The Asus ZenWatch is a relatively stylish smartwatch with a relatively affordable $200 price tag. But like most watches that uses Google’s Android Wear software, it gets only around 2 days of battery life.
Now Asus has a new smartwatch in the works, and the company says it can run for up to 10 days on a single charge. The Asus VivoWatch might not be able to do everything the ZenWatch can, but it’ll be able to remain unplugged a lot longer.
We first learned about the VivoWatch when it passed through the Bluetooth SIG website earlier this year.
Now Asus is revealing a few more details: a handful of Chinese and Taiwanese websites report the watch will be a fitness-tracking device like watches offered by Garmin, Epson, and others. And Engadget reports the watch will have a stainless steel case, an IP67 water and dust-resistant case, and a 10-day battery.
The watch is also said to have a heart rate monitor and support for sleep tracking.
There’s no word on the price or release date for the VivoWatch yet, but Asus is expected to provide more details at Milan Design Week, which starts April 14th.
Update: Notebook Italia has hands-on photos and some more details: the watch supports pedometer step and distance tracking functions, has a heart rate sensor, pairs with Asus apps that run on your smartphone via Bluetooth, and features a brightness sensor.
The watch will sell for 149 Euros in Europe including VAT, which means it’ll probably cost $149 or less in the US.
wow. i might finally get into the smartwatch game if Asus delivers with these specs and roughly that price.
It will cost € 149 in Europe, so slightly less in USA. It seems quite a good bargain for the price although it is not very pretty imho
when they can compete with my 5-year-a-charge timex sports watch i will be willing to risk an eye …..
Headline: Asys -> Asus
Thank goodness for better battery life. However, it’s still a bit short for me to give up “normal” watches.
You are right, but once a week is a lot easier than once a day. So call it seven times better. Pretty good improvement.
I don’t really see any normal watch users jumping on to these smart watches/fitness anytime soon.