Today at IFA 2018 in Berlin, Casio announced the WSD-F30, the newest entrant in its Pro Trek Smart series. It follows on the heels of the Smart Outdoor Watch WSD-F10, which launched in 2016, and the WSD-F20, which debuted last year. And while it shares a lot in common with its predecessors aesthetically, it’s sporting notable improvements under the hood.
It’s rugged, Casio says — that is to say, MIL-STD-810 certified and water resistant up to 50 meters. Compared with the F20, it’s 3.9 millimeters narrower and 0.4 millimeters thinner (the case measures 60.5 × 53.8 × 14.9 mm), and there’s a new 1.2-inch, 390 x 390 pixel color OLED display with a secondary monochrome display mode that shows atmospheric, altitude, and compass bearing. Last but not least, there’s an improved watch band that’s more flexible than the outgoing model.
Above: Casio’s smartwatch lineup.
Image Credit: Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat
In terms of other internals, you’ll find Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy and Wi-Fi connectivity onboard, plus wireless charging and a bevy of sensors including a barometer, an accelerometer, gyrometer, compass, and sensor.
As for the battrey, it can last up to a month on a charge with nothing but the monochrome screen enabled (Casio calls in Multi Timepiece Mode.) The baseline numbers aren’t bad, though — Casio estimates color screen life at “one and a half days.”
On the software side of things, the WSD-F30 runs the latest version of Google’s Wear OS operating system and boasts an offline mapping feature that lets you download a geographic region and track your location in real time. Extend mode, a feature exclusive to the F30, displays monochrome display and surfaces the color map when you tap on one of the physical buttons.
The F30 also ships with exclusive new apps. Casio signed on nine major developers across categories like activity tracking, fishing, golf, swimming, skiing and snowboard, fitness, and horse riding.
One on tap is ViewRanger, a trail map-sharing app with millions of users. Another is Hole19, a golf app that estimates the distance to each hole, and Glassy, a social app for tracking performance in water sports. Others include MySwimPro, Fishbrain, and Equilab, and Exercise Time, and Zombies, Run!
The WSD-F30 will come in orange, blue, and black. Casio has yet to announce pricing.
The WSD-F30 launches as the global wearables market experiences considerable momentum. In March, IDC reported that worldwide shipments of smartwatches and activity trackers grew 7.7 percent in Q4 2017 and 10 percent in 2017. Shipments hit 115.4 million units overall.
Apple was the clear winner last year — it claimed the number one spot for both the fourth quarter and year. Time will tell if Casio can challenge the Cupertino company’s dominance — or at least carve out a niche somewhere beneath it on the totem pole.
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