TicWatch GTH 2 gives the health smartwatch a bigger screen and Bluetooth calling skills

Mobvoi has launched the TicWatch GTH 2 in its native China, which sees the cheap, square smartwatch get some upgrades in the design and software departments.

Looks-wise, Mobvoi has grown the case size to 44mm compared to the original TicWatch GTH, but it does measure in at the same 10.5mm thickness as the GTH Pro. It's also packing the same 22mm-sized bands featured on the first two GTH watches.

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That bigger case does mean there's room for a larger 1.72-inch, 356 x 400 resolution IPS screen, which is up from a 1.55-inch, 360 x 320 resolution one.

Interestingly, Mobvoi has opted to change the water-resistant rating here, moving to an IP68 rating as opposed to a 5ATM one included on previous watches. It's still something you will be able to swim with and has added some dust resistance, you just won't be able to go as deep underwater with it.

Mobvoi has stuck to the same sensor array here, with an accelerometer to track movement and enable sleep tracking and a PPG sensor onboard to deliver continuous heart rate, skin temperature, respiration rate and blood oxygen monitoring data.

Like the TicWatch GTH and the GTH Pro, the GTH 2 works with Android and iOS, and runs on the more battery-friendly RTOS operating system. That's as opposed to the Wear OS packed onto watches like the TicWatch Pro 3, so that means no Google apps or features like contactless payments.

Instead, you'll get access to Mobvoi's own suite of apps to cover things like women's health tracking, guided breathing exercises and stress tracking. There's still no GPS, but exercise modes have ramped up to over 100 and there's automatic exercise recognition available for some activities.

What it does seem to miss out on are the bigger heart health tracking features that were introduced on the GTH Pro, which offers users the ability to measure arterial health through PPG sensors placed on the rear and side of the smartwatch.

On the smartwatch front, you've got your pick of over 100+ watch faces, there's the ability to view notifications, control music playing on your phone, remotely snap smartphone photos and now you can take calls when paired to your phone over Bluetooth.

Battery life remains the same as the original, promising up to 10 days for the same sized battery. We'd expect that number will likely drop to a week when all health monitoring features are in use, which was the case on the first GTH.

The TicWatch GTH 2 is only on sale in China at the moment and is currently priced at 299 Yuan on Mobvoi's website, which works out to about $43/£37. Those conversions suggest a slightly cheaper launch price this time.

The changes on the GTH 2 do seem to be pretty minor. That screen is bigger, but it's the same IPS display technology, which isn't quite as impressive as the AMOLED ones you can now find at this price. There's more sports mode, but there's still no GPS and while the addition of Bluetooth calling promises a richer smartwatch experience, it's not a rare feature anymore to find at this price.

The big surprise here though is why it doesn't seem to be getting those more innovative health features that were introduced on the GTH Pro. Maybe Mobvoi will look to add those in for a global version of the GTH 2 if it decides to ship it outside of China.