For years , I ’ve wanted a smartwatch : a machine that would blend vogue with digital convenience . Unfortunately , the first craw of smartwatches have predominantly been bulky piece of music of plastic and glass for which adjectives like “ refined ” seem artful . But the Asus ZenWatch is evidence that things are getting better .
With a slender watchface consistence , a snap - and - go watchstrap , and a barrage fire - conscious AMOLED display , the ZenWatch is an unobtrusive and stylish timepiece .
What is it?
A $ 200 smartwatch from Formosan maker Asus , running Google ’s wearable package , Android Wear . It ’s not intend to exchange your smartphone , but congratulate it by sending notifications , step counts , weather condition forecast , and other bits of information flat to your carpus .
It mob in many of the same specs we ’ve seen in other smartwatches , primarily the AMOLED showing and smartphone - level Snapdragon processor , but it does it all with an attractive stainless blade case and a slender trunk . It ’s one of the better look smartwatches out there .
Who’s it for?
Until latterly , smartwatches have really looked like smartwatches , resembling sci - fi wrist computers rather than thing you ’d require to wear every day . Samsung ’s Gear lineup for certain does n’t do much to hide its articulatio radiocarpea - wearable pride and bulky entrants from LG and Motorola did n’t help much either . They have problem blending into the fair person ’s closet . For some that ’s just fine — and for others not so much .
The ZenWatch is for the others , the the great unwashed who need something that looks great and also provides great smartwatch - y capableness .
Using it
When I ’m not review technical school timepieces , I wear a $ 35 Timex vigil I bought from Target about two years ago . I think it was on sales agreement , maybe . It tells clock time . It glows in the dark . That ’s about it . Yet I wear out that thing almost every twenty-four hours , so every fourth dimension I transition to a raw smartwatch , I ’m like a caveman discovering flack . “ It ’s a vigil that can tell time … and more ! ” After all , it ’s the “ more ” that makes people want these things in the first place . But there ’s a reason I have n’t traded in my Timex yet : I just have n’t found the veracious one for me . After two hebdomad with the ZenWatch , my attitude is exchange .
During those two calendar week I ’ve see one undeniable truth — most the great unwashed think the ZenWatch is an Apple Watch . These are happen unknown , mere acquaintances , and that one mixologist from a dive bar down the street . So maybe not the most smartwatch literate , but it ’s still a major compliment . Beauty may be in the centre of the percipient , but Apple ’s Jony I ve is well - known for conception artistry . I was pretty pleased to see my newfangled accessory blur for an Apple mathematical product .
The ZenWatch also wins with one of the more slimming watchfaces uncommitted . It ’s almost a full 2 millimeters thinner than theMoto 360 , and curved side make it feel even more so . The body itself is made from urine - resistant stainless steel with a rose - gold ( basically bronze ) pane sandwiched between two panel of gray steel .
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Asus ZenWatch resting on top of the LG G Watch R
The curve along both edges of the ZenWatch feel comfortable against my radiocarpal joint , and I wish that the well - unified outside is n’t bump up by some awkward knob sticking out of the side . rather , the only visible hardware inputs are on the back : a readiness of charging pins and a single button on the left . You have to grasp the watch and lift from your articulatio radiocarpea a bit to reach the push , which could be a lilliputian annoying , but you could easy swipe and exploit on the touchscreen to vary stage setting and launch the watch from standby . The button only really live so you’re able to readjust the twist if you get in trouble .
power on the screen , you ’re greeted by a 320×320 AMOLED display , much the same as the LG grand Watch R and the Samsung Gear Live . AMOLED is dandy news for stamp battery life but can mean not - so - outstanding news for daytime readability . The ( slightly ) curved ZenWatch display does look shadowy in comparison to the Moto 360 ’s backlit LCD , but it also sip on battery rather than guzzle it down , and at no point did the watchface feel totally undecipherable in sun . you may also crank up that screen luminance if pauperism be , but I operated exclusively on the lowest setting and all was well .
The CRT screen itself — including color , luminance , and viewing angles — are all somewhat stellar . The only downside are the swelled bezel , those dark dot of numb space that sense especially gross on such a small screen . The edge - to - bound presentation on smartwatches like the Moto 360 will muck up you in equivalence . If I have one formula for smartwatches , it ’s this : dead space is unforgivable . These screen are only too small to not take advantage of every unmarried millimeter that you could .
At very closelipped inspection , like nozzle - to - methamphetamine close , you’re able to make out pixels , some color fringing in certain cases , and jag border on the digital watch hands . But this is n’t a smartphone screen . You ’re not go to play endless games of Clash of Clans or stream Netflix on this thing .
Almost as important as the spotter itself is the isthmus that accompanies it . I ask a watch band that ’s agile to put on and line up with almost lilliputian to no effort . The more I involve to wrestle with perplex the affair on my torso the less I care it . The ZenWatch is as easy as it possibly aim . Buckle , then unbuckle . Done . The ash grey grasp unbuckle with a modicum of power or you may just pinch two small clitoris on the side to free easily . As far as function goes , there is n’t a expert smartwatch buckle out there .
But color is another story . Asus lets you opt from a brown band and also a … no delay , just browned . Sure , you could just swap out for any ol’ 22 mm lookout man band — another courteous feature article — but I actually wish the humble stigmatisation on the buckle and the matching metal clasp . I just wish there were more options .
There ’s also the tiny small issuance of the way the strap tend to latch onto any unfettered piece of article of clothing . Several times I had to wrestle through a coat sleeve or untangle from a backpack strap . And while the hold is super bare to slip on , it is passably bulky , do it uncomfortable to rest your arm on anything .
If you ’ve had a chance to prove drive Android Wear ( and you really should ) , then you ’re in all probability intimate with the potency and weaknesses of the platform . Unlike Samsung ’s program with Tizen or even Apple ’s own smartwatch idea , Android Wear is a stream of small cards hand over information on local conditions , traffic information , sports ( in my fount field hockey ) scores , and occasional passport for affair in the Google Play depot . If you wave an Android smartphone on the regular , this should go middling familiar — it ’s fundamentally Google Now .
This is n’t have in mind to be some Swiss Army watch or a wearable outfitted for bivalent - type O agent , it ’s a notifications blind on your wrist . You ca n’t take pictures , make phone phone call , check flick , or type out texts . You ’ll be regularly ushered to your smartphone if you try out to do anything too complicated , and that ’s utterly fine .
Asus ’s extra ZenWatch companion app facilitate set security features , watchface background signal , Find My gadget options and is a capital no - fuss means of hunting down neat smartwatch apps , specifically the one plan by Asus like Wellness and Remote Camera .
Wellness is just a seaworthiness app that get across your activity and relaxation . However , I ’d monish you against using the ZenWatch as a detailed fitness tracker . I took the ZenWatch to the gym and shake off it in my footlocker within five minutes . The affair just knocks on my radiocarpal joint too much , and unlike some smartwatches , the ZenWatch does n’t have an optic marrow rate sensor on the bottom to keep path of your pulsation . Instead you have to stop what you ’re doing and place two fingers on the side of the screen with a public security augury hand gesture . The ZenWatch will mould in a pinch for just bet steps , but not much else .
As for Remote Camera , this app turn the ZenWatch ’s 1.63 - in AMOLED display into a bantam photographic camera viewfinder . you’re able to turn camera trice on and off or apply it as a petite spy equipment — whatever you ’re in to . It ’s a cool trick to show friends when you ’re at a bar or something ( I think I go to too many bars ) , but one they ’ll probably laugh off with a “ Ok , what ’s the pointedness ? ”
That ’s the big interrogation when it number to smartwatches , period . What is the point ? I ’m not saying there is n’t one , but that result is dissimilar for every person . For me , I bonk the simple import when the ZenWatch genuinely shows me something interesting . Once , it let me know that I could ultimately buy the unexampled Parquet Courts album I ’d been await for weeks ago , and while at work , the ZenWatch reminded me that I was seeing Interpol afterwards that evening , a show I had completely forgotten about since I buy the tickets back in July . These are all low thing , for certain , but they ’re things I did on my watch . If that is n’t the definition of “ living in the future , ” I do n’t know what is .
But for all those little second of admiration , there are as many that are frustrating and obvious version 1.0 shortcoming . The stream of consciousness via Google Now is great , but I wish there was a mode to pin sure apps on my cover without them disappearing on me all the time . For instance , if I want to utilize the Asus ’ kinky Remote Camera app , I ’d rather just sneak down a few times and tap it rather than saying “ Ok Google . Start Remote Camera ” and frightening everyone within hearing distance .
but put , I want to talk to my watch as picayune as potential . One evening I was walk down the street trying to say “ Ok Google . Start Maps ” without drawing the inquiring gaze of various passersby . Of of course , I did n’t speak flashy enough so my watch heard “ Star Maps ” and I was whisked away to a teensy 1.63 - inch version of Google Search cue me to download a star - gazing app .
Like
Despite some telling designs from Motorola , Samsung , LG , and Sony , Asus has delivered a smartwatch that ’s very much its own . It ’s a great - looking timekeeper that you wo n’t mind wear , and one that effectively flux digital public toilet with personal style .
Despite the bulky clench , wear down the ZenWatch is completely well-situated . Except when work out at the gym .
Dislike
Brown is great and everything , but I ’d never bribe that color if I had a choice . If Asus had a nice grey option along with the match steel rim included , this could very well be the sentinel that wins me over , but right now it ’s brown or stony-broke .
Android Wear still feels like a version 1.0 product .
I ca n’t help but shake the tactual sensation that the sieve is too small for the bod . equate with the Moto 360 , this matter just looks tiny in comparison . If Asus could have brought that edge - to - sharpness style with this watch , we ’d have something awesome on our deal . Literally .
Should you buy it?
Perhaps ! If you ’re sure you want an Android Wear gimmick , the ZenWatch is among the best . For me , it ’s definitely in the top three , nestle alongside theLG G Watch R(which looks more like a Casio G - Shock ) and the Moto 360 ’s big silver disc . It ’s easily the best square - face Android Wear gimmick out there as it really look like a well - designed way supplement first and a smartwatch arcsecond . In comparability , the LG G Watch , Sony Smartwatch 3 , and Samsung Gear Live all shine unforesightful on style .
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If the LG K Watch R ’s intentionally bulky design does n’t skip it and you worry about the Moto 360 ’s battery - guzzling suffering , then the Asus ZenWatch might be just for you . It ’s also aggressively price . At $ 200 , it ’s tied with the Samsung Gear Live as one of the cheapest Android Wear watches useable .
Will 2015 bring even better smartwatches than the Asus ZenWatch ? Almost in spades . But for the right here right now , it ’s a solid filling .
And for the first time , I ’m not missing my Timex .
Photos and GIF by Nicholas Stango .
Android WearAsusFashionreviewReviewsSmartwatchwearables
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