ASUS ZenWatch 3 Announced: Round Display, Snapdragon Wear 2100, Long Battery Life

ASUS introduced its third generation ZenWatch at the IFA trade show on Wednesday. The ZenWatch 3 wearable features a new case design with round display and uses a more energy-efficient hardware platform when compared to its predecessors. The manufacturer claims that its new timepiece can work for two days on a single charge, which is longer than many contemporary Android Wear-based devices. Besides that, it can be charged quicker thanks to HyperCharge technology.

The ASUS ZenWatch 3 (WI503Q) will be one of the industry’s first devices to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 2100 SoC (APQ 8009w) with four ARM Cortex-A7 cores, an Adreno 304 GPU, integrated wireless connectivity (802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, GPS, etc.) and so on. ASUS says that the new SoC consumes 25% less energy when compared to the Snapdragon 400 (which was used for the previous two generations of ZenWatches) and therefore stretches out the battery life of the new device. The new processor is accompanied by 512 MB of LPDDR3 memory, 4 GB eMMC NAND flash storage, six-axis gyroscope and accelerometer as well as an antenna for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The new SoC is not the only improvement under the hood of the ZenWatch 3. The manufacturer claims that the new smartwatch has higher precision activity tracking than predecessors and competitors, which means that the novelty is equipped with improved sensors.

Besides changing the hardware platform, ASUS also changed the design of the ZenWatch 3. The new smartwatch comes in a classic round case made of 316L stainless steel that is 9.95 to 10.75 mm thick. Because of the new form-factor, ASUS also had to change the display of its ZenWatch 3 and equipped its device with a 1.39” AMOLED 2-point touchscreen with 400×400 resolution (287 PPI). The case is IP67 water resistant and the display is protected with curved Corning Gorilla Glass 3. ASUS plans to offer three color schemes for its ZenWatch 3 — silver, gunmetal and rose gold, as well as rubber and leather straps. All three versions of the ZenWatch 3 have a distinctive rose gold bezel around the screen to further emphasize the new classic look.

Unlike its predecessors as well as other Android Wear-based smartwatches, the ASUS ZenWatch 3 comes with three buttons. Right now, we do not know what each button does, but the addition of extra two buttons may mean either certain new functions or just improved comfort when using existing ones.

Since the ZenWatch 3 timepiece is Google Android Wear-based, it will be compatible with smartphones running modern versions of Apple iOS and Google Android OSes.

ASUS plans to begin shipments of its ZenWatch 3 this fall. The price in Europe will start at €229 and the price in the U.S. should be similar in USD.

Gallery: ASUS ZenWatch 3: Round Display, Snapdragon Wear 2100, Long Battery Life

Samsung’s Gear S2 Classic 3G and 4G Smartwatches with eSIM to Hit the Market in March

Samsung has revealed that its Gear S2 Classic 3G and 4G smartwatches, which were formally introduced last September, will be available in the U.S. on March 11, 2016. The new wearable gadget will be able to connect to the Internet without a smartphone nearby and will no longer be just an addition for handsets, but a completely autonomous device. It will also be one of the first devices to feature eSIM (embedded SIM) compatible with multiple operators.

The US versions of Samsung Gear S2 Classic 3G/4G with eSIM are using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC, and although there are many variants of the Snapdragon 400, it would seem this one is a dual-core Krait 200, although we are still waiting for confirmation on the matter. Known specifications show the device running at 1 GHz, coupled with Adreno 305 graphics and integrated baseband capabilities. The smartwatch is equipped with 512 MB of RAM, 4 GB NAND flash storage, 300 mAh battery as well as 3G/4G, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1 and NFC wireless technologies. The wearable gadget sports accelerometer, gyroscope, heart rate, ambient light and barometer sensors to enable various health/fitness tracking applications. The Gear S2 Classic features 1.2-inch circular display with 360×360 resolution (302 ppi density). Like the rest members of the Gear family, the S2 Classic 3G runs Samsung’s proprietary Tizen operating system. The 4G variant is identical to the 3G variant, but for US markets only, and so it’s still just HSPA+ rather than LTE.

Unlike Samsung’s contemporary smartwatches without eSIM functionality, the Samsung Gear S2 Classic with eSIM models feature a speaker in addition to two microphones. The new wearable will be able to make calls, send text messages and emails as well as receive notifications without connectivity to any smartphone. While using the phone function of the smartwatch may not be very convenient (besides, a person talking to their watch seems a little weird), quick email bylines and responses on the wrist make a lot of sense. Moreover, the integration of eSIM into a watch is another step towards integration of certain smartphone functionality into wearable devices.

The eSIM is a GSMA-approved standard for embedded SIM cards that cannot be removed from a device and which are compatible with multiple operators. In theory users can choose their preferred carriers, although in this case the standard only supports one carrier at a time and it’s not clear if users will be able to change the one originally stored. The Samsung Gear S2 Classic 3G in the U.S. will be compatible with AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. In other countries, there will be different operators: Samsung has worked with M1 Limited, Orange, Singtel, StarHub, Telefónica, TeliaSonera and Vodafone Group, so, the new Gear S2 Classic 3G will be available in multiple countries. The 4G variant will be available only in the US.

Samsung has not yet announced an official MSRP for its flagship smartwatch, however Verizon has started taking pre-orders for the watch, pricing it at $399 off-contract, which amounts to a $50 premium over the regular Gear S2 Classic.

Gallery: Samsung’s Gear S2 Classic 3G Smartwatch with eSIM to Hit the Market in March

Images by Samsung and Stolen Girlfriends Club/Lucire.com

Huawei Launches Huawei Watch Elegant and Huawei Watch Jewel

Huawei has announced two new versions of the Huawei Watch that target users looking for something more flashy than the standard steel model. The new versions of the Huawei watch are called Elegant and Jewel. They share the same specifications as the H…