After the official unveiling of the first Android Wear smartwatches at the I/O Conference this week, sources are saying Taiwanese OEM is set to push through with their long-rumored smartwatch. They will reportedly try to launch it later this year, preferably by September. But what’s most interesting is that they will apparently price the gadget lower than their current rivals, the Samsung Gear Live, LG G Watch and the Moto 360.
The smartwatch will be priced between $99 and $149, compared to the $199-$229 price tag of the aforementioned brands. Previous reports about ASUS’ intent to enter the wearable market said that their device will include both voice and gesture controls since it will have a smaller screen. Their chairman Johhny Shih mentioned before that they were looking at “more natural user interfaces,” indirectly confirming the rumours. He also mentioned that while they were putting a lot of resources into coming up with a viable design, there were still some issues and challenges when it comes to coming up with a wearable device.
Now that Google has revealed more details about Android Wear, then the question is will ASUS still continue with their original plans with their smartwatch. As to why they’re only joining the fray now, behind Samsung, LG and Motorola, it was apparently a conscious decision by the company to wait until after Android Wear has been officially launched because they didn’t want to rush into creating the prototype and then manufacturing the device.
There were reports that Google had a strict timeline if any of the brands wanted to make it in time for the official launch this week. LG admitting that they did not include a heart rate monitor in their G Watch, which claims to be the first smartwatch under the Android Wear OS, somehow confirms that they were really on a deadline.
VIA: TechCrunch
