With the on-the-go convenience and the ease of access they offer, it’s no wonder that so many smartwatches are popping up in the market.
The Asus ZenWatch was particularly notable amongst smartwatches due to the fact that it’s in fact the first wearable device from Asus. The reasonable price tag of $200 and the attractive design of the smartwatch were enough to create quite the hype between android users and smartwatch fans everywhere.
What is the ZenWatch?
The ZenWatch is a stylish smartwatch from Asus that allows you to interact with your smartphone and performs the basic range tasks that you’d expect of an android wear device. At a glance, the ZenWatch is elegant and stylish, featuring a 1.6 inch curved AMOLED screen, a robust yet sleek metallic builds and a graceful, interchangeable leather strap that you can get with a choice of three colours.
What the ZenWatch offers
Now that we’ve talked about what the ZenWatch is, let’s have a look at what it does. The ZenWatch features a range of handy features that you’d need on the go. Now without further ado, let’s quickly go over what the watch offers alongside its appealing $200 price tag.
The Display: Like all smartwatches out there, all you need to do is give it a flick and the screen lights up, giving you a glance at everything you need to know, including your phone’s notifications and of course, the time. The screen itself is reasonably bright and has a good contrast, as you’d expect from an AMOLED display. However, one thing that Asus could improve upon as far as the screen is concerned is the pixel density that it offers, as the current screen appears a bit pixilated as compared to those of competitors.
Health features: The ZenWatch also comes with a number of health functions that are pretty much a standard for smartwatches these days. The metal band around the watch doubles as a heart rate sensor that you just need to pinch between your thumb and index finger for a reading. Other than that, the pedometer present on the ZenWatch is very accurate in counting the footsteps you take throughout your day.
Voice commands: Smart watches are all about maximizing the accessibility you have to your Android device and the ZenWatch is no exception to that rule. The smartwatch is very responsive to voice commands, which is great news for those of us who are constantly busy and on the go. The voice input can be activated by the simple “Okay Google’’ phrase and then you can access any app that you need.
What the ZenWatch lacks
At $200, the Asus ZenWatch is definitely a good smartwatch to buy. However, there are a few things that the ZenWatch misses out on. For starters, the real estate on the watch’s face could have been better; there’s too much bezel on the side where we could’ve seen a bigger screen.
Another thing that the ZenWatch could improve upon is the way it fits around the user’s wrist. The strap itself is comfortable and secures itself shut well enough, however, a slightly more adjustable strap would have been a useful feature that could maximize the grip.
The good news is that most of these lacklustre features have been addressed in the new and improved ZenWatch 2.