Where Android Wear is concerned, it’s fair to say that not all of the current models on the market are that affordable. The Huawei Watch is often regarded as one of the best out there, but tends to be a little expensive, even when it’s on sale, and older watches which are cheaper won’t be updated to Android Wear 2.0 this Fall. The ZenWatch 2 from ASUS, like its predecessor, tries to strike a balance between being affordable while also offering the same great features that other Android Wear watches do. The ZenWatch 2 comes in two different versions, and the larger 49mm version was updated not too long ago with voice call support, and now ASUS is pushing another update that adds some more features and makes the display better.
Those with a ZenWatch 2 will be looking for the MWD59,MWD48B software version number when they want to update to the new version. This brings with it the promise of a better-looking display as well as a more reliable connection between phone and watch. On top of this, ASUS is updating the ZenWatch 2 to the May 2016 Security Update from Google, which is nice to see for a smartwatch. Other than these mundane updates, ASUS is adding a couple of other changes here as well. One of which is a change to the way that the peek notification card will act when using an ASUS watch face. Now, it’s set to appear by default, in both ambient mode or otherwise. This is not going to be a popular change, but its one that can be changed back, thankfully. Finally, ASUS has improved sleep tracking for those that manage to wear the ZenWatch 2 overnight.
For the most part, this is a fairly mundane update, but as the majority of Android Wear manufacturers just follow Google’s lead, it is refreshing to see ASUS take care of their own product with maintenance releases like these. As one of the more affordable Android Wear watches available on the market, the ZenWatch 2 is worth taking a look at as we discovered in our review, and updates like these just help to make things a little bit better.