Asus announces the ZenWatch 2 - different sizes, magnetic chargers, lots of customizability

One of the most aesthetically pleasing smartwatch lines to launch last year – Asus' ZenWatch – has just gotten its second entry, the ZenWatch 2. The design language is mostly the same, however, this time around, Asus will be offering the wearable in two sizes – one will come with a 1.63”, 320 x 320 screen, the same size and resolution as the first ZenWatch, and the second one will be slightly smaller, with a 1.45” display and a 280 x 280 resolution.

Hardware-wise, both models bear the quad-core Snapdragon 400 SoC by Qualcomm, clocked at 1.2 GHz, 512 MB of LPDDR2 RAM, and 4 GB of internal storage. The larger ZenWatch 2 model will be juiced by a 400 mAh battery, whereas the smaller one will only have 300 mAh in its juicebox. Asus promises 2.5 days of life in ambient mode for the bigger-sized watch, and more than 2 days in ambient mode for its tiny sibling. Charging is done via a magnetic connector and Asus says it takes 36 minutes for a ZenWatch 2 to be charged up to 50%.

Both models will launch some time in October, though, whether it will hit all major markets at the same time is unknown. They will come in three different finishes – silver, gunmetal (grey), and rose gold – a variety of straps, and will have a watchface-creation tool, so, hopefully, we can expect an endless pool of cool faces to come from the community. Here's the shocker – announced prices list the 1.67” ZenWatch 2 at €149 (around $167) and the smaller, 1.45” variant at €169 (around $190). No typo there – the smaller ZenWatch 2 will actually cost you more.