Asus Chairman: Smartwatch Will Be "Hero" Product
The chairman talks about the upcoming Asus smartwatch.
Currently, we don't know anything about the upcoming Asus smartwatch, only that the device will land in September with a price tag of $99 to $149, and use Google's new Android Wear as the operating system. The device will be competing with the LG G Watch and the Samsung Gear Live, both of which are already on the market.
However, Asus Chairman Jonney Shih shared a few details on Thursday during the Taiwan Economic Summit in Taipei, stating that when the smartwatch debuts, it will (naturally) be an innovative product. As reported by Focus Taiwan, the device will have the right balance between price, form factor, technical feasibility and launch timing.
"With so many requirements to think over, we need to find out the right trade-off in order to make what we call a 'hero product,'" he said.
He added that the smartwatch will have a number of features such as notifications and the ability to understand users so that the device can help them solve real-time problems. That seemingly builds upon a brief description of the device back in March when he said it could be controlled using voice commands and customizable hand gestures.
Shih also expects that consumers will replace their watch with the Asus gadget, which is why the form factor really matters. However, he previously pointed out that it's not meant to replace the smartphone, but to compliment the device because phones have "mature applications" that customers want to use.
Shih added on Thursday that Asus is considering new options for the user interface on the smartwatch due to the screen's small size. He didn't go into details, but seemingly indicates that the company is shooting to offer services and features that are best suited for a watch form factor.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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jasonelmore while asus can make some killer hardware, their software is pure garbage. they need to stick to Vanilla Android as much as they can. The half baked apps i get with my motherboards, routers, and iphone apps, get around 4-5 updates within the first few months, and then suddenly go completely dark. they get no support or bug fix's after the initial deployment. DEFINITELY no features adds lol...Reply -
danwat1234 Asus, what about a gaming laptop whose screen can go farther back than 100 degrees? G750 doesn't. The older Asus gaming laptops do like the G51JReply -
dovah-chan I'm not buying premature technology despite being attracted to the idea. Give it about 3-5 years and the market will flesh itself out and it'll be the norm at least for the middle class for sure.Reply -
teh_chem Replywhile asus can make some killer hardware, their software is pure garbage. they need to stick to Vanilla Android as much as they can. The half baked apps i get with my motherboards, routers, and iphone apps, get around 4-5 updates within the first few months, and then suddenly go completely dark. they get no support or bug fix's after the initial deployment. DEFINITELY no features adds lol...
Agreed. I had so many issues with my TF101, and then again with an asus laptop (UL80J, that ASUS quickly abandoned support for almost right after launch leaving the customers with driver conflicts between the network and video cards), I've decided not to give them any more of my money.
A watch as a 'hero' product, please. These idiotic smart watches aren't watches, they're just clunky miniature tablets with a wrist strap and crappy battery life.