Spotify tips

The TicWatch Pro 3 comes equipped with a microphone, 8 gigabytes of built-in storage, and a pre-installed voice recorder. This means that you can use it to make both short and long voice recordings while on the go. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be about notes. Thanks to the option of being able to install 3rd party apps, you can also use something like Messenger to send voice messages. So, to record with the TicWatch Pro 3:

• Open the “Recording” app
• Select “start recording”
• And then feel free to pause or finish the recording as you see fit You can then find and play your audio recordings by swiping left while on the recording app.

The Mobvoi comes with an elegant feature that allows you to convert/automatically transcribe your voice recordings into text. It’s obviously not going to be as accurate as a human. But there’s no arguing that it’s better than having to type everything in yourself. To use this feature:

• Open the Mobvoi app on your smartphone
• Select “Recording Notes”
• And tap on “Convert” for the recording that you want to convert At the moment, only English and Chinese are supported. But, there is a chance that we are going to see more options in the future. Again, the software isn’t going to be 100% accurate, which will be more noticeable in longer recordings.

Almost all smartwatches support heart rate monitoring nowadays. However, only a small fraction comes with SaO2/oxygen saturation monitoring – and the TicWatch Pro 3 is included in that small percentage. To detect your blood oxygen levels:

• Open the TicOxygen app
• And proceed to monitor your SsaO2 levels About 98% is where you should be, and anything under 94% could mean trouble. But, as per usual, don’t rely too much on your smartwatch for health-related stuff. Always consult your health expert when you feel like something’s wrong.

Smartwatches, just like smartphones, use Lithium-ion batteries. And one thing that is not commonly known is that these kinds of batteries are under more stress when they are either depleted or fully charged. This can somewhat shorten their lifespan in the long term. So, ideally, you want to keep your watch charged somewhere between 20% and 80%. This can potentially increase your overall battery’s lifespan. But also, don’t forget that heat is actually the biggest enemy of batteries.

While we are on the subject, if battery life isn’t very important to you, there is always the option of using the Always On Display. This disables the secondary display and keeps the much brighter and colorful AMOLED display instead when the watch goes to sleep. To turn AOD on:

• Go to settings
• Display
• And turn “Always screen on” on Despite how much better and brighter it looks, don’t forget that the AMOLED display consumes much more battery than the secondary LCD.

Speaking of saving battery, did you know that the TicWatch Pro 3 comes with two displays? The main one is an AMOLED display, while there’s also a low-power LCD one above it. It should be enabled by default. But, if it’s not, you can enable it by turning off AOD (Always On Display) in:

• Settings
• Display
• Turn off “Always screen on” to off This can be confusing because the secondary display is supposed to come on when the main one turns off. But, “Always On Display” actually refers to always keeping the main display enabled, not the secondary one. This layered or vintage type display goes a long way in power saving instead of the persistent ‘Always-on display.’

As we mentioned at the beginning, the TicWatch Pro 3 is full of features. And while that’s obviously a good thing, some features consume a lot of power – which is bad for battery life. One way of fixing that is by disabling features that you don’t need. And this can be done either for individual features or by disabling everything with Essential Mode. As the name suggests, Essential Mode turns off everything except the essential features – such as the time. Definitely consider turning that on when you only need your smartwatch to work as a watch and nothing more. So, to turn Essential Mode on:

• Open the watch’s system settings
• System
• Essential Mode
• And accept Mobvoi claims that this can increase your battery life up to 45 days – partly thanks to the secondary ultra-low-power display. But, in exchange, your smartwatch won’t be that “smart” until you quit. To exit Essential Mode, hold down the power button until the startup image comes on. This is bound to change when Google releases the newest wearOS soon with more battery optimization features. Given that the TicWatch Pro 3 comes with the latest 4100 Qualcomm processor (Fossil watches still have the old 3100 processor), this should help with faster processing and much-improved battery power new wearOS.

Spotify has recently launched a new ‘Only You’ feature which is basically Spotify’s unique twist on astrology. If you’ve ever looked up your sun sign, moon sign, and other similar things, Spotify’s new Only You feature will definitely appeal to you. Basically, the feature shows you what kind of music you listen to on the service, and what listening habits of yours make you, you. It’s a really handy feature for anyone looking to get an overview of their listening habits, so definitely check it out on your Spotify account.

If you’re like me, chances are you often wonder what kind of music your friends love listening to, and whether their music tastes and yours can come together nicely. Well, with Spotify you don’t need to wonder about it anymore, you can check it out for yourself. Simply go to the Search menu and you will see a new ‘Blend’ feature. With this, you can invite one friend to join your collaborative playlist. Once your friend accepts the invite, Spotify will automatically curate a playlist based on both your music tastes, which will include songs you love, songs your friend loves, and songs that Spotify things you both will enjoy listening to as well. It’s a really fun way to expand your musical palette.

Spotify is fun not only for listening to music, but also for enjoying your favourite podcasts. And if you’re listening to your new favourite podcast and want to share a really funny segment with your friends, you can now do that with timestamps. Simply tap on the share button in the player, and enable the toggle for sharing with timestamps. Then you can share the link via any messaging app of your choice. Your friend will then simply be able to tap on the link and they will be taken directly to the timestamp that you want them to listen to. Cool, right?