The first ASUS ZenWatch 3 render appears, confirms what we've seen

First it was an FCC label that proved the ASUS ZenWatch 3 would be round. A few days later it was leaked regulatory photos showing an ASUS ZenWatch 3 and its accessories at the NCC in China. This time it’s the first render of the ASUS ZenWatch 3, reportedly found in a beta version of the ASUS ZenWatch Manager app.

The render – if it is legit – doesn’t really tell us anything we didn’t already “know”about the first round watch from ASUS though. We’ve got the same three buttons in the same orientation as the NCC photographs, a nice round puck with no apparent flat tire for sensors and that rather chunky lug area (where the sensors are obviously being kept) along with the strap attachment mechanism.

ASUS ZenWatch 3 specs

While the ASUS ZenWatch 3 has remained remarkably unreported on in terms of specs so far, we do know it carries Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, 10W fast charging via the magnetic charging ring and a stainless steel back. It also stands to reason that it will ship with Android Wear 2.0 when it is announced at IFA 2016 in a couple of weeks (sadly we have no credible ZenWatch 3 release date info). Some are also speculating it will be an LTE equipped wearable.

Those FCC documents

When the ASUS ZenWatch 3 appeared at the FCC it was no big surprise. After all, we’ll have our hands on it early next month. The most interesting part about the FCC documents was a label for the back of the watch, which is round. At the time, it nicely dovetailed with the new focus on round watch design in the upcoming version of Android Wear and then those leaked NCC photos confirmed a round design.

In the FCC filings, the ZenWatch 3 model number is listed as WI503Q (the larger ZenWatch 2 is WI501Q and the smaller version is WI502Q. The original ZenWatch’s model number is WI500Q). A few ZenWatch 3 specs were also included in the filing, including Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi b/g/n and a stainless steel back. The ZenWatch 3 will charge at 5V/2A and feature 10W fast charging. The filing also mentions “customized keys”.

ASUS ZenWatch 3 price

As far as the price goes, we’d expect ASUS to stick with its sub-$200 price bracket unless the ZenWatch 3 turns out to be LTE enabled. But if it isn’t a standalone wearable, and considering the general downturn in the wearable market, we wouldn’t be surprised by a $150 ZenWatch 3 price tag.

What are your thoughts on the ZenWatch 3? Do you think the square format is done for?