Time may finally be up for this long-running Wear OS brand

Smartwatch fans may have spotted a notable omission from this year’s holiday sales. The Mobvoi TicWatch lineup has been a steady presence in the Wear OS world for years, but most of its watches seem to have slipped away from retailers without much fanfare. You can’t currently buy them on either Amazon or Mobvoi’s own website, which seems to be an ominous sign that the lineup is fading out.

As reported by 9to5Google, all TicWatch listings on Amazon have essentially disappeared. On Mobvoi’s site, the watches have been removed from the product listings, and even the odd ones that can be navigated to via banners lead to a notice stating that the product is unavailable when you click the buy button.

When asked for comment, Mobvoi didn’t offer much reassurance to fans — only that the company has “no new information to announce” but will continue to provide existing watches with “essential support.” That reads a lot like the whole lineup is on life support.

If this is the end of the road for the TicWatch brand, it’ll be a shame. Mobvoi has produced some genuinely interesting hardware, particularly with its dual-layer displays and multi-day battery life capabilities, even if the company has been notoriously slow with Wear OS updates. It doesn’t seem to be that hardware was the issue. For example, our list of the best smartwatches still names the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro as the top pick for innovation.

With nothing available to purchase and only basic support promised, it feels like Mobvoi is pulling back from Wear OS at a time when other long-time partners, such as Fossil, have already stepped aside. That would leave Google, Samsung, OnePlus, and a few other brands carrying the platform going forward.