Asus ZenWatch review
Survey the field of Android Wear watches available right now, and you’ll see a lot of plastic and a lot of rubber. The ZenWatch is refreshingly devoid of either of those materials. It has an attractive brushed stainless steel body with a copper-colored band (Asus calls it “rose gold”, but it’s more like copper to my eyes) sandwiched between the two layers of plain steel. It’s a good look that works with both casual and formal attire, which is a rarity in a sea of mostly dorky-looking smartwatches. The ZenWatch’s design reminds me more of Apple’s upcoming Watch than prior Android Wear watches.
The watch itself is thinner than most other smartwatches, and though the ZenWatch is bigger overall than the Pebble Steel, it’s not uncomfortably big on my wrist, unlike the rather bulky Moto 360. It’s still closer in size to a large men’s watch than a unisex design, so those with smaller wrists might still find it too large.
Like the Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch, the ZenWatch has a square display. But the frame around the display is judiciously rounded, and the top even has a slight curve to it, softening the watch’s appearance. The screen is a 1.63-inch, 320 x 320 pixel AMOLED panel, with good viewing angles and acceptable brightness levels. It’s similar to the Samsung Gear Live’s screen, but works better outdoors. My only real complaint with the ZenWatch’s design is that the border surrounding the screen is a bit too large. I wish Asus either made the display larger or the watch smaller to eliminate it.
There’s a single button on the underside of the watch to power it on and quickly access the Settings menu, but it’s not really designed to be used often. The main points of interaction with the ZenWatch — and any Android Wear device — are through its touchscreen and with your voice.
The ZenWatch’s strap is soft tan-colored leather, with a metal deployant clasp. You can quickly swap it for another band if the color or style isn’t your fancy. The folding metal clasp is a nice touch: it looks nice, makes the watch easy to take on and off, and doesn’t damage the strap the same way that traditional loop clasps do. On the downside, it adds thickness at the point of closure, so I often found the ZenWatch uncomfortable to wear while typing on a laptop. The strap is more durable than the Moto 360’s, but it’s still as pliable and comfortable as any other leather strap.
The ZenWatch needs to be charged every night or it won’t make it through the next day
The ZenWatch doesn’t have wireless charging, but requires a clip-on charging cradle for a Micro USB charger. You’ll have to use that cradle every night. Like most Android Wear devices, I was able to get a solid day out of the ZenWatch before it needed to be recharged, but not much more. Turning off the convenient ambient display feature (which makes the ZenWatch practical as an actual watch) stretched battery life into the next day, but I was never able to go two full days without needing to charge it.
