Asus Rises From Smartwatch Grave With New VivoWatch SP

Asus just showed off a marque new smartwatch at IFA — I guess it is n’t giving up on smartwatches after all . After let go theZenwatch 3 in 2016 , it seemed like Asus had quietly retire from smartwatches . Yet today the company proudly boast its unexampled VivoWatch SP — a chic health - oriented wearable that boasts 14 - day electric battery aliveness , and “ medical grade ” ECG and PPG sensors .

To be clean , Asus did n’t totally give up on vesture since we last saw the Zenwatch 3 . It released the originalVivoWatchin 2015 to little fanfare , and watch over that up with theVivoWatch BPin 2018 . It ’s just that until now , the VivoWatch series seemed more of function - first , atrocious - as - sin physical fitness tracker or aesculapian equipment . That was a far cry from the sleek Zenwatch 3 and it was a tangible disgrace as it was one of the better Android smartwatches around at the sentence .

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Asus is back in the smartwatch game with the VivoWatch SP.

Asus is back in the smartwatch game with the VivoWatch SP.Photo: Victoria Song (Gizmodo)

That ’s why it ’s fresh to see the VivoWatch SP echo the Zenwatch ’s design . It ’s produce a rotary case and a ceramic bezel , and notably , the ECG and PPG sensors have been moved to the side and back of the machine . ( The VivoWatch BP hadthem on the frontin a crime against design . )

On the plus side , you do get built - in GPS for workout , as well as some fitness features like pace coaching and activity maps . Asus also say it would be able-bodied to give advice free-base on data collected from an altimeter and via blood atomic number 8 level monitoring . For example , if you ’re hiking at a high altitude , the watch might nudge you to perch if it detects you ’re push it too far .

round out the feature , the VivoWatch SP is also rank for 5ATM of body of water immunity — basically , the measure require to be see swimproof . As for the platform , it run off Asus ’ proprietary app — an interesting decision that peradventure signal its experience with the Zenwatch may have soured Asus on Wear OS .

Photo: Victoria Song

I was not kidding when I said the screens were dark.Photo: Victoria Song (Gizmodo)

All this sounds passably cool , but I do have some reservations . Namely , during the insistency conference , Asus made multiple consultation to the fact its ECG and PPG sensing element were “ medical tier . ” However , it also stated it expects to ship the devices by the end of the twelvemonth . To be truly aesculapian class , the VivoWatch SP would have to be vetted by regulative agencies like the Food and Drug Administration or Europe ’s Conformité Européenne ( CE ) . I asked an Asus congressman at the event whether the VivoWatch had undergone the approval process , but was narrate this was not the case . When demand about how that might touch on accessibility by the end of the twelvemonth — these processes take forever , unless your name is Apple — I was tell that it would bet on regional regulative agencies and that some characteristic may be made available later via software update in the app .

That by itself is n’t necessarily alarming . Samsung ’s Galaxy Watch Active2 will also transport with the ability to do ECG examination in a future update . It is , however , desirable of an arched brow to tout your sensors as medical grad without proper bonafides . And without right bonafides , it also calls into question the truth of the health advice you ’re getting .

As for pricing , Asus did n’t extend any concrete details . It ’s possible we ’re in for a long wait for the VivoWatch SP — or , in the case of a rapid launch , that some of the announced features might get nerfed . In any caseful , it is good to see Asus get ambitious with its habiliment again .

Photo: Victoria Song