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Are you looking for a rugged smartwatch that will cost you less than what many high-end smartphones do nowadays? The $800 Apple Watch Ultra 2 is obviously not it, and even though it's considerably cheaper than its direct rival, a $650 Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is not exactly a pre-holiday steal either.
But that's where the brand-new TicWatch Atlas comes in, setting you back a measly $349.99 with the "most rugged" construction on a Mobvoi device to date. That's actually pretty expensive by normal TicWatch standards, mind you, so this bad boy's features and capabilities are unsurprisingly superior to those of the $100 Pro 3, $300 Pro 3 Ultra, and $350 Pro 5 (the latter two of which are frequently marked down by at least $100 these days).
TicWatch Atlas
Outdoor-Friendly Smartwatch with Wear OS 4, GPS, Bluetooth, Compass, Barometer, Multi GNSS, Heart Rate Monitor, Blood Oxygen Sensor, Fall Detection, Emergency SOS, Dual-Layer Display Technology, 1.43-Inch Primary OLED Screen with 466 x 466 Pixel Resolution, Up to 90 Hours of Battery Life, 5ATM Water Resistance, MIL-STD-810H Durability, Stainless Steel Case, Black and Silver Color Options
Compared to the titanium-made Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Galaxy Watch Ultra, the affordable TicWatch Atlas is likely to prove a little less tough in the face of challenging outdoor conditions with a "sand-blasted" stainless steel build and sapphire crystal display.
Powered by Wear OS 4 on the software side of things, the Android-only Atlas shines in the battery life department in addition to long-term durability with a promise to last up to 90 hours between charges in Smart Mode with "typical usage" and as much as 45 days (!!!) in "Essential Mode."
That latter number is possible if you give up on almost everything that makes this a "modern" smartwatch, from GPS connectivity to many health monitoring features, smartphone notifications, and even OLED display functionality. That's right, the TicWatch Atlas is another one of those dual-layer screen affairs Mobvoi has become quite popular for in the last few years, hiding a secondary black-and-white panel in plain sight for when you're ready to switch off your primary full-color display to conserve energy.
Circling back to what makes this thing a respectable (at the very least) rugged timepiece, we should probably point out that you're guaranteed a... certain level of protection against drops on hard surfaces in addition to total water and dust resistance. Extreme temperatures, salt, humidity, low and high pressure, and other stuff like that shouldn't be a problem for the military-certified TicWatch Atlas either, which obviously also aims to wow you with its extensive set of health and fitness tracking tools.
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We're talking all the average sensors, from heart rate to blood oxygen, stress, and sleep, but also fall detection and Emergency SOS technology, which might sound "average" by Apple Watch standards, but are actually a pretty big deal for a Mobvoi device... with such a reasonable price point attached to its name.
More functionality, more power, more overall promise
Heat Map is yet another cool new function (no pun intended) introduced with this cool new smartwatch to show you your strengths (and indirectly, your weaknesses) during your most intense football, basketball, rugby, soccer, and tennis games, Meanwhile, with "enhanced" TicMotion tech, you can squeeze the most health and fitness insight out of that aforementioned "Ultra-low-power Display" without draining the massive 628mAh battery very fast.
TicWatch Atlas in Ultra-low-power display mode.
That hefty juicer, by the way, is bigger than the 590mAh cell packed by the Galaxy Watch Ultra, and yet somehow the TicWatch Atlas also manages to be overall lighter, at 47 grams, and roughly as thin (or rather as thick) as its main Wear OS competitor.
While I will obviously not go so far as to call this the absolute best smartwatch you can buy this holiday season before actually trying it out in the real world, the Mobvoi TicWatch Atlas sure looks like it is worth a shot, especially if you're an adventurous Android smartphone user who can't afford the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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