New ZenWatch to be showcased at Computex

May 27, 2015

Jerry Shen, chief executive of Asustek Computer Inc., said Tuesday the company’s new ZenWatch will be showcased at Computex in June and released early in the third quarter as planned, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported.

A recent report by the Indian media outlet NDTV Gadgets that stated the second-generation smartwatch launch would be delayed until next year was a “misunderstanding,” Shen said after an earnings conference.

Demand for Asustek’s latest smartwatch may not increase as fast as it did for the company’s budget ZenFone handsets, Shen said, noting battery life that fell below expectations. While the battery of the first-generation ZenWatch can last up to two days, the newest version of the smartwatch has a battery life of below four days on a single charge. Shen said he had hoped the new ZenWatch’s battery could last seven days.

Shen also predicted that Asustek’s overall smartwatch shipments will reach less than 1 million units this year “and will not make a significant contribution to the company’s total revenue,” according to the Central News Agency.

According to research firm Canalys, just over 720,000 devices powered by Google’s Android Wear operating system were shipped in 2014, accounting about for about 16 percent of all 4.6 million smart wearable band shipments.

Source: TechNews