Smartwatches have evolved gracefully over the years. They are more powerful and feature-rich than ever and while the Apple Watch or the Samsung Galaxy Gear are the perfect examples of a smartwatch, they are the ideal accessory or companion to your iPhone or Android smartphone. But what if we told you there's a smartwatch that is actually as powerful as an iPhone 7?
The ideal smartwatch
The whole idea of a typical smartwatch is that of a wearable gadget with just the right amount of RAM, storage and battery capacity to see it through a busy day. The Apple Watch Series 5 is perhaps the epitome of a smartwatch. It comes with all the features you would ever need in a smartwatch. It has a 1.78-inch OLED screen with 448 X 368 pixels resolution, Apple S5 chip, 1GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage and although Apple doesn't really disclose it, a 296mAh battery. And most importantly it has a price tag to match. The Apple Watch Series 5 starts at $399 for the 40mm GPS variant.
Now, imagine a smartwatch that is not your typical smartwatch but more like a shrunken smartphone which you could wear on your wrist, and one that costs less than half of what the Apple Watch costs. That's the TicWris Max Android smartwatch.
A smartwatch that's just as powerful as an iPhone 7?
The folks over at TechRadar have stumbled upon the TicWris Max 4G. An Android smartwatch that is currently listed at $149.99 at Gearbest and comes with a configuration that's identical to an iPhone 7.
It has a quad-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB internal storage, a 2,880mAh battery (that's a lot for a smartwatch, by the way), and there's also an 8MP front-facing with FaceID too – well not exactly FaceID but face recognition unlocking. What's more, the device has 4G connectivity and 1P67 water resistance – meaning that you can take it to a shower, however, swimming won't be a good idea.
Smartwatch or shrunken smartphone?
The TicWris Max has a polarising design. You are either going to like it or hate it, but it looks like a small horizontally oriented smartphone that's fixed to a strap. It has a 2.86-inch display with 640x480 pixels resolution. Sort of the same display size as the Samsung Corby smartphone from 2009. The design is nowhere near the Apple Watch and its thoughtfully designed chassis. However, the TicWris is not about the looks. It's unique and the fact that it has all that technology and a 2880mAh battery crammed inside its considerably tiny body is something we need to appreciate.
And since it is an Android smartphone, you must have thought that it would run Google's Wear OS like any other typical Android smartwatch. Well then, you are mistaken about the TicWris again. As mentioned before, it is literally a shrunken smartphone. So it runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS.
Caveat emptor (Let the buyer beware)
Other specs include built-in GPS, WiFi and a SIM slot meaning that you will be able to make calls without a separate smartphone. Surprisingly, for a watch that has so much tech crammed in, the TicWris does not seem to offer a microSD card slot and USB port for charging and data transfer. And that 2880mAh battery sure would add to its weight and the TicWris weighs around 153 grams which is almost as heavy as a smartphone. This could be a deal-breaker for some because walking around with a 158-gram watch does not feel like a good idea.
Meanwhile, we would still advice you to take the TicWris Max 4G with a pinch of salt as we cannot determine the actual specifications simply based on what the listing claims. You can read the original TechRadar article here.
