Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro review: Tough on the outside, smart on the inside

Mobvoi is a bit of the black horse of the wearable world. The brand puts out some really good smartwatches, yet not many people know about them/ take them seriously. However, Mobvoi is back once again with a new watch, the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro, powered by the Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chipset.

The watch's predecessor, the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5, made waves in 2023 as the first WearOS smartwatch to sport Qualcomm’s energy-efficient, ultra-fast Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chip. The TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro builds on the same platform and offers some tweaks for the same price.

You might have noticed that the watch’s name sounds familiar to the Garmin Enduro 2. While the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro shares a similar approach—rugged housing, longer battery life—it’s by no means a proper outdoor watch. There’s no mapping, for one, although you do get a multi-band GPS.

Is the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro as good as its predecessor? How does it compare to the best smartwatches? Is it worth the upgrade? Read my full review below to find out.

Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro review

Price and availability

The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro was announced on 8 May 2024 and is available to buy now directly from Mobvoi and Amazon US for $350 (approx. £280/ AU$532), featuring a jet black “obsidian” finish. The predecessor had the same RRP/MSRP – nice!

Specifications

• Weight: 44.7g (w/o strap), 76 (w/ strap)
• Dimensions: 50.15 x 48 x 11.95 mm
• Case: 7000-series aluminium with high-strength nylon with fiberglass backing
• Lens: Sapphire crystal
• Chipset: Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1
• Display: 1.43“ OLED display with 466 x 466 resolution, ultra-low-power display
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 2.4GHz
• Battery life: up to 90 hours 
• Water resistance: 5 ATMs
• GPS: yes, multi-band

Design and build quality

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The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro looks similar to the TicWatch Pro 5. It has the same 1.43“ OLED display with 466 x 466 resolution, coupled with an ultra-low-power display. The case size is the same, and so are the materials used to make it (aluminium, nylon with fibreglass backing).

It’s also made to US-MIL-STD 810H standards and has a 5 ATM water resistance. The bezel is a new addition to the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro, or at least, the way it’s made is new. The updated reinforced ‘bezel carves’ feature an arrow line pattern that’s said to improve ruggedness (somehow).

The watch crown on the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro actually works, unlike on the predecessor, which means you can use it to turn the menu, etc. Non-functioning watch crowns are one of my pet peeves, and I appreciate that Mobvoi added this functionality to the watch.

Another upgrade is the sapphire crystal glass. The TicWatch Pro 5 ‘only’ had an anti-fingerprint Corning Gorilla Glass lens. Sapphire glass, as well as being touch, is scratch-resistant – a real boon. It does make the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro more resilient overall.

The wearable isn’t small and comes in one size only (50.15 x 48 x 11.95 mm), so if you have a small wrist, the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro is probably not for you. It also weighs more than non-rugged wearables at 44.7g (without strap). The fluororubber strap adds another 32g to the watch’s weight. Luckily, the straps are interchangeable with a quick-release mechanism, so you can change it to any 24mm strap you want.

Features

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The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro uses WearOS with all its perks and hindrances. To be honest, thanks to the Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chipset, the watch is pretty fast, and only occasionally does it slow down (e.g. when turning off essential mode, there is a bit of a pause).

From a features point of view, you get all the Google features under the sun, including Google Maps, Google Pay, Google Calendar, Gmail, and so on. As well as those, you get a whole suite of TicWatch apps, such as TicBarometer, TicBreathe, TicCare, TicCompass, TicHealth and TicExercise.

One of the watch's new features is ‘snoring detection’. Unfortunately, I don’t snore too much, so I can’t say much about the efficacy of this feature. In addition to being able to detect this sleeping anomaly, the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro comes with a 12-month free VIP sleep subscription in the Mobvoi Health app, where you can gain further insights into your sleeping habits.

Full disclosure: I tested the watch before the launch and couldn’t access the VIP functionality. I’ll update this review once I have tried this feature.

Performance

The TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro’s performance is the carbon copy of the TicWatch Pro 5. After all, it’s the same chipset powering the same operating system, so why would it be any different?

Thanks to the swanky Snapdragon wearable platform, navigating the smartwatch is smoother than a buttered slide. Occasionally, though, when the watch decides to take a power nap, waking it up might feel like coaxing a grumpy toddler out of bed.

You'll tap in your four-digit PIN, twiddle your thumbs for a few seconds, and voilà, your watch face will appear. While you're waiting, you can always enjoy some quality time with the ULP Display, giving you the lowdown on your basic stats.

I liked the ULP display on previous Mobvoi watches despite its drawbacks, mainly the lack of contrast, which makes it harder to read the watch in broad daylight. But hey, you can see some of your stats, and it helps save battery life. Think of it as a low-key, always-on display.

You can track over 100 ‘professional’ workouts with the watch, of which I have tried two so far. Mobvoi doesn’t promote its biosensing platform as much as other companies, and I understand why. The algorithm tends to even out spikes in heart rate, which is fine for low—to moderate-effort cardio training but not for HIIT and interval training.

Sleep tracking is good. You get a breakdown of sleep stages and trends, which can help you make an educated decision about your sleep routine. The only issue is the watch’s hardware: it’s pretty bulky to wear in bed. You can swap the fluororubber strap for a nylon band; that might help. Funnily enough, Garmin’s Enduro 2 comes with a nylon strap by default. I don’t think the two things correlate, though.

One thing I find a bit cumbersome about the watch is how easily it switches to ULP display mode. The slightest flick of the wrist turns the OLED off, which can be frustrating, as to wake it up, you have to punch in your PIN.

The watch also switches to a ULP display during workouts, which can be turned off by turning off the ULP mode altogether. A silver lining is that the ULP display changes colour depending on which heart rate zone you’re in, so you can at least see that. I usually turn it off for workouts, though.

Battery life

Battery life is a funny one on the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro. Not because it’s bad – it’s 10 hours longer than before – but because it’s the same 628 mAh battery the TicWatch Pro 5 used. This means that the only difference is the way the watch manages its energy reserve.

Considering it’s the same chipset and display, I really don’t know where the energy savings are coming from. I’m certainly not complaining about the extra battery power; on the contrary, give me almost four days with a big OLED screen any day. Apple Watch, take note.

You also get Fast Charge. Thirty minutes of charging should replenish the battery, allowing the watch to last for two days.

I couldn’t find any information on the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro’s GPS battery life, especially with that dual-band GPS, which must be power-hungry. Seemingly, there is no way to switch to a less battery-intense navigation mode; unlike Garmin watches, it’s max accuracy mode only with the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro.

Verdict

Is the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro better than its predecessor? Sure, it is, albeit only marginally. Battery life is longer, and you get a sapphire glass lens and a functioning watch crown. Features have been updated, too, including the new snoring detection, among others.

Is it worth upgrading from the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 to the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro? Not really. I wouldn’t splash the cash on a watch that looks and feels the same, not to mention has the same chipset, processor and display. It makes no sense.

I have the same advice to give as I did in my Apple Watch Ultra 2 review. If you, for some reason, didn’t get the TicWatch Pro 5, thinking you might sit that one out despite liking the watch, now is the time to invest in the new model.

It really is everything the older version was, slightly improved and for the same money. The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro isn’t perfect, but it’s a nifty and rugged WearOS wearable. Sure, you can get other WearOS watches for cheaper, but not with this chipset and with much fewer useful features.

Also consider

The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS is a rugged yet affordable Wear OS smartwatch equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 and Mobvoi dual-processor system. Despite minor flaws like a non-functional rotating crown and GPS signal delay, its competitive price and feature-rich design make it a standout choice. These days, it's much cheaper than the TicWatch Por 5 Enduro, too. Read my full Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS review.

Not quite as rugged as the Mobvoi wearable, but the Google Pixel Watch 2 shows promise with its lighter recycled aluminium build and new health features like stress tracking and ECG. While an improvement over its predecessor, it still faces challenges with late workout detection and familiar features. Most importantly, it's the purest WearOS experience you can get right now. Read my full Google Pixel Watch 2 review.