Casio smartwatch to debut in March 2016 in the US, Japan: Report

After tech giants such as Samsung, LG and Apple have prospered in the smartwatch department, luxury watchmaker Casio will now enter the smartwatch fray. The new watch will reportedly be launched in March next year in the US and Japan. The device will carry a price tag similar to that of the entry-level Apple Watch Sport, which starts at $349 (approximately Rs 22,100). According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Casio says that its product will be a watch that tries to be smart, rather than a smart device that is also a watch. Casio President Kazuhiro Kashio stated that the upcoming smartwatch will be aimed at the mass market, offering comfort and durability. He added that the goal of the device is to produce “a device that won’t break easily, is simple to put on, and feels good to wear.” The Casio smartwatch will come equipped with features which have been seen previously on other smartwatches such as heart rate monitor along with schedule manager. Kashio added that, “at times we just showed off with quirky features and then pulled those products when they didn’t sell well.” The report points out that Casio Computer is looking to enter the smartwatch fray, four decades after it introduced its first digital wristwatch. Kashio said that he had rejected various prototypes that did not meet his requirements, including an overly bulky phone watch.