Acer's got a fitness tracker. Again.
A sudden leap in fitness smartwatches, mostly fueled by Google's reboot of its Android Wear smartwatch software, has led to a spring surge in wearables. Enter the Acer Leap Ware, the newest watch in the race for your wrist.
Acer has been in wearables before, namely fitness bands. The Leap Ware, however, is a full-fledged smartwatch. It's not Android Wear: it's more bare-bones device with custom software that works with iOS and Android.
The Leap Ware has a round reflective display like Pebble watches, and what Acer calls "one-touch heart rate." And its display is protected by Gorilla Glass SR+. Acer also promises easy connection with friends, but details were vague.
But what's more interesting is the Leap Ware is studded with extra sensors: four metal plates, two of which are on the sides of the watch. Touching them begins extra health measurements, including one for stress. I got what looked like a blood pressure reading: I asked an Acer representative about this and was told that the watch could measure something like blood pressure... but didn't get a more definitive answer.
- Monitors heart rate, stamina, stress/fatigue levels, and exposure to ultraviolet rays
- MediaTek MT2523 chip, and MT2511 bio-sensing chip
- 42mm, 1.6-inch face
- Gorilla Glass SR+ watch face
- Transflective LCD display
- Heart rate monitoring
- IPX7 water resistance
- replaceable 20mm bands
- iOS- and Android-compatible
- Side LED flashlight
The only problem is, the Leap Ware joins tons of other watches and fitness bands. The Acer Leap Ware arrives in the US in July for $139 (about £110 or AU$240) and in Europe in Q3 for 139 Euros.