The Asus ZenWatch surprised a lot of people as one of the best Android Wear devices of 2014. It was one of the more attractive square watches and very affordable. What will Asus do to follow the success? We’ll have to wait a bit longer to find out.
Asus CEO jerry Shen reportedly told NDTV Gadgets that they are working on a new smartwatch, but they don’t plan to launch the ZenWatch 2 in 2015. However, he didn’t say it won’t be announced, so hopefully we’ll hear something about it before the calendar flips to 2016. Shen also revealed that the watch will come in two different sizes for men and women, similar to the Apple Watch.
There will be many new smartwatches announced before the end of the year. Hopefully Asus doesn’t fall too far behind by waiting until next year. What did you think about the Asus ZenWatch? Are you interested in the ZenWatch 2, or is that too long to wait?
Yesterday, Google announced that Android Wear smartwatches would be getting WiFi support in the next coming weeks, bringing most Android Wear devices in line with the upcoming Apple Watch. Having a WiFi connected Android wearable is definitely a highly sought after feature, even if you still need to have your phone powered on and connected to the Internet in one way or another for full watch functionality. The question remains, does every Android Wear smartwatch support WiFi? Sadly, no.
Yesterday, both Motorola and Sony confirmed publicly that both the Moto 360 and the Sony SmartWatch 3 support WiFi, while other Android Wear OEMs have been silent. We reached out to LG, ASUS, and Samsung for comment on their offerings. According to LG, the LG G Watch and G Watch R do not support WiFi, however the upcoming LG Watch Urbane does. According to ASUS, the ZenWatch does not have WiFi either. We’re still waiting to hear back from Samsung, though previous iFixit teardowns confirm that the Samsung Gear Live does in fact have a WiFi antenna. We’ll update the article if Samsung responds.
Let us know how you feel in the comments LG G Watch, G Watch R, and ZenWatch owners. Your watches are now borderline obsolete thanks to this hardware fragmentation. Will you be upgrading to an Android Wear watch that supports WiFi?
Update: A previous version of this article stated that the G Watch R and ZenWatch would in fact get WiFi support with the upcoming Android Wear OTA update. Since then, we’ve received confirmation from both LG and ASUS that those devices would not get WiFi support as originally published. We apologize.
Update 2: Samsung has confirmed with Phandroid that the Gear Live will in fact gain WiFi support with the upcoming OTA update for Android Wear. Congrats Gear Live owners.
Here’s a quick recap. Will your Android Wear smartwatch get WiFi?
We imagine whatever they come up with will have to be as premium as they come, as the trend for wearables seems to be emphasizing fashionable taste as much as practical usability. That said, we’d argue there’s no need to worry as the original ASUS ZenWatch look quite good for a first generation smartwatch.
ASUS showed up at Computex 2015 as they always do (considering it’s the premier tech event in their own backyard of Taiwan), and they didn’t disappoint with a few nice announcements. One of the devices on tap was a new smart watch.
It’s the ASUS ZenWatch 2, and the rumors were true. ASUS cooked up 2 different sizes, one for those who prefer a little bulk and the more petite option that most women might prefer. The company is still going with a square watch face, though the chassis isn’t without a round nature.
The ZenWatch 2 features a physical dial (which we imagine can be used to navigate the system), an OLED display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, Gorilla Glass 3 and IP67 specification for dust and water resistance. You get a magnetic mechanism for charging the device, which is a great feature as no one wants to have to clasp their smart watch into a bothersome cradle every night.
On the presentation side, there will be a wide range of wrist bands available post-launch — some in rubber, leather and even a special edition Swarovski set featuring actual Swarovski crystyals — though the device comes with stainless steel straps as standard.
For software, you can expect the latest version of Android Wear and improved wellness and remote camera apps, though ASUS didn’t go into detail about what, exactly, was different. We’re not sure if the watch will support Android Wear’s new WiFi support (the initial spec list doesn’t mention one) so we’ll have to dig for more to see if this thing can offer the same level of connectivity as LG’s Watch Urbane.
And that’s about all we know. ASUS didn’t have pricing or availability to mention, which makes us feel as if we won’t be seeing a product ready to buy until late Q3 at best. Let’s hope we’re wrong, though, because the ZenWatch 2 doesn’t look half bad.
The ASUS ZenWatch is the latest Android Wear smartwatch to receive Android 5.1.1. In case you don’t remember, this update brought a lot of great new goods such as support for always-on apps, WiFi (the ZenWatch doesn’t have WiFi radios, though) and new hands-free gestures for navigating the user interface.
So how do you get it? Well, one way is to simply wait. You could manually check for it (Swipe Down on Watch Face > Swipe to Settings > Go to About > System Updates) but our experience tells us you might not get very far. You can also download the OTA file and flash it manually if you’re handy enough to go about doing that. By the end of it all you should be on Android 5.1.1, Android Wear version 1.1.1.1910765, and Google Play Services version 7.3.36.
Otherwise, you’ll simply have to wait until your device is tapped to receive the upgrade (which could be as soon as a day or as much as a month). Be sure to take it for a spin and let us know what you think about it once you have it loaded up!
Best Buy is holding a quick sale on the ASUS ZenWatch. It’s off its usual price of 0, meaning you’ll walk away with one for just 0.
The ZenWatch admittedly isn’t the hottest boat rocking in the land of Android Wear smart watches, but it still boasts a neat design, competent internals and will receive the latest Android Wear updates for the foreseeable future.
That said, something new from the Taiwanese company is on the horizon, and if you’re the type that has to have the latest and greatest then it’s best to hold off as the ASUS ZenWatch 2 will be out rather soon. Otherwise, get your watch (with free shipping or in-store pickup, if you prefer) at Best Buy right here.
