring with this watch and that it has higher precision. You can monitor your heart rate anytime, anywhere by tapping the TicPulse app. Heart rate monitoring will also give you more accurate stats overall, especially when it comes to tracking your calorie burn, which is a plus!

You have to switch it to "TicMotion" mode if you want your TicWatch to automatically recognize what you're doing. I didn't realize this at first and was frustrated that it wasn't tracking some of my workouts. However, once you conquer this slight learning curve, tracking your workouts is easy.

Indoor cyclists beware, this watch tracks cycling via distance, not cadence, so it won't track or record your spin workouts, unfortunately. Same story for those of you that like to run on the treadmill or workout on the elliptical, this watch cannot accurately track those workouts because it's using the GPS and how far you've physically traveled to record your stats. I am an indoor cycling, Barre, and Yoga instructor and I have to say that the TicWatch was not able to effectively monitor and track any of those workouts, which was disappointing. However, it was great at tracking my distance and calorie burn when I was walking my dog or pushing my baby in her jog stroller. I'd recommend this watch to anyone who trains outdoors and would benefit from a built-in GPS system. Not so much to gym rats, indoor cyclists, Barre, Pilates, or Yoga goers.

I also really enjoyed having smart features right on my wrist. Getting call, text, and calendar notifications on my watch was very convenient. The TicWatch can also turn into a flashlight, which is great when I take my dog on her nightly walk or when I go for an evening jog.

Design, easy-to-read instructions, & synching What could be better

The overall design of the TicWatch Pro could use some improvements. The first time I tried to put it on, the clasp broke and I was not able to fasten it at all. It took a little elbow grease from my husband to put it back together and make it clasp again. It wasn't a great introduction.

I also found it to be a bit heavy and bulky to wear. I got more used to it the more I wore it, but if you're looking for a light and sleek design, this is not the watch for you. I also am not a fan of silicone bands. I find them to be itchy and irritating especially when they're wet with sweat. However, you can purchase a replacement hybrid leather or all leather band from the Mobvoi website to counteract this issue.

The user manual that comes with the TicWatch Pro is very simple and really just covers how to turn it on, how to sync it with the Wear OS app, and how to maintain and clean it. It doesn't cover any of the features or how they work. This was frustrating and took some serious sleuthing on my part to figure out. I had to go to the Mobvoi website and read online reviews and breakdowns on each app so I could figure out how to use it.

It also says it can track swimming and that it's "water-resistant" and can hold up in a "shallow pool," but the instructions say that "it is not advisable to submerge the TicWatch Pro underwater," and that "the water resistance is not permanent and may weaken over time." I was afraid I would ruin it if I submerged it underwater, so I didn't even try. It's expensive, so why take the risk?

I also had some connectivity issues where the watch wasn't properly syncing with the apps and/or my phone. I also don't like that you must allow the Wear OS companion app access to all of your data all of the time for this watch to function properly.

Bottom line

Overall, the TicWatch Pro 4G has some great features like its superior battery life, find my phone, built-in GPS and 24/7 heart rate monitoring, but there are definitely areas that could use improvement. I would recommend this watch to anyone looking specifically for a built-in GPS system and 24/7 heart rate monitoring. It is very effective at tracking workouts that are measured via distance traveled and I've found the HR monitor to be quite accurate.

The TicWatch Pro 4G is a smartwatch that features a superior battery life, 24/7 heart rate monitoring, a built-in GPS system, smart notifications, and basic health and fitness tracking.