The original Asus ZenWatch was one of the first Android Wear smartwatches to sell for under $200. Now Asus is back for round two, and this time the company is focusing on style: the Asus ZenWatch 2Â will be available in two different sizes and three different colors.
The ZenWatch also supports a range of straps: Asus says after you’ve got plenty different combinations of color, size, and strap to choose from.
The larger ZenWatch 2 is designed for use with 22mm straps while the smaller model supports an 18mm strap. Asus will offer straps made from a variety of materials including metal, leather, and rubber.
The watches themselves will be available in silver, gunmetal grey, or rose gold colors, while the rubber straps will be available in blue, orange, red, and Taupe. The leather straps will be available in khaki brown, gray, blue, or orange. And a stainless steel link-style bracelet will be available in silver, grey, or gold, just like the watches themselves. There’s also an option for a Swarovski crystal-covered leather strap.
Each watch has an AMOLED curved Gorilla Glass 3 touchscreen display as well as a metal crown which gives you another way to interact with the watch (although it appears to be a button and not a dial like the one used on the Apple Watch).
The ZenWatch 2 has a an IP67 water resistant rating and it features a magnetic charger which Asus says will let the new watch charge more quickly than the first-gen model.
Asus isn’t saying much about the actual hardware of the new watch, but the new phone is said to feature improved software including an updated remote camera tool that gives you more options and lets you snap photos more quickly when you use the smartwatch as a shutter button to take a picture using your phone’s camera.
Like the original ZenWatch, the new ZenWatch 2 will use Google’s Android Wear operating system.
Asus hasn’t said anything about the price or release date for the ZenWatch 2 yet, but don’t expect the all-metal (or Swarovski Crystal) models to be as affordable as last year’s ZenWatch. As for the simpler models with rubber wrist straps? It certainly seems plausible that they could also sell for under $200.
The original ZenWatch was a looker. This one? Not so much…