Mobvoi’s TicWatch C2 is a classy Wear OS smartwatch for $200

Mobvoi has a new smartwatch on the way: The TicWatch Classic 2, or C2 for short. Fittingly enough, it’s one of the classier Wear OS smartwatches we’ve seen to date – Mobvoi already has some solid entries under its belt – and it comes in at a relatively affordable price of $200.

It’s a pleasantly spartan design available in 18mm and 20mm wristband sizes, and it comes in rose gold, black, or platinum. Somewhat disappointingly, rose gold is only available on the smaller size; a rose gold watch with a blue strap is one of my favorite color combinations on my chunky wrists. That caveat aside, it’s a good-looking device, and I really dig some of Mobvoi’s analog watchfaces here.

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Otherwise, it’s typical Wear OS fare. There’s a heart rate sensor, a 400 mAh battery good for two days, GPS, and NFC for payments. Unfortunately, it’s stuck on the years-old Snapdragon 2100 platform – just as devices are set to start shipping with Qualcomm’s 3100 chips later this year.

I dig the design, but that older chipset makes it a tougher pill to swallow. Then again, I’ve never really had problems with the older chipset’s performance on recent versions of Android Wear and Wear OS; I mainly would’ve appreciated the extra battery life from the more efficient hardware.

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You can pre-order the TicWatch C2 from Mobvoi’s website starting today for $200; the watches will ship the first week of December.