What you need to know
- Mobvoi’s TicWatch Pro 5 owners can start filling out the required form as the company begins recruiting for its Wear OS 4 beta.
- The recruitment period will run until April 30 and those selected will hear back a week after it concludes.
- Mobvoi will (hopefully) work its way back into a better light after its crippling delay with Wear OS 3.
Mobvoi is kickstarting its beta for TicWatch owners who’ve been eagerly awaiting Wear OS 4.
The company posted a quick teaser in its Facebook group, announcing the start of its Wear OS 4 beta for TicWatch Pro 5 owners. Mobvoi states its recruitment period for Pro 5 watch owners has started and users must fill out a questionnaire beforehand. The form will ask questions about your Android device, such as name, age, and more if you have the appropriate device.
Mobvoi has a few requirements before users can submit their names into the pool to be randomly chosen.
The company says users must retain confidentiality throughout the testing period, meaning no photos or videos of the software are allowed. If selected, users will be given an NDA to sign before being granted entry. This is similar to previous betas Mobvoi has launched for Wear OS 3. The company encourages any accepted testers to use their TicWatch Pro 5 “daily” with the Wear OS 4 software and update it “promptly.”
Moreover, discussions are encouraged (feedback, too). However, testers can only do this within Mobvoi’s designated Slack group channels.
Mobvoi states its Wear OS 4 beta recruitment period will last until April 30. If you’re lucky, the company states that selected testers will be notified one week after its recruitment period concludes.
Hopefully, this is the start of Mobvoi getting back into the good graces of its consumers after many became weary of the Wear OS 3 waiting game. The company was lagging behind many of its competitors in the smartwatch space when it came to rolling out its Wear OS 3 update to eligible devices. The company finally explained the cause for the delay in July 2023, stating its “proprietary dual architecture” was the culprit.
Mobvoi stated users could expect its Wear OS 3 update to arrive during Q3 2023, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the update landed during Q4 in December 2023 — two years after Wear OS 3 originally launched.
The company had to completely rework the internal architecture inside many of its devices a part of its TicWatch 3 series for the software to function. There is hope that Mobvoi will get things right this time with the Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chipset and not force its consumers to wait another two years.
There’s a new sheriff in town
Mobvoi’s TicWatch Pro 5 might hit all the notes you’re expecting a smartwatch to hit. After a long wait, the TicWatch Pro 5 delivers incredible performance for all your wearable apps and tools. The watch also offers multi-day battery life, which is a privilege in this day and age. With good health tracking, the TicWatch Pro 5 cements itself as a worthy partner.