Google Pixel Watch 2 vs. Mobvoi Ticwatch Pro 5: Better battery or more features?

• Source: Google

  Google Pixel Watch 2

  Our choice

  The purest Android smartwatch yet

  The Google Pixel Watch 2 builds on the success of the Pixel Watch without making any major changes. It still offers the same striking design as the original, with some added benefits of better battery life and WearOS 4 out of the box.

  Benefits

  • All-day battery life with Always-on display
  • Pebble-like design is still amazing
  • Pairs seamlessly

  Disadvantages

  • The display is slower and weaker than the competition
  • Minor upgrades from the first generation Pixel Watch

• Source: Mobvoi

  Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5

  Ultimate battery life

  The choice for people who hate charging their watch

  The TicWatch Pro 5 is a heavy watch when it comes to overall battery life, and while it may not offer the same pure Android as the Pixel Watch 2, it’s a great smartwatch with several useful features, even if it can be confusing at times.

  Benefits

  • Several days of battery life
  • Fantastic performance
  • Rotating crown is extremely practical

  Disadvantages

  • Lacks key features offered by other Android smartwatches
  • Mobvoi health app can be confusing

Our options for good Android smartwatches just keep getting wider. One of the latest to join the fray is the Google Pixel Watch 2, which builds on everything Google learned with its first wearable last year. But does the second generation Pixel Watch have what it takes to stand up to the battery life champ that is the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5? Here are the two of them.

Price, availability and specifications

Both the Pixel Watch 2 and TicWatch Pro 5 are readily available from their retailers and from third parties like Best Buy and Amazon. Both smartwatches start at $350, though the Pixel Watch 2 offers a $400 variant with LTE connectivity, if that’s what you’re after — there’s no cellular version of Mobvoi’s watch.

The Pixel Watch 2 is a few months newer, but both devices offer great specs that you can trust to deliver solid performance and features. The TicWatch Pro 5 offers both a much larger battery and a unique dual-layer display, which means the watch’s always-on display uses almost no power, meaning you can expect more use between charges when running it. This is how they look side by side.

• 	Google Pixel Watch 2	Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5
  Material for case	Aluminum	Aluminum
  Show	1.2″ 450 x 450 AMOLED	1.43″ (466 x 466) 60Hz OLED + Ultra Low Power Display
  CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 with Cortex M33 co-processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon W5+
  Ram	2 GB	2 GB
  Storage	32GB	32GB
  Battery	306mAh	628mAh
  Health sensors	Optical heart rate, SpO2, ECG, continuous EDA, skin temperature	PPG heart rate sensor, SpO2 sensor, skin temperature sensor
  Award	Starting at $350	350 USD
  Measure	41 x 41 x 12.3 mm	50.15x48x12.2mm
  Weight	31g (without strap)	44.35g

Design

Looking at the Pixel Watch 2 and the TicWatch Pro 5, the designs couldn’t be much more different. Sure, both smartwatches offer round displays, but the Pixel Watch 2 continues to feature the iconic stone-like rounded design that Google introduced on the original Pixel Watch. The screen on the TicWatch Pro 5 is also larger and also offers a faster 60Hz refresh rate. It also has a secondary LCD over its OLED panel that drastically reduces battery consumption for always-on display functionality. Despite the TicWatch’s larger screen, both screens offer similar pixel density and both screens are sharp and clear.

The TicWatch Pro 5 is also slightly bulkier than the Pixel Watch 2, with a look that’s more akin to the older sports watches made by companies like Timex. It’s a timeless look that many will love, but the Pixel Watch 2 certainly offers the more unique design of the two.

As for buttons and dials, the Pixel Watch 2 has a centered crown, which you can rotate to move through the smartwatch’s menus. You can also interact with certain menus using a button on the side of the watch. The TicWatch Pro 5 has a similar setup, though it’s more extended from the center of the watch than the Pixel Watch 2’s button and crown. This is the first time the TicWatch Pro series has featured a rotating crown, and it does a lot to help with navigation throughout the watch’s software.

software

Software is another area where you will notice some differences between these two smartwatches. While they both have Wear OS, the Pixel Watch 2 runs Wear OS 4, the latest version of Google’s wearable operating system, out of the box. This means faster menus, better improvements for battery and just newer design in the software itself. The Pixel Watch 2 also integrates seamlessly with the Fitbit app, to help you track your fitness journey more accurately and easily. The TicWatch Pro 5 runs on Wear OS 3.5 and uses Mobvoi Health to track its fitness-related features, which we’ll cover more below. Notably, the TicWatch Pro 5 currently doesn’t have access to Google Assistant, and it’s not clear when or if it will.

Otherwise, you won’t see any big differences between the two software versions, although Wear OS 4 includes some improvements that Google has included, as well as support for more third-party apps, which you can install on your smartwatch for more control over the things you usually manage on your phone. You will still have a choice of watch faces available on these devices, and you can customize them based on the different complications they offer.

Health

If you’re looking to use your smartwatch to track your fitness journey, both of these smartwatches will offer solid experiences. The Pixel Watch 2 leans heavily into Fitbit’s ecosystem, however, and features a multi-path optical heart rate sensor that Google says is the most accurate it’s included in any device to date. This also means you can use the Fitbit app to track workouts, calories burned and other fitness-related features.

Both watches offer pulse measurement and the ability to keep track of skin temperature and SpO2. The Pixel Watch 2 has a cEDA sensor to monitor physical signs of stress and hardware to take ECG measurements on demand. The TicWatch Pro 5 does not have any of these features. The Mobvoi Health app is also a bit confusing and doesn’t offer the same level of functionality as the Fitbit app. It’s important to note that some of the Pixel Watch 2’s fitness features — like Fitbit’s Daily Readiness Score and Sleep Profile features — are locked behind Fitbit Premium, a $10 monthly subscription that you’ll have to pay for if you really want to get the most of the watch’s health features . Still, even with these features locked behind the premium subscription, we think the Pixel Watch 2 offers a better fitness experience overall than the TicWatch Pro 5.

Battery life

This is an area that is not even close. The TicWatch Pro 5 is rated for several days of battery life, and when we reviewed it, we found these claims to be very true: with light use, you’ll likely get by charging the TicWatch Pro 5 twice a week. The Pixel Watch 2, on the other hand, only offers about 24 hours of use with always-on display. It’s a huge improvement over the original Pixel Watch, which struggled to make it a full day off a charger, but if you’re buying a new smartwatch based solely on battery life, the TicWatch Pro 5 is the better option between the two.

Which is right for you?

So which of these options should you choose? In the end, it all depends on what you’re looking for. The Google Pixel Watch 2 is easily one of the smoothest and cleanest Android smartwatches out there. It has an iconic design, which is available in several colors. It might not offer the same level of battery life as the TicWatch Pro 5, but it’s one of the best Android smartwatches right now for a reason, and we generally like it a lot.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the TicWatch Pro 5 is bad. In fact, it’s a great smartwatch, especially if long battery life is your top smartwatch priority. If battery life is most important, and you don’t mind missing out on wrist access to Google Assistant, this smartwatch has a lot to offer at a price that’s more than competitive with the Pixel Watch 2.