In search of wearable: ASUS unveils the ZenWatch

Better known for making laptops and motherboards ASUS is entering uncharted territory with the announcement of its first ever wearable device, the ZenWatch.

Creating a wearable is nothing like creating a laptop. While some may not mind a laptop that looks bland and plain, that wearable that you put on your wrist needs to look stylish — at the very least it needs to not look like a small computer on your wrist. While the ZenWatch isn’t something that we would call stylish, we can’t say its ugly either, so at the very least, you’re not going to look bad wearing it.

For the money, you get a stainless steel frame with rose gold accents along the side. The display is made out of curved Corning Gorilla Glass while the strap is made out of leather and can be changed to suite your preference.

The ZenWatch features a 1.63-inch (320×320 278ppi) AMOLED display, powering the device is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.2GHz 400 processor combined with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. It comes with Bluetooth 4.0 and there is a 9-axis sensor and bio sensor embedded that allows you to check your heart rate using the watch. And as you would expect the Zenwatch runs on Google’s proprietary OS for wearables — Android Wear.

In terms of software, some interesting highlights include customisable watchfaces, an SOS app that alerts people if you’ve fallen over and presumable unconscious, plus there’s an app that allows you to use the ZenWatch as a clicker at your next business presentation. Also, if you want, you can use the ZenWatch as a shutter button and viewfinder for the camera on your ASUS phone. ASUS says the battery should last for about a day which means you like most other smartwatches, you will still have to charge the device at the end of the day.

The ZenWatch retails for €199 but there’s no word on when it will be coming to Malaysia. Stay tuned for our hands on of the ZenWatch soon.

ASUS ZenWatch Videos

ASUS ZenWatch Hands-on Photos