Remember the New Balance smartwatch promised by the fitness company last year at CES 2016? Well, the device didn't launch at Christmas as originally promised but New Balance is pushing forward with its smartwatch now. The company has given the device a name: the RunIQ Smartwatch.
As originally reported, the RunIQ contains an Intel chipset (the exact processor is unknown), 5ATM water resistance (that's water resistance up to 50 meters, for those who're wondering), and contains continuous GPS (that will drain your battery life significantly) as well as continuous heart rate monitoring. The RunIQ will run Android Wear, as previously promised, which means that yet another smartwatch will arrive on Android Wear this year. We've already seen ZTE announce its LTE-connected smartwatch will run Android Wear, and Swarovski is making one of its own for ladies only (the most neglected customer base in the smartwatch market, critics assert).
New Balance says that you can expect the RunIQ smartwatch to ship by February 1st, but prepare to pay $299 for the smartwatch. There are some Strava apps on the software side, but the watch itself is more about functionality for athletes and durability outdoors than fashion - so don't expect a Gear S3 or Apple Watch 2 rival in this smartwatch.
