“Time has been transformed, and we have changed” is the quote that ASUS used to tease the launch of its first smartwatch. The quote from the Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran, goes on to say “it has unveiled its face, inspiring us with bewilderment and exhilaration.” As the smartwatch revolution continues, it is fair to say that the ASUS ZenWatch certainly does inspire.

ASUS took to the stage today at IFA 2014 to officially unveil the ASUS ZenWatch. The ZenWatch sticks to the “standard” rectangular design that we have seen in other smartwatches from Samsung and LG, however the design language is better. The watch is made primarily from stainless steel and has a slightly curved display. The display uses AMOLED technology and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The genuine stitched-leather strap with quick-release clasp was specially designed by an Italian designer.

Mitch Yang, the vice president of the ASUS Design Center, demonstrated the new watch to an enthusiastic crowd at IFA. The new device runs Android Wear and have lots of interesting features including over 100 built-in watch faces, double-tap on the watch face to find your phone, and automatic phone unlock.

Other features include the ability to trigger a camera shot via the watch, and a heart rate monitor. The heart rate monitor is one of the fitness features of the watch, it can also monitor and track a range of health-related statistics via the ASUS Wellness app including steps taken, calories burned, activity duration, exercise intensity and relaxation level.

There are also functions for presentation controls, Google maps and so on. During the demonstration Mitch Yang also showed how you can mute an incoming call just covering the watch face with your hand.

ASUS has published an official product page for the ZenWatch. There was no official word on availability, however the price was announced at 199 Euros, which is about the same as Samsung’s and LG’s current Android Wear offerings.

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