Asus ZenWatch 2 review

This smartwatch sequel has a great battery life, but lacks power

Asus wasted no time in developing a follow-up after the rather unspectacular release of the rather unspectacular ZenWatch. This fairly quick turnaround means that the ZenWatch 2 has much in common with its precursor. The display and SoC specs are the same, it has a similar shape, and they're both priced to undercut rivals like the Apple Watch and Moto 360. But the Taiwanese firm will hope that the upgraded battery and new crown button make a stronger impression.

We've been wearing the ZenWatch 2 for a few days now, and can confirm that it's a successful reworking. But it still doesn't do enough to stand out against more premium-minded rivals.

Setup
Getting the ZenWatch 2 set up and synced is pleasingly idiot-proof. It requires the Android Wear app to be downloaded onto the paired smartphone, but establishing a Bluetooth connection via the app is extremely quick. After a single tap to confirm that the same code appears on the watch and smartphone screens, it's ready to sync.

The nine-part syncing process takes several minutes, much longer than it takes to install and run the pairing app, but at least it doesn't require any further input and the ZenWatch 2 is ready to use once it's complete.

Design
This is one of the slimmer smartwatches around at 50x41x10.9mm. Sadly it also looks and feels a few millimetres too tall, almost completely spanning the wrist of more slimly-built wearers. We're inclined to blame the huge upper and lower bezels, an old-fashioned touch that's incongruous with the ZenWatch 2's otherwise sleek design.

The stainless steel case, for instance, is thin but incredibly strong, and the glossy Gorilla Glass 3 screen can resist scratches with the best of them. The ZenWatch 2 is also dust- and water-resistant to the IP67 standard. We ran it under a tap and left it in a full cup of water with no adverse effects, so it will easily endure rain or the occasional splash.

There's no heartbeat monitor, and the crown button is limited to acting as a shortcut for the watch face and apps list, but there are neat touches to make up for these shortcomings, like the tiny latches on the straps that make them fast and easy to remove and replace.

The ZenWatch 2, then, has the enviable quality of feeling higher-end than it actually is, even with that tall rectangular shape which, it should be said, remains fairly comfortable on the wrist.

Next: Display, operating system and software

Asus ZenWatch 2 review

This smartwatch sequel has a great battery life, but lacks power

Display
Asus has stubbornly stuck to a square screen, even as competitors move towards more traditional watch-like circular displays. Still, the 1.6in panel is decently sized and arguably makes for more a more natural text-reading device than a round screen.

The 320x320 resolution is also fine. We didn't have any problems with legibility, although it's far from the highest on a smartwatch. The 360x360 Samsung Gear S2 and especially the 400x400 Huawei Watch are slightly crisper, and small images are noticeably easier to make out than on the ZenWatch 2.

At least the colours are bright and bold, courtesy of smartphone-style AMOLED tech. If anything, rich hues like reds and greens can appear oversaturated, but that's a forgivable offence since perfect colour balance isn't as important on a smartwatch as it would be on a tablet or a laptop.

Operating system and software
No dramatic modifications have been made to the core Android Wear OS, and it still uses directional swipe gestures to navigate between menus, explore or dismiss notifications or scroll through pages of an app. It's an adequate control method, to be sure, if somewhat inelegant next to the Gear S2's excellent spinning-bezel system.

There are a few pre-installed apps in addition to Android Wear's standard mix of fitness tracking and general utility tools. In fact, most of Asus' extras, including apps like Asus Weather and the UP step counter, are made instantly redundant by the existing software, although the SOS app adds a quick way of sending a pre-written distress message to emergency contacts, which could be useful in a pinch.

There's also the Together app, which can be used to create and send messages directly to another ZenWatch 2. It's not something we're really sure needs to exist, considering that standard text messages can be sent with similar ease, and will notify the receiver's smartwatch anyway, provided they have one.

More positively, there's a good selection of watch faces, striking a balance between understated, flashy and abstract designs. Installing Asus' FaceDesigner app on your phone also allows the creation of custom faces. The range of colour, pattern, ticker, widget and icon options is appreciably diverse, and it's even possible to add photos taken on your phone's camera.

Like all Android Wear devices, the ZenWatch 2 can be paired with Android and iOS smartphones, albeit with limited functionality on the latter. Notifications, for instance, will show up when paired with an iPhone, but you won't be able to respond to them straight from the watch interface. With an Android handset, by contrast, you could reply to a text without even touching the smartphone.

Next: Performance, battery, storage and conclusions

Asus ZenWatch 2 review

This smartwatch sequel has a great battery life, but lacks power

Performance
The ZenWatch 2 is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 512MB of RAM, and shares the same internal setup as the more expensive Huawei Watch and Moto 360.

However, it somehow doesn't always feel as swift and responsive as these other timepieces, frequently stuttering when flicking through the OS. More demanding apps like BBC News and Google Maps can take an age to load, as well.

As on the Huawei Watch, notifications also take several seconds to actually close after they've been dismissed, although this isn't as much of a problem as the general sluggishness; nixed notifications are automatically booted off the screen even if they haven't finished deleting themselves.

Battery and storage
Much better news is that this is by far the longest-lasting Android Wear watch we've tested, and can even stand up to the Apple Watch on battery life. The ZenWatch 2 lasted 65 hours and 49 minutes (over two and a half days) with normal mixed use, about a day more than the Huawei Watch and Gear S2 managed under similar conditions.

Less outstanding, but still adequate, is the 4GB of ROM storage. This seems to be the industry standard for Android Wear devices, and is capable of holding a moderately wide selection of apps and files. The Apple Watch offers 8GB but don't be fooled: unlike on the ZenWatch 2, it's divvied up into much smaller partitions specifically for apps, music, pictures and so on.

Overall
The ZenWatch 2's strong build, relatively low price and elongated battery life all make it a suitable entry point for buyers looking for their first smartwatch. Android Wear is platform-agnostic, so they won't have to worry too much about compatibility with their current smartphone either.

That being said, shaky performance and a square design that's rapidly falling out of fashion means that anyone who can afford to spend more on a Gear S2, Moto 360 or Huawei Watch would probably get more out of the bigger investment.