Prime Day 2022 has provided a great opportunity for anyone waiting to get a smartwatch with Google’s long-awaited WearOS 3 software in the near future without having to spend a fortune. The Mobvoi TicWatch E3 usually costs $200 but is available for $140 at the moment, and that’s a seriously tempting price.
Google announced WearOS 3 in 2021, and the software brings a new design, new features, smoother animations, better battery life, and faster overall performance. But we’re still waiting for it to arrive on a smartwatch that’s not the $400 Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, and while we’re pleased the Montblanc Summit 3 smartwatch has been announced with it as standard, it costs $1,300. Sure, you could wait for the Google Pixel Watch, but there’s no official release date for it yet, and it’s expected to cost about the same as the Galaxy Watch and Apple Watch.
Step forward the Mobvoi TicWatch E3, one of the select few existing smartwatches that will receive an update to WearOS 3 later this year. At $200 it was a decent deal last year, but at $140 this year, it’s the cheapest entry point into owning a smartwatch that will eventually get the very latest software. It means the TicWatch E3 will last you longer than a smartwatch that won’t get WearOS 3, and is therefore a shrewd purchase for the knowledgable bargain hunter.
The TicWatch E3 is an advisable smartwatch purchase for another reason, too. Google has taken its time with WearOS 3’s release, and communication around it and any updates has been lacking. If you want a smartwatch, don’t spend more than necessary right now, because you may still be waiting a while for the software to arrive. There’s nothing worse than spending a lot of money on a smartwatch, only to be disappointed due to silence about an update from Google or the manufacturer. They’ve all be quiet about actual facts around WearOS 3 for at least a year already, after all.
What else do you need to know? The TicWatch E3 isn’t a luxury smartwatch. It’s made of plastic, has a simple silicone strap, an LCD screen, and two buttons on the side of the basic, circular case. It’s functional, but it’s definitely not a design superstar. Inside is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4100 processor, and that’s what makes it compatible with Google’s WearOS 3. It has all the right health and fitness tracking features, too, again making it suitable for long-term ownership.
If you’ve got an Android phone and want a cheap smartwatch that will get WearOS 3, the Mobvoi TicWatch E3 is a solid Prime Day 2022 purchase. If you own an Apple iPhone, then we recommend buying an Apple Watch instead. There are some great Apple Watch deals on Prime Day 2022, and you may also find some deals on a new iPhone too, in case you want to upgrade your phone at the same time.
