Next ASUS smartwatch might last seven days on a single charge

Speaking on Saturday, Jonney Shih, chairman of Asus, stated that this would be the year the company focuses on pushing its low-cost ZenFone smartphone range to the global market. He also let slip a few thoughts about the company’s successor to the excellent ZenWatch.

Shih hinted that ASUS’ next smartwatch could be designed to last up to seven days on a single charge of its battery, a notable improvement over the current ZenWatch’s maximum of two days.

This battery saving likely won’t just come from a larger battery capacity, ASUS may be planning to opt for a more energy efficient, lower performance processor next time and might be prepared to cut down or even ditch Android Wear in favour of a more efficient, simplified operating system. Exact hardware details weren’t given, but ASUS looks to want to further differentiate itself from other high-end smartwatches by offering additional battery life.

“The ZenWatch is defined by us as a companion to a smartphone, and we think it still has a lot of room for improvement,”

“As a companion device, its central processing unit and operating system should be more simplified than the current version, so that I can use it for up to seven days on one charge, rather than for just two days.” – Jonney Shih, ASUS

With ASUS talking about a simplified OS, Samsung looking to push Tizen more heavily this year and LG rumored to be preparing its own WebOS powered smartwatch, Google’s Android Wear platform could end up being sidelined by custom built smartwatch operating systems in the future.

Back at the launch of the ASUS ZenWatch last year, Shen also let slip that the second-generation ZenWatch is planned for Q3 2015. The smartwatch is said to feature SIM-card funcationality, allowing it to take calls without being tethered to a smartphone. ASUS also has plans for two lost-cost “wrist-band like” devices targeted at the health and fitness market.