IFA 2016

IFA 2016: ZenWatch 3 is first round smartwatch of ASUS

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Squarish designs and poor battery life plagued early smartwatches because of technological limitations, but now, the newest models are looking more like traditional, not-as-smart watches and performance is certainly improving. ASUS is the latest company to jump on the round watchface ship with the ZenWatch 3, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

It’s a long time coming for ASUS, whose previous ZenWatch iterations didn’t stand out for class-leading designs. This time, there’s a 1.39-inch AMOLED display surrounded by stainless steel and a choice of three colors: rose gold, silver, or gunmetal. If you look closely, you’ll also notice a gold bezel around the curved display. The smartwatch is only 9.95mm thick, and you can choose between either a rubber or leather strap as of now.

ASUS ZenWatch 3 Rose Gold

Aside from the round design, the ZenWatch 3 can apparently last two days on a single charge. This bit is important, because nearly every high-powered smartwatch available today has a one-day battery life before needing another full load. The trick is in the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100 processor, which is specifically designed to run on slim smartwatches like the ZenWatch 3. Like the best Snapdragon-powered smartphones, you can quick charge this watch from zero to 60 percent in only 15 minutes. There’s even an extra battery pack you can attach on the unit, but it would compromise the comfort of your wrist.

As an Android Wear smartwatch, the ZenWatch 3 is capable of connecting to either Android handsets or iPhones in order to unlock full functionality, like receiving notifications and providing answers to quick queries through Google Now. ASUS also placed emphasis on the fitness tracking capabilities, claiming a 95 percent accuracy for counting footsteps and sports-specific modes to better suit your physical activities.

The official price is stated to be €229 (around $255) when it first hits Europe during the fourth quarter of this year.

[irp posts=”9308″ name=”ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom hands-on”]

First Look

Acer Swift 7 first look

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There are lots of laptops that are considered razor-thin, but there’s one that’s a little more specific: The Acer Swift 7 is considered to be smartphone-thin, having a profile that’s just below a centimeter at 9.98mm. Leanest notebook ever? Definitely.

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Hands-On

Lenovo Yoga Book hands-on review

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We really have to give it to Lenovo for trying to reinvent tablets and notebooks so often. After reviewing their modular yet incredibly sturdy ThinkPad X1 Tablet, we’re now taking a look at the Yoga Book, which is something we’ve never seen before.

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Hands-On

IFA 2016: Sony Xperia X Compact hands-on

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Every hero product needs a sidekick, and in the Sony Xperia XZ’s case, it’s the Xperia X Compact fortifying the lineup. It’s a lot like its predecessor, the Xperia Z5 Compact, but the internal package is quite different.

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