Asus ZenWatch officially announced running Android Wear with beautiful design

The Asus ZenWatch which was recently teased was officially announced at IFA 2014, as the company's first smartwatch... It seems like the wait was well worth it, as this Android Wear powered device features a beautiful stainless steel build, with slightly arched sides and a moderately curved 2.5D display.

The display is 1.63 inches in size with a 320 by 320 pixel resolution, 4GB of internal storage and a Snapdragon 400 processor with 512MB of RAM. The manufacturer claims that the stitched genuine leather strap of the ZenWatch embellishes "iconic Italian design". The quick-release clasp is another nifty addition to the ZenWatch's bag of features. The ZenWatch is not afraid of the water, too - it has an IP55 certification and will survive relatively strong water jets.

The Asus ZenWatch is running the company's home-made ZenUI user interface on top of the Google Wear platform and comes with more than 100 watch faces. It also comes with several gestured based features which enhances your smartwatch experience. For example, the Tap Tap feature, which got showcased during Asus' keynote, allows users to easily tap the display and locate the paired smartphone. Another interesting functionality, Cover to Mute, does just what its name suggests - when someone's calling you and your ZenWatch is notifying you about this, you can simply cover the latter and it will mute itself. Some of the other onboard features are Remote Camera, which allows you to take pictures remotely, Presentation Control, Find My Phone, and Watch Unlock.

The smartwatch also comes with the usual health-centric and fitness-oriented features that are usually available on smartwatches and every new wearable device. The ZenWatch measures the steps you've made, how many calories you've burned, your heart rate, relaxation level, and many more.

Initially, we heard that the device might retail between $99 to $149, but this won't be the case, at least at first. Asus announced that it will be selling the ZenWatch for EUR 199 (before taxes and subsidies), which translates to roughly $260.

source - Asus