Asus ZenWatch 3

Update: The Asus ZenWatch 3 has been out almost a year now, but an update to Android Wear 2.0 and a small price drop (details of which you'll find below) ensure it's still worth considering, even in the face of newer competition.

Original review follows below.

The Asus ZenWatch 3 marks a change in direction for the Taiwanese firm and its smartwatch line, and its timing couldn't be better.

The death of Pebble means many smartwatch owners are looking for an alternative to the quirky wearable. One of the most obvious alternatives for Pebble lovers is the vast array of Android Wear smartwatches.

While the long-awaited update to Android Wear 2.0 left many adopters with a sour taste in their mouths, Asus has finally made good on its promise by delivering the latest wearable software. With that, the ZenWatch 3 is among the best smartwatches available, making it into our best smartwatches list.

We loved the previous ZenWatch 2 for its affordability, but there were lots of compromises like battery life and big bezels. Asus went back to the drawing board for the ZenWatch 3 and has created one of the most polished smartwatches on the market to date.

It’s more expensive than its predecessor, with a launch price of $229/£250 (around AU$340), and despite having been out for around a year it hasn't dropped in price much, though it is a little cheaper, coming in at around $200/£230.

But its build quality, gorgeous display and unique software features arguably still make it worth the price for smartwatch fans.

Display

• Sharp 1.39-inch AMOLED screen
• Auto brightness mode can be too dim

The Asus ZenWatch 3 sports a circular 1.39-inch AMOLED display that doesn’t suffer from the flat tire effect like the Moto 360. With a pixel density of 287 pixels per square inch, text is incredibly sharp and colors pop.

It’s also covered with Gorilla Glass so it should standup against scratches, though it’s not as durable as the sapphire found on the Apple Watch 3 or Apple Watch 2 with stainless steel and ceramic cases.

While the display can get very bright, I found its ambient light-sensing auto brightness setting favored dimming the screen a bit too much. That's a problem we've had with last-generation Asus phone, too.

You can manually turn up the display brightness yourself. Outdoor viewing is usually a challenge for smartwatches, but I had no issues with the ZenWatch 3’s display.

Circular displays aren’t the best for displaying maximum amounts of information, but the circular display of the ZenWatch 3 is undeniably gorgeous. Square displays are better equipped to show more text in notifications but this is the compromise you’ll have to make if you want a rounded smartwatch. 

Design

• Stylish, watch-like design
• Customizable chronograph buttons
• Proprietary straps

The ZenWatch 3’s design is so different from the previous generation watch that it doesn’t even look like it’s from the same company. 

Where the ZenWatch 2’s design was boring and generic enough to put you to sleep, the ZenWatch 3 has an eye-catching stainless steel case with rose gold accents around the display, case and crown button. This definitely is a more adult-looking product vs the ZenWatch 2.

The most notable design features of the ZenWatch 3 is its faux chronograph buttons on the right side of its case and its weird lug guards. Whether or not you’re a fan of the lug guards that as they look chunkier than they need to be, no one will appreciate the fact that Asus opted for proprietary straps.

Another problem with the chunky lugs is that they make the included strap very stiff on the wrist and make impossible to lay the watch flat. This means you’ll have to lay the watch on its side while charging, which is a bit awkward. Asus hilariously includes a small rubber pad to prevent you from scratching up the watch.

You can quickly swap out bands via the clip on each strap, but the unique lugs mean you won’t be able to use traditional watch straps with the ZenWatch 3.

On the other hand, the faux chronograph buttons are customizable, a feature we wish every Android Wear smartwatch offered. They’re programmable to launch apps or perform tasks so you can set one to bring up a calculator or set a timer. 

By default, the top button is set for Asus ZenFit to track your workouts and the bottom button is set to turn on ECO Mode (airplane mode) to preserve battery life. 

Now for some bad news:. Those with small wrists will not like the ZenWatch 3. I have a 6.5-inch (16.51 cm) wrist and found the watch too big. The case is 45mm wide and feels every bit as big. Combined with the long lugs, the ZenWatch 3 isn’t a good option for guys or girls with small wrists like me.

The Moto 360 does a much better job of feeling smaller than it really is, as its lugs are integrated into its case, shortening the lug-to-lug length. The Moto 360 also comes in 42mm and 46mm variants. 

Likewise, Apple offers the Apple Watch in 38mm and 42mm sizes. It would have been nice if Asus released a smaller version of the ZenWatch 3 instead of 'one size fits... some.'

Comfort

• Becomes more comfortable after a few days
• Stiff leather strap

To comfortably wear the Asus ZenWatch 3, you have to break it in. The thick strap and large lugs don’t have any flex at first, which would have helped with out-of-the-box comfort. However, the watch became much more comfortable after several days of use.

The strap is made of genuine leather, but it’s not very high- quality leather. Motorola’s Horween leather puts the ZenWatch 3’s strap to shame. The strap is also quite stiff and its two keepers have a tendency to slip off, leaving the strap flapping around. Asus needs to make the keepers a smaller for a snug fit so this doesn’t happen.

The ZenWatch 3 is quite thin at 9.95mm, making it slip under shirt cuffs without problem. As mentioned before, the watch is big, and doesn’t fit well with small wrists, so take your store's return policy seriously.

Specs

• No GPS or heart rate monitor
• Water and dust resistant
• Includes a speaker but the sound isn't great

The Asus ZenWatch 3 is sporting the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100, a chip designed specifically for wearables. The headline for this chip is that it’s supposedly 25% more efficient and can power watches with LTE modems. The ZenWatch 3 doesn’t have its own LTE chip, but it does support Wi-Fi. 

The rest of the specs are familiar for ZenWatch 2 owners, with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. You can use the onboard storage to download a playlist to listen to music on the go with Bluetooth headphones. It doesn’t have LTE or GPS so this functionality is limited. Those wanting a smartwatch that can function without being tethered to a phone should look elsewhere.

Fitness buffs won’t be happy with the ZenWatch 3’s lack of a heart rate monitor. The ZenWatch is really only meant to track casual workouts like walking, running, push ups, and sit ups. If you value fitness tracking more than smartwatch features, the Fitbit Blaze or Fitbit Ionic may be for you.

But even in the world of Android Wear there are better fitness options, such as the LG Watch Sport and Huawei Watch 2, both of which include a heart rate monitor and GPS, though they're arguably less stylish.

In terms of connectivity, the ZenWatch 3 sports Bluetooth 4.2, 802.11 n Wi-Fi, and can take calls. Wi-Fi connectivity means the ZenWatch 3 will still get notifications without being connected to your phone, which is great if you’re wandering around the office or your home without your phone nearby.

The included speaker and microphone lets you get your Dick Tracy on, though the speaker doesn’t sound particularly good. The mic also allows voice commands via Google Now. You can talk to the ZenWatch 3 to add reminders, call a contact, request directions and much more. 

You can also sync tracks from Google Play Music directly to the watch for working out without your phone. You won’t get any data or GPS without your phone, but at least you can go on a run with just the ZenWatch 3 and a pair of Bluetooth headphones.

Last but not least, the ZenWatch 3 is dust and water resistant to IP67 standards. This allows you to dunk the watch in up to 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes. You won’t want to take the ZenWatch 3 into the shower or swim with it but it’ll withstand the rain and splashes without problem.

Performance and interface

• Upgradable to Android Wear 2.0
• Hands-free gesture controls are useful

The Asus ZenWatch 3 was supposed to launch with Android Wear 2.0, but the update actually took months to land. As a result, this watch comes out of the box running Android Wear 1.6, so you'll need to queue the update if you're a new owner. 

Swipe up and down to flip through your different notifications. In Android Wear 2.0, swiping to the left or right dismisses said notifications - something that you'll have to get used to moving up from v1.6.

The ZenWatch 3 also features wrist gestures that let you scroll through your notifications with flicks of your wrist, which are handy if you can’t use both hands. You can also force your wrist up and down to go deeper into menus but you’ll look like you’re trying to elbow someone so I avoided using those gestures.

Pressing on the crown from any screen brings you back to your watch face. Pressing again pulls up a list of apps for you to trigger on the watch. New in Android Wear 2.0 is the ability to hold the crown in to summon Google Assistant. Just like it can on your phone or Google Home, it's your personal assistant for messaging, providing a fun fact and more.

Pressing the faux-chronograph buttons lets you trigger apps or airplane mode. You can reprogram the buttons to whatever you want using the ZenWatch Manager app or natively in the settings, which is a new addition in Android Wear 2.0.

The app also lets you customize the different watch faces that come preloaded on the ZenWatch 3. The watch faces Asus chose to include look a bit cheap, like those you’d find from watches purchased on Canal Street.

However, there are a couple of handsome faces with sub registers detailing your battery life, calories burned, and steps taken. Thankfully there are plenty of other watch faces you can download in the Google Play Store.

The ZenWatch 3 comes preinstalled with a couple of Asus specific apps like Together, which lets you send messages to other ZenWatch users. It’s like the Apple Watch’s Digital Touch feature. There’s a Flashlight app that simply turns the watch into a solid color, which is pretty useless. The only Asus app worth using is Asus ZenFit, which has a few more options than Google Fit.

Battery life

• Decent battery life by Android Wear standards
• Charges quickly

With the ZenWatch 3 sporting Qualcomm’s latest wearable chip, battery life has noticeably improved over older Android Wear smartwatches that barely lasted through a day of use.

The Snapdragon Wear 2100 chip, combined with a 341mAh battery, means you can expect nearly two days of use with the always-on feature turned off. We had no problem getting the ZenWatch to survive a day and a half.

However, once you turn on the always-on screen, battery life drops dramatically. We struggled to get the ZenWatch 3 to last a day with its always-on screen, with the watch begging for the charger by 9PM. 

No, the ZenWatch 3 won’t last as long as the Pebble Time, but this is about as good as it gets with Android Wear right now. The good news is that Asus has built in fast charging into the ZenWatch 3, allowing it to go from 0-60% in just 15 minutes. It’s seriously quick to charge.

If you’re a heavy user, expect to carry around the charging dock with you. Alternatively, you can buy the optional battery pack that gets you an extra 200mAh of charge and is slim enough to sit under the ZenWatch 3. 

We liked

The Asus ZenWatch 3 is beautifully designed with its stainless steel case and rose gold accents. It looks more like a traditional watch than a piece of technology, which couldn’t be said about the previous ZenWatch generations. Its display is gorgeous, with colors that pop and a high enough resolution that you won’t notice individual pixels. 

The faux-chronograph buttons are excellent for assigning to frequently used apps and ZenFit is actually worth using over Google Fit. Its battery will last you comfortably throughout the day and can even go two days of light use.

We disliked

The ZenWatch 3 is a big watch so persons with small wrists won’t like its fit. We wish Asus came out with a smaller version like it did with the ZenWatch 2. The included strap is stiff and not as nice as the Horween leather found on the Moto 360. 

Fitness buffs will likely be disappointed by the ZenWatch 3’s lack of GPS, LTE and heart rate monitor. Those on the fence about smartwatches won’t be swayed by the ZenWatch 3 as Android Wear, even with the update to version 2, hasn’t changed dramatically since its launch. 

Final verdict

If you’re in the market for an Android Wear smartwatch, the Asus ZenWatch 3 should be at the top of your list. It has a great display, useful hardware buttons and good battery life. Its styling might not be for everyone but Asus did a commendable job designing a watch that looks more like a premium watch than a piece of lifeless technology.

It’s not cheap, but the ZenWatch 2 should last you a while, especially since its update to Android Wear 2.0 has injected new life into it. But for those not convinced that they need a smartwatch, the ZenWatch 3 does little to convince non-believers to join the smartwatch bandwagon.