IFA 2016

ASUS likes to keep us guessing with the ZenWatch. When the original debuted in 2014, it stood out from the crowd with a striking, slightly curved square display. With recessed details along the sides, the wearable had a simple elegance that we loved and cutting edge internals. What we didn’t love was the 40mm screen dwarfed by the 51mm watch face. To say it had a giant bezel would be an understatement. Last Fall we had high hopes for the ZenWatch 2 and could not have been more disappointed. Instead of releasing a smartwatch that reflected an iterative improvement, addressing issues people complained about with the original, the ZenWatch 2 barely offered an update. ASUS hardly touched the aging internals and the design actually got worse. While the watch shrunk to a more reasonable size, the bezel seemed to stand out even more. And the handsome recessed line was removed and a fake “digital crown” was stuck onto the side. The result was a cheap looking wearable. The good news – the ASUS ZenWatch 2 was comparatively cheap: $150.

This year for the ZenWatch 3, ASUS finally remembered where the drawing board was and went back to it. The ZenWatch 3 is a completely new smartwatch from ASUS.