Casio unveils its smallest and longest-lasting smartwatch yet, but it'll cost you

Casio has announced the Pro Trek WSD-F30, its new WearOS-based smartwatch, at IFA 2018 in Berlin.

Sequel to the WSD-F10 and WSD-F20, this third-generation watch maintains the sports focus of its predecessor, with MIL-STD-810G certification for durability and a slew of included sports apps. You’ll find golfing (Hole19), skiing (Ski Tracks), fishing (Fishbrain), and many other apps for outdoor activity fans, backed up by Casio’s energy-efficient GPS system and offline color maps support.

This latest iteration of the watch is also Casio’s most compact ever, measuring in at 49.1mm x 53.8mm x 14.9mm (almost 4mm smaller in the length and width compared to the WSD-F20, though only .4mm thinner than the previous model).

It features a 1.2-inch, 390 x 390 dual-layer (OLED and Monochrome LCD) display, a urethane wristband, and a li-ion battery of unspecified capacity. This is said to be good for one and a half day of normal use, though the WSD-F30 has a couple of options for increasing battery life when necessary.

Extend Mode will make the watch good for three days and two nights, at the cost of a few features like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. This mode uses a combination of color, as well as black-and-white display modes, and will work with the aforementioned offline maps and GPS logging (ideal if you’re on a hiking trip). Limit the device to just its monochrome display in Multi-Timepiece Mode and you’re looking at up to four weeks of battery life.

I had a brief chance to try the device on and was a little surprised to find the strap fairly stiff near the unit’s body (which itself is also thick). It didn’t strike me as ideal for extended use during sports activities, but I’ll need a longer play session with it in the future to make my mind up.

The Pro Trek WSD-F30 certainly seems like a full-featured wearable and the battery options seen well thought-out, but its price (as with its predecessors) will remain a barrier for all but the most dedicated of sports watch enthusiasts.

The Pro Trek WSD-F30 is coming in blue, orange and black, starting at $550 from January 2019. That’s $50 more than last year’s version. As for compatibility, you’ll need a phone with Android 4.4 and higher or iOS 9.3 or later.

Let me know what you think of the latest Casio in the comments, and check out what you can look forward to in the new version of Wear OS here.