The swanky Asus ZenWatch 3 smartwatch is nearly ready to go on sale, apparently.
Asus plans to start selling its flagship wearable in early November, according to Android Authority. The device will reportedly retail for $229 – that’s about £185 with a direct conversion. And even if the UK retail price is £229, it’s still cheaper than the new Apple Watch Series 2, which starts at £269.
The Asus ZenWatch 3 was announced back in September, but release details have been light. The smartwatch features a 1.39-inch circular AMOELD display with a 400 x 400 pixel resolution. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 2100 chip, and features a 340Ah battery. It also has 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage,and IP67 waterproof certification. And the software is, unsurprisingly, Google’s Android Wear OS.
What’s great about the ZenWatch 3 is that it actually looks pretty ritzy. That’s largely thanks to its high-end 316L stainless steel body, and relatively chic leather straps. Here’s what Asus has to say:
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Here are Wearable Editor Richard Easton’s first impressions from his hands-on time with the watch:
“Aside from its chunky build, I’m actually quite fond of the design of the Asus ZenWatch 3. The move to a circular design has been a success, and it looks far classier for it. The lack of a flat tyre interrupting the face is also great news. The shortcut buttons are intriguing and will prove to be very convenient. The ZenWatch 3 is competitively priced too, considering what you get. Asus has proved it can put out a decent budget Android Wear smartwatch with the ZenWatch 2, but it will be interesting to see if it can succeed with a more premium device at a still fairly low cost.”
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What do you think of the Asus ZenWatch 3? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.