Two variants of a new Seiko Epson-made smartwatch bearing the model numbers J-300 and J-307 were certified by the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last week, with the agency publishing several documents pertaining to the devices that were apparently designed to communicate with contemporary smartphones. Both wearables are seemingly part of the upcoming AP009 lineup and while the Japanese original equipment manufacturer (OEM) submitted them for testing in the “GPS Sports Monitor” category, the images released by the federal agency that can be seen above this writing clearly indicate that the J-300 and J-307 are shaped like smartwatches and may be much more than simple fitness trackers.
Both models of the upcoming watch are Bluetooth-enabled, heavily implying that they’ll be capable of communicating with a smartphone, while the J-307 is labeled as featuring Seiko Epson’s proprietary ProSense technology. Apart from being made in Japan, another shared characteristic of the two devices pertains to their Global Positioning System (GPS) support. The watches seem to be equipped with a four-pin connector that will presumably be used to charge them, meaning that they’re likely to ship with a regular charging cradle.
Seiko Epson initially submitted the J-300 and J-307 for testing on July 4, asking the FCC for a six-month confidentiality period during which the agency shouldn’t publish more detailed specifications about the two devices. The request is a fairly standard industry practice and doesn’t necessarily indicate that the J-300 and J-307 won’t be unveiled and released before January 2018. Regarding the markets that the Nagano, Japan-based consumer electronics manufacturer is targeting with its new wearables, the two are clearly meant to be launched in the United States and Canada, as evidenced by their e-label revealed by the FCC. It’s currently unclear whether one of J-300 and J-307 is meant to be released in Canada while the other is set to launch stateside or if there are some particular hardware differences between the two but more details on the matter may be available in the coming months. The next good opportunity for Seiko Epson to announce a new wearable would be IFA Berlin that’s scheduled to start on September 1, though it remains to be seen how long the Japanese tech giant takes to unveil its next device.