Wearable maker Mobvoi announced two new smartwatches powered by Google’s Wear OS – the TicWatch E2 and TicWatch S2. The company is marketing its latest gadgets to people who routinely take part in sports and outdoor activities, and both devices offer similar internal specifications. The two smartwatches feature the Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, which is Qualcomm’s previous-generation wearable chipset. The devices sport 1.39-inch AMOLED displays with a resolution of 400 by 400 pixels, GPS modules, heart rate sensors, accelerometers, and gyroscopes, while also offering a broad suite of pre-installed apps, including those designed for swimming analytics. A 415mAh battery is part of the package and can offer up to 48 hours of regular use on a single charge, according to Mobvoi. A polycarbonate casing houses the internal components of the devices which also come with 5ATM water-resistance certification. In terms of appearance, the TicWatch S2 has a thicker silicone band and wider bezels surrounding the display, while the TicWatch E2 includes a circular polished pattern around the screen. Despite the differences in design, both wearables can accept bands with a width of 22mm.
Background: The TicWatch S2 and the TicWatch E2 serve as the successors to the TicWatch S and E, which Mobvoi launched in July of 2017. In comparison to the company’s previous solutions, both the S2 and the E2 offer larger-capacity batteries while retaining the same display size. Furthermore, the original TicWatch S and E smartwatches are powered by the MT2601 CPU from Taiwanese semiconductor company MediaTek. In comparison with the Snapdragon Wear 2100 which has four ARM Cortex A7 cores, the MT2601 CPU only includes atwo Cortex A7 cores. Nonetheless, the decision not to include the latest smartwatch chipset from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon Wear 3100, may still result in significantly poorer battery life compared to competing devices.
Last May, the company unveiled the TicWatch Pro, a wearable that sports a display made up of two layers. The top one is only capable of showing basic information like time, date, and battery level, while the bottom one comes in the form of an OLED panel, which is where the user actually interacts with the smartwatch’s operating system. By including a dual-layer display, the TicWatch Pro can offer multiple power modes. One of these, known as the Essential Mode, allows the device to last up to 30 days on one charge. On the other hand, Mobvoi announced the TicWatch C2 last October, and the company markets it at consumers with smaller wrists. While it is best-known for smartwatches, Mobvoi also makes other devices that take advantage of Google services, including a smart speaker and a pair of earbuds that both feature Google Assistant.
Impact: At this point, there is no available information about the pricing and availability of the TicWatch S2 and E2, although Mobvoi will likely sell these devices with at under $200. The company already confirmed that the two products will become available shortly after CES, and like some of its recent wearables, Mobvoi is likely to release them in the United States and Europe, making wearable markets in those territories even more competitive.