Wednesday 31 August 2016

IFA 2016: Asus ZenWatch 3 offers a big battery boost for Android Wear fans

IFA 2016: Asus ZenWatch 3 offers a big battery boost for Android Wear fans

Another IFA, another ZenWatch - and this time it's the Asus ZenWatch 3, which is one of the first to use Qualcomm's new super-efficient chipset in side.

Combined with a fairly substantial 340mAh battery pack inside the 10.75mm thick frame (and a 200mAh battery pack to add in should you need it), the ZenWatch 3 uses the new Snapdragon 2100 chipset that's designed exclusively for wearables.

The new chip offers 25% longer battery life, and also offer HyperCharge technology to give you 60% of battery life in just 15 minutes of charging - if you can't get it to last longer than a couple of days off charge, at least make it quick to juice up, right?

Curves of Zen

In terms of design, it's a smart-looking intelli-wrist-dweller, with rose gold, silver or gunmetal gray to choose from. The screen is nothing special though, with the fairly standard 1.39-inch OLED display with a 400x400 resolution at least coming without the 'flat tire' light sensor at the bottom.

However, the 'gently curved' 2.5D glass does sound rather nice and should add to the overall aesthetics of the ZenWatch 3.

On the right-hand side there are three physical crown buttons, one of which can be customised to do whatever you want it to do - well, within reason on the watch, of course. It couldn't make that kid you used to know at school suddenly turn up at your parents' house dressed as a mermaid whenever you press it.

In terms of fitness, Asus is promising some fairly helpful features, including the standard step tracking but adding in exercise recognition, so it'll be aware when you're running, cycling or press ups. It's also IP67-rated so you can sweat all over it or go jogging in the rain without issue.

The watch comes with either an Italian leather or rubber wrist band (likely dependent on how much you're willing to spend) but we're yet to know about the ZenWatch 3 price.

However, the ZenWatch 2 debuted for $199 (£199, about AU$250) last year, so chances are it'll fit into the same affordable bracket. Stay tuned for our imminent hands on: Asus ZenWatch 3 review!

  • The ZenWatch is just one of 3 billion* new exciting products to check out on our IFA 2016 homepage
*this may be a slight exaggeration.


from Techradar - All the latest technology news http://www.techradar.com/1327520

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