Google-backed TicWatches now have a workout mode for swimming
The new line also puts an emphasis on battery life and durability.
Mobvoi is upgrading its TicWatch smartwatches for 2019, with a focus on battery life, durability and style. The TicWatch S2 and E2, second-generation versions of the S and E, come packing a 415mAh battery, 30 percent bigger than the original. Similarly, the devices are now waterproof to 5 ATM, compared to the IP67 rating found on the two predecessors. That means, rather than coping just a meter of water, both timepieces will survive in depths of up to 40 meters.
In fact, swimming is a new focus of the two new TicWatches, which have the same internals but are styled differently. The new devices come with a swim monitoring mode that will record all of the thrashing around you do in water. And, unsurprisingly coming from a company backed by Google, the device runs Android Wear.
On the inside, the TicWatches have swapped Mediatek's budget systems-on-chip in favor of Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 2100. That should offer a performance boost, but be warned that the 2100 was launched in early 2016, so is hardly cutting-edge.
Mobvoi is planning to launch the S2 and E2 at some point in the next few months, but there's no word yet on pricing. Given that the original S (for Sport) sold for $200 and the E (Express) was $160, you'd hope the figures didn't creep too far beyond those limits.
