TicWatch E2 review

A great value smartwatch for casual fitness fans

TicWatch E2
Great Value
Image Credit: TechRadar

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Heath and fitness

There's no hiding the fact that Mobvoi is aiming the TicWatch E2 at a sporty crowd, even though the more rugged TicWatch S2 may seem like a more obvious sport-focused device.

As we've already mentioned, there's nothing between the two in terms of looks, and that means you get all the same fitness features here as you do in its sibling.

The key fitness feature Mobvoi is shouting about on the new E2 and S2 is its 5 ATM water resistant, which ensures the smartwatch is swimproof up to a depth of 50 meters.

Workouts can be quickly accessed by swiping from right to left on the watch face, which takes you into the fitness hub from which you can pick from outdoor run, indoor run, outdoor walk, cycle and pool swim, as well as a freestyle option. 

The freestyle option is for gym-based activities, and allows you to set the duration and number of reps of each specific workout - useful if you tend to forget how many crunches, squats or push ups you've done.

When opting for a pool swim, the E2 automatically locks the screen when you start to avoid any accidental touches on the display - a quick press of the power button on the side of the TicWatch E2 wakes the wearable up again.

You can select the length of your pool (up to 100m) and you can set a target duration, distance and/or number of lengths.

The TicWatch E2 comes with GPS built-in, allowing you to leave your mobile at home and still track where you ran/rode. 

You'll need to ensure you're standing in a relatively open outdoor location to get a GPS lock, otherwise it will take a while to find a connection - or fail to connect at all.

If you have your phone on you the TicWatch E2 can use the GPS function of that, giving you an almost instantaneous lock indoors and out.

You can view stats for your various workouts on the watch using the TicHealth app, although the small screen can make it a little tricky to see exactly what you have done. For a better view, open the Mobvoi app on your phone.

This gives you a clear overview of duration, distance, calories burned, heart rate and other core stats, but it doesn't provide any further analysis of your performance or what you should try next.

For the more casual fitness fan the offering on the TicWatch E2 will suffice, but for more serious athletes the level of detail won't be enough - you'll want to consider more advanced wearables such as the Garmin Forerunner 935 and Forerunner 645 Music.

The Mobvoi app offers up pretty much the same experience as the Google Fit app, which the TicWatch E2 can feed into as well. 

It almost makes Mobvoi's smartphone app obsolete and while it will provide more functionality in the future - such as sleep tracking which will arrive in a software update - we prefer the interface in Google's app.

Whatever workout or activity you are performing, the TicWatch E2 will record your heart rate throughout, allowing you to see a record of your beats per minute and how your rate fluctuated.

If you open the TicPulse app on the E2 you can take your heart rate at any moment, which is useful if you need an instant reading.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.