Chinese smartphone maker ZTE unveiled its first Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch called Quartz. While most smartwatches today will take you over the $300 threshold, with the Quartz, ZTE is aiming for the budget niche instead. As promised, the company is keeping prices low and will be offering the intelligent timepiece for under $200.
For a price tag of $199.99, customers will receive a circular smartwatch with a 1.4-inch AMOLED display and a resolution of 400 by 400 pixels. The watch is powered by the Snapdragon Wear 2100 and 768MB of RAM, in addition to sporting 4GB of internal storage. Like with other Android Wear 2.0 wearables, ZTE Quartz owners will be able to interact with the Google Assistant and download apps from the Google Play Store directly from their watches, no phone required. The Quartz isn’t looking to compete with premium wearables like the Samsung Gear S3 but is instead meant to serve as a wallet-friendly alternative to people who want to give the whole smartwatch experience a try without spending a lot of money. Bearing that in mind, the Quartz doesn’t come packed with a heart rate sensor or NFC (hence no Android Pay functionality) but it does have a built-in GPS adapter. Despite the tachymeter marks, the ZTE Quartz doesn’t have a rotating bezel or a rotating side button, but only one button located on the upper right side of its case. The intelligent timepiece boasts a sturdy metal build in combination with interchangeable straps which are yet to be showcased to the public.
ZTE previously promised its first Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch will enjoy a long battery life meant to differentiate the Quartz from other Android Wear 2.0 devices on the market. The company might fulfill that promise seeing how its new smartwatch relies on a 500mAh battery which is larger than the 430mAh one powering the LG Watch Sport or the 380mAh battery fueling the Samsung Gear S3. ZTE has yet to specify how long the Quarts lasts on a single charge, though the company at least confirmed it features IP67 certification. While ZTE has dabbled into wearables before, the Quartz is its first smartwatch slated to be released in the United States. For this purpose, the company has partnered with T-Mobile in order to sell the Quartz with 3G capabilities for $199, or $192 if customers sign up for one of T-Mobile’s data plans. The Quartz will be available for purchase online starting April 14 and will land in brick and mortar stores on April 21.
