Zenwatch 3 hands-on Asus at IFA 2016
Introduction
Asus folks certainly had a stretch of sleepless nights preparing for this year's IFA and brought a huge number of devices - some entirely new, others already announced, but not all of them available. There's the brand new Zenwatch 3 smartwatch, the Transformer 3 convertibles, Zenbook 3 notebook, the Zenpad 3S 10 tablet, and the Zenscreen portable monitor - a whole new breed of a device.
And that's before we even start with the Zenfones. Announced all the way back in the end of May, the Zenfone 3 family (quite a large one, too) has only recently started to make it to store shelves in Asia. Seeing them now on European soil, we're inclined to think that wider availability will follow soon.
And that's before we even start with the Zenfones. Announced all the way back in the end of May, the Zenfone 3 family (quite a large one, too) has only recently started to make it to store shelves in Asia. Seeing them now on European soil, we're inclined to think that wider availability will follow soon.
We did get to spend some precious moments with a few of these devices, but it's arguably the Zenwatch 3 that's the star of the show, so that's the one we'll start off with.
Asus Zenfone hands on :
The Zenwatch 3 was the centerpiece of Asus's IFA presentation, at least as far as we're concerned. With the new smartwatch the Taiwanese company has abandoned the rectangular designs of the previous two generations and has gone with a more traditional-looking circular shape, though leaving it at that would be unfair to the designers.
But before we elaborate on that and move on to the hands-on impressions, let's do a quick roundup of the Zenwatch 3's key features.
The Zenwatch 3 can be had in one of three case colors - gunmetal, silver and rose gold. We only got to see the first two of those, the rose gold option was nowhere to be found. There's a little of it in all three color schemes, though - the ring around the display (or watch face, if you prefer) is finished in rose gold, regardless of the main body color. That may be the one objectionable aspect of the Zenwatch 3's design, or it could be the best thing about it, depending on who you ask.
And if the usual chronograph comes with a crown and a couple of buttons, the usual Android Wear smartwatch typically has just the one button. Not so on the Zenwatch 3, where you get the former configuration as another throwback to simpler, mechanical times. They should bring added functionality, and while in our brief experience they do indeed (top one is used for shortcuts), it's certainly not vital from a usability standpoint. They do look good, though.
The lugs are quite unique themselves too. They are angled downwards to naturally wrap around your wrist, but that fluidity is deliberately broken by a notch on either side so they don't appear massive.
Some More Images :
The Zenwatch 3's case is made of stainless steel grade 316L - the same material is used in stainless steel jewelry and traditional analog watches. That lends the Zenwatch 3 an exquisite feel and one that elevates it above its pay grade. In terms of weight, it's still lighter that you would expect from a similarly sized conventional watch, but it's close.
- Chassis: 316L stainless steel; IP67 water and dust proof
- Bands: Leather/rubber
- Display: 1.39" circular, 400x400px, AMOLED
- Chipset: Snapdragon Wear 2100, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage
- Platform: Android Wear
- Battery: 341mAh, up to 2 days battery life, HyperCharge fast charging - 0 to 60% in 15 minutes
The Zenwatch 3 can be had in one of three case colors - gunmetal, silver and rose gold. We only got to see the first two of those, the rose gold option was nowhere to be found. There's a little of it in all three color schemes, though - the ring around the display (or watch face, if you prefer) is finished in rose gold, regardless of the main body color. That may be the one objectionable aspect of the Zenwatch 3's design, or it could be the best thing about it, depending on who you ask.
And if the usual chronograph comes with a crown and a couple of buttons, the usual Android Wear smartwatch typically has just the one button. Not so on the Zenwatch 3, where you get the former configuration as another throwback to simpler, mechanical times. They should bring added functionality, and while in our brief experience they do indeed (top one is used for shortcuts), it's certainly not vital from a usability standpoint. They do look good, though.
The lugs are quite unique themselves too. They are angled downwards to naturally wrap around your wrist, but that fluidity is deliberately broken by a notch on either side so they don't appear massive.
Some More Images :
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