Asus's SIM servicing followup to its ZenWatch has been pushed back into next year, and the first generation of the smartwatch won't arrive in India this year as planned.
Jerry Shen, Asus' CEO, revealed more details about the future of his company's smartwatch line when he stopped in New Delhi for the launch of the ZenFone 2.
During his time in India, Shen revealed in an interview that the Zenwatch 2 won't arrive during the third quarter of 2015 as expected. The Asus CEO also revealed that the ZenWatch 2, when it finally arrives, will be offered in two varieties.
One version of the ZenWatch 2 will target men and the other will be designed for women. It wasn't clear if the watch faces would vary between sexes or if the lugs would be closer together on the version for women.
Not a lot is known about the ZenWatch 2's specs, but Asus has revealed its intentions to add SIM support for the smartwatch to give it independence from smartphones. Like Samsung's Gear S, the SIM support would allow wearers to leave their phones at home and still field calls.
Shen reaffirmed Asus' decision to develop its own operating system for its smartwatches, though the CEO said the company will still use Android Wear in parallel for awhile.
While he didn't cite battery life as the sole or primary reason for the ZenWatch 2's holdup, Shen also stated that the company is still concerned about how long its smartwatch run on each charge. Battery life, however, is a concern for every smartwatch manufacturer and has been one of the major hurdles hurting adoption of the wrist-worn computers.
While the followup to the ZenWatch is delayed, Asus is still on track to launch the Vivo Watch. The $180 Vivo Watch isn't available just yet, but Tech Times' Nicole Arce says the smartwatch is unique enough to serve as a solid alternative to the $200 ZenWatch.
"The ZenWatch, with its handsome steel-and-leather design, is an Android Wear smartwatch you can wear during regular days at the office, running errands or even at night during an office party or a swankier event," writes Arce. "The Vivo Watch, on the other hand, is more a fitness tracker than an all-around device."
