Huawei has finally announced the release of its Android Wear watch at IFA in Berlin. The smartwatch will go on sale in the UK in October, with prices starting at $399 (£294).
The Huawei Watch was unveiled earlier this year at Mobile World Congress, where WIRED first went hands-on with the wearable, and called it the most gender-neutral Android Wear watch yet -- something that still stands true.
The round watch face is 42mm in diameter and will come in rose gold stainless steel and black. There are an endless supply of Android Wear watch faces to choose from and along with Huawei's own selection of straps, the watch module can effectively clip into pretty much any strap with an 18mm width lug interface.
Obviously the different combination of watch faces and straps come with different price tags attached, ranging up to $699 (£514). As well as arriving in the UK, Japan and UAE in October, the watch will be available Canada, Spain, France, Germany and Italy this month. Lucky US customers will be able to pre-order the device from today.
This is one of the first major smartwatches to go on sale since the Apple Watch earlier this year. It's an ideal moment for Huawei to launch the watch given that this week Android Wear for iOS was announced, making it possible to use Android Wear watches with iPhones for the first time, and giving Apple users an alternative to the Apple Watch should they want one.
Just like Apple, Huawei has made a real effort to ensure that consumers view their device as an object of desire, getting fashion photographer Mario Testino and model of the moment Karlie Kloss on board to help market the wearable. Whether this will have the desired effect on sales is yet to be seen.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
