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Oct 31, 2024

Mobvoi Ticwatch Atlas review: An excellent Wear OS smartwatch

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Wear OS smartwatches are popular choices among Android users. These Google-powered wearables mesh well with most Android phones, and new options, like Mobvoi's TicWatch Atlas, emerge in a steady stream. Some of the most well-known Wear OS smartwatches include, of course, the Pixel Watch, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch. But there are many reasons someone may be looking for an alternative to those larger names, and Mobvoi's newest watch has stepped up to the plate to become exactly that.

The Mobvoi TicWatch Atlas isn't a perfect smartwatch, but it's one of the best Wear OS models so far. Mobvoi shows a clear dedication to refining its product, with focus on user-friendliness and functionality.

The Mobvoi TicWatch Atlas is available directly through Mobvoi or Amazon. It's offered in one case size and currently only available in black — silver availability expected sometime soon — and launched with an MSRP of $350.

The Mobvoi TicWatch Atlas' screen is the most notable feature. (Not its primary OLED display, although that is fantastic, too.) The Atlas includes an ultra-lower-power sublayer, which uses minimal battery consumption to display important at-a-glance details like step count and heart rate. This display is pretty much identical to the one on the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro, so don't expect any major leaps if you already use that model, but it's a really novel feature for Mobvoi newcomers. That sublayer is also much easier to read in direct daylight and doesn't seem to create significant battery strain.

A refined TicWatch Pro 5 experience, but some lingering flaws remain

As Steve pointed out in his review of the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro last year, recent TicWatches have some minor software issues that could impact your overall experience. There's still some give and take with the Atlas — for example, we still don't get Google Assistant, despite the watch sporting other Google functions — but the Atlas does show some improvement over its predecessors. The app experience still isn't fantastic. Garmin and Apple's companion apps are still better by leaps and bounds, but the TicWatch's app has at least improved.

For one, I didn't feel like the Atlas lacked any health or fitness features relative to its price. It has all the sensors required for going on a run, hitting the gym, or completing an exercise routine, like Pilates, at home. All data gathered from the watch, including heart rate and pulse ox, daily steps, and sleep data, are sent to the companion app, Mobvoi Health, where the user can review the data in simple, modular widgets.

While I still think that Garmin is the overall leader when it comes to battery life, the TicWatch Atlas should not be underestimated.

The Mobvoi TicWatch Atlas' GPS is probably accurate enough for most users. In my experience, it was a bit prone to plotting my walks well off the path once I went under tree coverage, but the watch's final total on distance traveled was only off by a tenth of a mile. All in all, though, the Atlas should more than cover all health and fitness tracking needs for most users.

Normally, if you were to ask me for a good smartwatch recommendation based on battery life alone, the first word out of my mouth would be Garmin. While I still think that Garmin, overall, is the pack leader when it comes to battery life, the TicWatch Atlas should not be underestimated. For one, the Atlas' battery is massive — 625mAh, larger than many of the Atlas' significant competitors. On my lightest use days (where no fitness was tracked and notifications were minimal), the Atlas battery dropped by 10 to 15%. On the most demanding day (including an outdoor walk, indoor yoga, sleep tracking, and a full day of work notifications), the battery fell to 55% after a full 24 hours.

Let me be clear: I like the way the Atlas looks. I just like the way other watches look more; I am particularly enamored with the Pixel Watch aesthetic, as well as Garmin's elegant Lily 2, when it comes to a regular daily-use watch.

The TicWatch Atlas is a large step away from the visual appeal of either of those, embracing its ruggedness to the fullest, with the heft and silhouette that reminds me of the Polar Grit X2 Pro. Its case is bigger than the Garmin Fenix 8's, the other watch that spent a lot of time on my wrist at the time of the Atlas' testing. Combined with the dials and blaze-orange lettering, plus the watch's 83-gram footprint on your wrist, this is a watch you'd expect to see on the wrist of a cyclist, hiker, or hunter, which isn't at all a bad thing, but has its place.

A tank against the elements

Overall, my testing of the Ticwatch Atlas' fitness tracking went without a hitch. It showed surprisingly consistent step accuracy and well-enough GPS consistency. Fall detection is one blip on the Atlas' record, though. It was a smart feature to add, but I found it to be quite overeager in detecting falls. It detected a "fall" twice during yoga, and once during a dance workout routine. I'm sure the fall detection feature is very useful in some scenarios (and when it works consistently), especially since a detected fall can automatically trigger an SOS call if you're hurt in the woods alone. But since most of my activity takes place indoors this time of year, I turned the feature off after three false alarms.

One more consideration to make when looking at the Atlas is the fact that it runs Wear OS 4, and probably will for the foreseeable future. However, most users will be perfectly fine with their watch OS being one generation behind.

There are a lot of Android smartwatches out there vying to be your favorite. Even venturing outside the Wear OS circle, there are numerous options from Garmin, a brand that harmonizes with any Android smartphone and has thoroughly refined its companion app model. So, who is the Mobvoi TicWatch Atlas for?

It's certainly not for small-wristed wearers in search of an appropriately proportioned watch. The bulkiness, blaze orange accents, and overall gruff accents would look sorely out of place in some environments. For a smartwatch that functions much like the TicWatch Atlas but with a much more minimalist approach, the Pixel Watch 3 is a great choice.

All in all, the TicWatch Atlas is a great watch for Android users who don't want to break the bank on a new wearable, and have relatively average needs when it comes to activity tracking and fitness. Mobvoi has taken the time to polish up the dings we noticed in prior TicWatches, and with a days-long battery life and its unique and compelling ultra-low-power OLED screen, the Atlas is a functional timepiece, even if it isn't the most sophisticated.

The Mobvoi TicWatch Atlas isn't a perfect smartwatch, but it's one of the best Wear OS models so far. Mobvoi shows a clear dedication to refining its product, with focus on user-friendliness and functionality.

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And it will never get updates. Anything Mobvoi is a hard no for me.

Just sideload the APK

Or are these new fitness gadgets just not for you

These are the crucial upgrades it needs

Stock issues are getting out of hand

The issue also affects the Galaxy Watch Ultra

These glasses keep getting better