Asus ZenWatch Review - Battery Life and Verdict Review

Asus ZenWatch – Battery Life

The reason the need for a killer app is so crucial is that currently there are too many downsides to these Android Wear devices – size, poor visibility in sunlight and, most prominent of all, rubbish battery life.

Asus has done a better job than some and the ZenWatch will comfortably last a day and a half, even stretching to two days, but that’s with doing very little in terms of smart things. If you’re regularly using it for navigation and checking all your notifications, this will be reduced. Besides, even at two days it’s still just not long enough – who wants yet another device to charge every night.

Asus has done a reasonable job with the charging system. A cradle is provided for nestling the back of the watch face into, so there’s no unsightly charging port. It’s quite a tight fit, though, so you do have to push it in quite firmly.

Should I buy the Asus ZenWatch?

Some people are convinced by these Android Wear watches, as the sheer joy of having a new tech toy to play with is enough, plus the latest models don’t look half bad. However, we’re far from won over yet and sadly the Asus ZenWatch has done little to change that.

In fact, the ZenWatch’s arguably class-leading design is actually something that plays against it, as that lack of a button really hinders its day-to-day usability. That said, its design really is impressive and this is definitely one of the few smartwatches we’d be happy to be seen wearing. Plus its battery life is better than many.

Still, we’re strongly of the opinion that Android Wear flatly isn’t good enough yet, and so we wouldn’t recommend any Android Wear watches yet – the only one that comes close is the LG G Watch R.

Instead we’re much more on board with either the ultra-minimalist approaches of the likes of the Withings Activité (and cheaper Activité Pop) or the long battery life and E-ink screen of the Pebble Steel. Plus, there really is plenty of room for the upcoming Apple Watch to make its mark in terms of ease of use.

Verdict

The Asus ZenWatch may be one of the best-looking Android Wear smartwatches, but it’s certainly not the most practical. And Android Wear itself just isn’t good enough yet.

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