Asus will be making an appearance at Milan Design Week (MDW) in Italy to purportedly unveil the company’s fitness-centric smartwatch, the VivoWatch (HC-A01). Interestingly, the device will reportedly be running on a version of ‘Windows for Wearables’.
Not much is known about the VivoWatch as of yet, but what we do know is that it will revolve more on fitness and lifestyle tracking. It features a stainless steel body, complies with the IP67 rating for water and dust resistance, heart-rate monitoring as well as sleep tracking. However, the device doesn’t seem to be running on Android Wear as it sports a black and white display (likely the battery-saving factor) which showcases Asus’ very own watch interface design.
We think the two major problems with a smartwatch is the battery life and its price. According to Engadget, Asus has taken care of the battery life as the VivoWatch is expected to have 10 days of battery life. Now, all that’s left is whether Asus will price the VivoWatch right. If they do, it might actually give competing smartwatches a run for their money.
If users head on to the official webpage for the event in Italy, the company is calling it ‘Zensation’ and this is likely where the VivoWatch will be making its debut. However, why unveil a Vivo series product an Zen event? In the past, Asus is known to have used the ‘Vivo’ name for their Windows-based products. For example, the VivoTab or VivoPC. So, could the VivoWatch be running on Windows?
The smartwatch is currently priced at €149 (about RM582) for Italy, no word yet on the international pricing and availability. Those interested can check out the official event’s webpage to see what teasers and surprises Asus has in store for the unveiling of the VivoWatch.
