After a long nap, the ZenWatch 3 is launching … without Android Wear 2.0.
It’s been relative silence from ASUS since it announced the new round ZenWatch 3 back at IFA in Berlin at the end of August. But now we have pre-orders going live at both ASUS and B&H Photo, with pricing set at $229 and shipping windows of mid-November.
The ZenWatch line has always offered great value in terms of giving you a solid-looking and feeling watch for far less than the competition, and the new round design of the ZenWatch 3 builds on that. The metal body isn’t great, but the new Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor offers a nice performance bump and the price helps make this a compelling budget choice.
You’ll have to wait a bit longer for Android Wear 2.0
The only really interesting thing about this launch is that the ZenWatch 3 was originally promoted as the first Android Wear 2.0 watch … but since Google has pushed back the launch of that update, the watch will be shipping with Android Wear 1.4 like all of the other watches right now. It of course has the right specs inside to handle 2.0 come 2017, but this surely threw a bit of a wrench in its launch plans.
Right now the only model made available is the gunmetal grey with gold trim and a deep brown leather strap, so if you’re looking for one of the lighter color selections you’ll have to wait a bit. With pre-orders already kicking off and general availability just a couple weeks away, it shouldn’t be long before we have more options available.
See at ASUS
See at B&H Photo