Rebecca Paredes January 5th, 2017
In the back of a conference room in Mandalay Bay on Wednesday, three outdoor watches sat on their stands. They seemed unassuming throughout the press conference — until the end of the hour, when photographers and press swarmed the watches.
The reason? At CES, Casio debuted its new line of WSD-F20 smartwatches, also known as Pro Trek Smart. And if you have your eye on the new Garmin Fenix 5 line, you might want to hold onto your wallet — the Pro Trek Smart offers similar features for a cheaper price on Android 2.0.
David Johnson, Vice President of Casio’s timepiece division, shared that Casio believes people shouldn’t have to adjust their lifestyles in order to accommodate technology. “Instead, your new technology should enhance how you live your life already,” he said.
Here’s everything we know about the latest Casio GPS watch.
Casio Pro Trek Smart: Features
In every way, the WSD-F20 is designed for the outdoors. It offers GPS positioning and a full-color offline map, and you can even set location markers along your route. A suite of watchfaces pair well with its full GPS features — you can select watchfaces that feature specific data points, like a barometer, compass, and altimeter.
Related: 5 Survival Watches That Will Help You Live Off The Grid
The Location Memory feature is useful for anyone who wants to keep to a detailed log of their journey — trekkers can use voice input to make notes along their map. And if you’re worried about missing the sunset, you can pre-program notifications with Moment Setter.
The watch’s dual-layer LCD features an always-on display that is readable in direct sunlight. It’s water-resistant down to 50 meters, built to military standards, and operates on Android Wear 2.0 — one of the first devices to debut with the latest operating system.
Like other outdoor watches in its class, the Casio Pro Trek Smart has a one-day battery life in GPS mode.
Casio Pro Trek Smart: Design
While the WSD-F20 looks similar to last year’s WSD-F10, it offers a few key upgrades: it’s thinner, which means it’s potentially lighter. The watch will be available in orange and black.
In keeping with the Pro Trek Smart’s military-standard design, Casio has added button guards and a protective bezel. The overall effect is one of rugged durability. This is a watch that tells others you’re more than just a weekend warrior — you’re a month-long mountaineer.
Casio Pro Trek Smart: Release Date And Price
Johnson said the Casio WSD-F20 will be available April 21st for $500.
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