Casio is one of the better-known brands when it comes to wristwatches, of course they have other products in their portfolio like calculators, cameras or even smartphones, but who could forget those classic designs like the F-91W (which is totally making a comeback) or those that included calculators? Now that most companies dedicated to making mobile devices are creating the so-called smartwatches, it’s time to know how will those dedicated to making watches respond to this trend, even if these devices haven’t reached out to consumers the way the companies expected. We’ve seen different approaches towards creating a smartwatch, some of them don’t include color screens and some others rely on the software created specifically for their small screen and others look like regular watches, but they include some extra features.
The third approach is what we might expect from Casio, as they plan to create a product that “will be a watch that tries to be smart, rather than a smart device that is also a watch”. Casio has experimented through all these years integrating features like heart-rate monitors, music players, remote controls and even games, some of these turned out not to be very popular. Now, they feel confident about bringing a simple device that feels good to wear and it will be very resistant. They haven’t decided on what the price will be, and while they want it to be affordable, they’re talking about a price range around the lower-end Apple Watch, about $400.
In terms of design and features, it is supposed to be targeted towards men who like outdoor sports and leisure, so this could hint to a rugged but stylish device and it will launch next March. No other specs were given, like the kind of OS it will use, or the compatibility of the watch with other mobile devices but the company might want to sell this smartwatch to as many consumers as they can, so it might be highly compatible. Casio doesn’t expect this watch to be an instant success, but they expect about $80 million of sales and will build the next smartwatches from there. With all of the products they sell, which half of the profits come from watch sales, the company is starting from a profitable ground.