Asus Unveils ZenWatch 2: New Designs to Rival Apple Watch?
The Taiwanese manufacturer Asus has unveiled the next generation of its smartwatch lineup, the Asus ZenWatch 2, at the recent Computex 2015. The new smartwatch will succeed the company's first smartwatch, the Asus ZenWatch which was released in late 2014 and was received positively by users. The ZenWatch was Asus' first foray into the Android Wear business.
When Apple Watch was released in April 2015, Android Wear in general had to contend with its biggest rival, with Apple offering more design choices for the fashion conscious or the practical users.
According to a report in Tech Times, the newly unveiled ZenWatch 2 may have something more to offer those who are in the market for Android Wear. The report says that the "new device is proof that Asus has a much better grasp of how it's like to develop smart devices that people want to wear on their wrist."
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Design-wise, the new watch takes off from the same square face design of its predecessor. It still sports a stainless steel body, but this time around, the new watch has a metal watch crown, which according to Asus is there to "provide a new way to interact with the watch."
The other good news is that the watch will come in two sizes, in consideration of the size of the wrist of the wearer. Much like the Apple Watch, the ZenWatch 2 will be available with a 37 mm body and an 18 mm band for smaller wrists, and a 41 mm body and a 22 mm band for those with larger wrists. The ZenWatch 2 is the first Android Wear that will offer these size choices.
One of the criticisms with the first iteration of the ZenWatch was the limited color and design choice -- which only came in one color, brown. This is a big deal for users who consider the watch more as a fashion accessory. The ZenWatch 2 will have a stainless steel body which will come in three colors -- silver, gunmetal and rose gold. Its straps will come in blue, orange, red and taupe rubber for the casual look. For users who want a more refined look, there are leather straps in brown, gray, blue, orange and khaki. For high fashion users, Asus is said to have partnered with Swarovski to create a leather strap embossed with sparking crystals in a diamond pattern.
The new watch will be powered by a Qualcomm processor, although Asus refused to identify which one. It is likely that it will not run on anything older than a Snapdragon 400, which the older ZenWatch runs on . It will feature an AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which still has that slight curve. It is said to be IP67 water and dust-resistant and Asus says that it can be worn at all times, even in the shower or during exercise.
A new magnetic charging cable will take the place of the previous snap-on plastic cradle for the older ZenWatch. Asus claims this will bring "dramatically improved battery recharge times." As a big plus for those to have the 41 mm watch, users will be able to use it as a power bank to charge their smartphones.
It will run on the latest version of Android Wear, which offers all of the new features that Google offers.
