The Ticwatch Pro promises a lot by calling itself a "pro" and it is indeed better than the entry-level Ticwatch C2. But it fears the water unlike the C2...
The Ticwatch Pro is the flagship product from Mobvoi, whereas the TIcwatch C2 is the entry-level watch.
Makes sense. Anyone or anything that professes itself a “pro” better produce results.
The Ticwatch Pro definitely has some features that are not available on the Ticwatch C2, including having a speaker, a dual-layer screen and having a great, premium feel.
But the Ticwatch C2 is also a well-rounded package. It has everything that you need from a smartphone.
Related: Ticwatch C2 vs Ticwatch S2 | Ticwatch C2 vs Ticwatch E2 | Ticwatch C2 vs Fitbit Versa 2 | Ticwatch C2 vs Polar Vantage V | Ticwatch C2 vs Apple Watch Series 5 | Ticwatch C2 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch/Active 2 | Ticwatch C2 vs Ticwatch S2 | Ticwatch C2 vs Garmin Fenix 6 | Ticwatch C2 vs Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle | Ticwatch C2 Review | Samsung Galaxy Watch/Active 2 vs Ticwatch Pro | Apple Watch Series 5 vs TicWatch Pro | Polar Vantage V vs. TicWatch Pro | TicWatch Pro vs Fitbit Versa 2
Contents
Comfort and size
The Ticwatch Pro is heavier, has more shiny silver surfaces and has a leather and silicone strap. Leather on top for looks and silicone below for grip.
The Ticwatch C2 has a full leather strap and a shiny metal watch case on the top. The bottom is plastic.
The Ticwatch Pro has a larger, 1.39” screen while the Ticwatch C2 has a 1.3” screen.
While the Ticwatch Pro is heavier, it also gives me more confidence in its durability. The Ticwatch C2 does feel a lot less robust because of its plastic base.
The good thing is that a light watch is always a good thing because it reduces fatigue. But the Ticwatch C2 doesn’t seem to be able to enjoy these advantages because its leather strap is atrociously uncomfortable. I find it stiff, sticky and its beige colour looks really old fashioned.
Winner: Ticwatch Pro
Hardware
Both smartwatches come with very similar hardware.
Both of them come with the Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor and 512MB of RAM. That’s quite a standard configuration.
When I first reviewed the Pro, I found it to be very slow. But it seems that over time, the watch has become much smoother in operation with none of the choke-ups that happen in the past.
I am not sure why this is. But I would say that both watches do still perform very poorly when there’s another process running in the background. For example, if the watch is updating in the background, you will find the smartwatches stuttering like watching HD video on a 56K dial-up modem.
Dual-layer screen and battery life
The Ticwatch Pro has a dual-layer screen. This is one of Mobvoi’s best innovations in the smartwatch world. Almost all smartwatches only have one screen, either an LCD or LED screen. An LCD screen reflects ambient light and therefore it’s great in most situations except really dark places, whereas an LED uses a backlight to illuminate the image, which sucks battery.
The Ticwatch Pro has both. This means that you get great battery life and a full-colour screen when you need to access the Wear OS interface.
The Ticwatch Pro definitely has better longevity in terms of battery life because of this LCD-LED combination. When I was at the beach, I also really liked how the LCD screen was always visible in the sun, unlike the Ticwatch C2 which required you to turn up the brightness in order to see it clearly.
For the Ticwatch C2, I’d say you would get a maximum of two days’ of battery life if you stay conservative and avoid using battery hogs such as the integrated GPS. But for the Ticwatch Pro, you will get at least two days of battery life with the same conservative use.
Wear OS
The Wear OS has grown onto me over time. It’s one of the ugliest smartwatch operating systems but it is also one of the most utilitarian.
With Google Assistant, a large app selection and one of the best texting experiences out there, I’d say you can’t go wrong with these two watches.
Texting and emails
If paired to an Android device, you will be able to receive messages and reply to them.
If you are paired to an iPhone, you will only be able to receive notifications.
Replying to an email or text is a simple process that’s made easy by the excellent speech-to-text system.
That remains my preferred means of replying because it’s the least tedious.
If you can’t use the speech-to-text system, you could also use the keyboard, a dynamically-generated reply or handwrite letters to form words.
Either way, the experience with the Ticwatch Pro and Ticwatch C2 is similar because they have the same operating system.
Winner: Tie
Phone calls
The Ticwatch C2 doesn’t come with a speaker while the Ticwatch Pro does. This means that you can’t make or take calls on the Ticwatch C2 while you could on the Ticwatch Pro.
This is a feature that is actually very useful to have on your wrist. Sometimes, finding your phone is difficult and it’s easier to just pick up the phone call on the Ticwatch Pro.
Call quality is good when tested in a quiet environment. Both the speaker and the microphone function well that both parties can
hear each other well.
Winner: Tie
Google Assistant
Having a great speech-to-text system also really helps with making Google Assistant a very efficient way to find information.
Google Assistant can help you find information, start timers or find directiions. This is quite useful if you need quick information such as finding the closest pharmacy, doing calculations or getting information about the weather.
Unfortunately, one annoyance on both the Ticwatch Pro and Ticwatch C2 is that when you see the “Speak now” prompt from Google Assistant, it really isn’t ready to accept speech from you. It takes a few seconds before it’ll start recording speech.
Otherwise, the experience on both smartwatches is about the same.
Winner: Tie
Apps
The Ticwatch C2 and the Ticwatch Pro have exactly the same apps.
Unlike the other Ticwatches that Mobvoi makes, these two watches also have Google Pay because these watches have an NFC chip for contactless credit card payments.
And if you can’t find the app that you want, Wear OS has one of the biggest app stores so you can download more apps to supplement what you have.
What I really liked is how you can find Google Maps, Keep and Translate on this operating system. Having Google Maps is really useful when cycling an unfamiliar route and your smartphone is buried deep in your bag.
Winner: Tie
Sports
Both smartwatches can track your workouts but only the Ticwatch C2 is designed to be taken in to the water.
This is actually a very major difference between the C2 and the Pro.
Mobvoi cautions that you must swap out the C2’s leather strap before going into the water, which is annoying because you’ll have to go buy a separate strap.
However, with the Ticwatch Pro, you do not get the option of bring it into the pool and it’s evident in the apps menu. The Ticwatch C2 has a “Pool Swim” app but the TIcwatch Pro does not.
Otherwise, both smartwatches have an integrated GPS, which means you can take these watches out without your smartphone and get location data recorded on your workouts. This feature significantly drains battery life, though.
Winner: Ticwatch C2
Verdict
The Ticwatch Pro and Ticwatch C2 are essentially the same watch because their software is more or less the same.
However, the Ticwatch Pro isn’t absolutely better than the Ticwatch C2.
The TIcwatch Pro has a speaker, but you will be able to take your Ticwatch C2 into water.
The Ticwatch Pro has better battery life and the dual-layer screen is very useful in bright sunlight.
Ultimately, I’d say that the Ticwatch C2 is a good introduction to smartwatches while the Ticwatch Pro is like an upgraded version of the Ticwatch C2… except you can’t take it into water.
