Casio WSD-F20 Rugged Android Wear 2.0 Smartwatch Launched at CES 2017

Casio launched one of the world's first Android Wear 2.0 smartwatches at CES 2017 on Wednesday. The Casio WSD-F20 is a rugged smartwatch designed for outdoor use, and has a release date of April 21, 2017, according to the company's website. It's priced at $500 (roughly Rs. 34,000).

The watch is a part of Casio's Pro Trek lineup and as the name suggests, it's designed for use in rough environments. The buttons on the WSD-F20 are of different sizes so that you can differentiate between them by touch, without looking at the watch.

The watch uses low-power GPS and also lets you download maps for offline navigation. This watch is the successor to the WSD-F10 and has button guards and a protective bezel. An Engadget report claims that the watch has a feature called Location Memory, which requires you to press a button for a location readout. This means you can quickly mark your location and add notes quickly via speech recognition.

It also has different watch face designs and a feature called Moment Spotter, which makes the display light up after certain triggers. This could be something like sunset time or altitude remaining to climb or descend. The app for the Casio WSD-F20 supports activities such as cycling, fishing, and hiking.

On the specifications front, this watch has a 1.32-inch colour TFT LCD and monochrome LCD display. The resolution is 320x300 pixels and the display has a capacitive touchscreen. The Casio WSD-F20 is water resistant up to 50 metres. It has a pressure sensor for measuring air pressure and altitude, apart from a compass, accelerometer, and a gyrometer. The battery will last for a day of normal use and this can vary depending on how you use it. If you just use it for timekeeping, the battery will last for a month. It takes roughly two hours to charge the watch, which weighs 92 grams.

The watch is compatible with Android smartphones that run Android 4.3 or later and iOS 9 or later. If you have a Casio WSD-F10, the good news is that it will be upgradeable to Android Wear 2.0 this year.