The Enduro represents a solid revision of the original TicWatch Pro 5, bringing a more premium feel to one of the top smartwatches for Android users. With reliable tracking, the removal of some bloatware and some class-leading battery life, it's still a great watch to consider. However, with potentially exciting new-gen options on the horizon from Samsung and Google, it does feel like Mobvoi would have been wise to gamble on an additional case size and really pushed for a newer version of Wear OS.
Pros
- Dual-display remains excellent
- Reliable GPS and HR tracking
- Actual multi-day battery life, huzzah!
Cons
- No smaller case size offered
- Only runs Wear OS 3.5 – why?
- Still no Google Assistant
Mobvoi is making a habit of launching mid-cycle rethinks; this time producing the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro close to a year after the arrival of the original TicWatch Pro 5.
The Pro 5 was a smartwatch we loved, rivaling the best Wear OS smartwatches released in 2023 despite not running the latest software, only being offered in one case size, and omitting key features like cellular support and Google Assistant.
With the Enduro, Mobvoi has addressed some of the problems – chiefly, the bloatware – and provided an updated model that aims to give fans a realistic option to consider against the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 series and Google Pixel Watch 3 lineup.
We’ve spent the last month or so with the latest member of the TicWatch family, here’s our full review.
Price and competition
Coming in at $349.99, the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro is in direct competition with the two heavyweights of Wear OS – Google and Samsung – as well as the likes of OnePlus.
While Google isn’t expected to launch the Pixel Watch 3 until October, though, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 7 series and Galaxy Watch Ultra are due to arrive this summer. That means we could already be right on the cusp of seeing the Enduro become slightly outdated.
Based on what we’ve seen with previous TicWatch devices, it’s very likely the Enduro will recieve a significant price cut at some point this year – and that would alleviate some of this concern.
Competition has never been stiffer, however, and we think a device at this price should at least come with the promise of upgrading to the latest software. But, more on that later.
Design and display
Mobvoi has been keen to point out the refined design of the Enduro – a reimagining that includes a more premium-looking band, altered crown, new bezel details, a sapphire glass screen, and a slimmer case profile.
Sounds great, right?
Well, the only problem with these changes is that they’re very characteristic of a mid-cycle update.
The Enduro’s case is slimmer than the Pro 5, but the difference is infinitesimal. Mobvoi has only shrunk the older model from 12.2mm to 11.95mm with this update – with the 50.15 x 48mm height and width remaining.
Oddly, the slimmer Enduro is also slightly heavier (44.7g) than the Pro 5 (44.3g) – but, again, you’ll be hard-pressed to notice any difference when holding them in either hand.
The theme extends to the rest of the watch. It actually took us picturing these devices next to each other to notice the bezel etching moving to the outer edge (rather than the inner edge with the Pro 5), while the ‘redesigned’ crown is now just a bit bigger.
Interacting with the crown wasn’t necessarily an issue we found when testing the Pro 5, so we’re not really wowed by this change. The move to a matte finish is a bit more to our taste, though.
And that’s also true of the new-style strap. While the Pro 5 featured the most basic fluororubber band imaginable, Mobvoi has pushed the boat out a little here and added some neat details to the outer.
That sapphire glass display upgrade has also been relatively clutch. We’ve been around metal plenty during our time wearing the Enduro – be it weights in the gym or DIY projects – and it’s not picked up any significant scratches.
But, on the whole, we’re still a bit underwhelmed by the Enduro’s design changes.
Mid-cycle design changes will never be as significant as what we see with new generations, but we still hoped for a little more – especially as the Pro 5 lineup is crying out for a smaller edition.
It’s possible that one of the more interesting features in the upcoming Wear OS 5 update – improved developer tools to support different case sizes – is to blame for the lack of case size choice here, but, as we’ll explore a little more below, we don’t have much faith in Mobvoi making the upgrade to the latest software any time soon.
Smart features, health tracking and software
The design changes may not be much to shout about, then, but Mobvoi has thankfully addressed some gripes we had with the software during our testing of the Pro 5.
Instead of individual apps for features like blood oxygen, heart rate, stress, and sleep (which now includes seemingly-accurate snoring detection), we now have a consolidated TicHealth – hallelujah.
It means scrolling through apps is no longer a chore, with all your day’s stats viewable from a neat Glance. It’s still a little jarring to see the ‘Tic’ trademark before standard functions like the compass or breathing app, but we can forgive this for a major rework of the app setup.
We wouldn’t say any of the Enduro’s health or sleep tools are that novel, but – as well as now being easier to digest – they do still work to a decent level of accuracy.
During testing, the Enduro seemed to register our fall asleep/wake times in line with Oura, while there were never any huge discrepancies between what it, Garmin, Whoop and the smart ring tracked for things like nighttime blood oxygen.
Unfortunately, but perhaps unsurprisingly given Mobvoi’s history with getting up to scratch with Google’s software updates, the software platform is one thing Mobvoi hasn’t upgraded here.
The Enduro doesn’t run on Wear OS 4 – and we’ve not seen or heard anything to suggest that it will make the leap to Wear OS 5 when it arrives later this year, either.
Given it’s still limited to Wear OS 3.5, then, Enduro users may soon be limited to software that’s nearly two years old – all while Samsung and Google users enjoy the latest upgrades.
It’s not the end of the world – modern Wear OS updates have actually proven to be much less consequential than Apple’s watchOS updates – but it does mean users miss out on the odd handy feature, like cloud backups.
Plus, devices running newer software are likely to receive essential security updates for longer, as well.
Exercise tracking performance
TicExercise has also been given a tweak as part of the Enduro’s launch. More workout profiles are now available, while the UI has been modified to allow for easier exercise re-ordering.
It’s nothing game-changing, and we’re not overly sure why anybody would need a specific exercise profile just for crunches, say, but it is a bit neater and wide-ranging with the Enduro.
Ultimately, everything still centers around the same GPS setup and post-workout metrics like recovery time and VO2 Max. As we found with the original Pro 5, everything tracked here is within reaching distance of gold-standard devices.
Session averages for heart rate were generally within 2-4 beats of our Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2), while GPS data – typically underreporting – and maximum figures were almost always aligned, too.
It did seem to have one hiccup with the latter, underreporting by 6 beats-per-minute (BPM) on an interval session on the indoor bike, but it’s still all within the range we would expect from a mid-range smartwatch.
We also really like the fact you can now view workout data like heart rate, pace, and distance from third-party apps (like Strava and Nike Run Club) from the ultra-low-power display. If you don’t massively care for TicExercise and want to jump straight into your go-to exercise companion, as we do, it ensures the major unique feature of the Pro 5 remains useful.
Battery life
It’s easy to forget when focusing on the minimal changes of the Pro 5 Enduro that the original Pro 5 was – and still is – an extremely capable smartwatch for those with an Android phone.
A year into its cycle, the TicWatch’s four-day battery life is only now being matched by the OnePlus Watch 2 (and its newer Nordic Blue Edition) – and our testing shows very similar performance for the Enduro.
With the dual-screen acting as our AOD (and wrist-raises using the AMOLED display), mild daily use, and a bit of GPS tracking, our battery drain was between 20-30%. It naturally jumps much higher – around 45-50% – if you instead pop that AMOLED display full time, but, even still, that’s about as good as you can expect any Android smartwatch from the current selection.
Given the fanfare OnePlus made about 100-hour battery life when launching its second-gen watch, we don’t blame Mobvoi for reminding everybody with the Enduro that it arrived at comparable battery life a year ago, thanks to that dual-display tech.
It’s still an ingenious alternative to a true always-on display – in some cases, like the heart rate zone backlights, a better solution – and an innovation that unlocks the true potential of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chip.
