Earlier this year, PUMA first showcased its latest technology at the IFA 2019 event in September. This week, after more than 12 months of hard work with Fossil Group, PUMA has announced its Smartwatch. The launch event took place on the 86th Floor Observatory at the Empire State Building, having organised the “highest training in NYC” to present its first-ever and award-winning smartwatch.
In the early hours of the morning, the PUMA team and their 75 guests – including press, influencers and athletes – illuminated the skies with the signature, fizzy yellow colour from the launch. The launch took a group from the public through the key features of the PUMA Smartwatch for the first time ever. The event also doubled as a relaunch of the PUMATrac app, which is linked to the Smartwatch via Google’s Wear OS software. In terms of its specifications, the PUMA Smartwatch is based on the Qualcomm® Snapdragon Wear 3100™ platform, including a 1.19″ round AMOLED display, housed inside a cut-out nylon and aluminium 44mm case. Key features and specifications for the watch includes:
- Heart Rate Tracking: Keep an eye on your heart rate, whenever you move, wherever you sweat with Google Fit™.
- GPS Tracking: A must for every athlete – track your moves wherever you go with a built-in GPS.
- The Google Assistant™: With voice-enabled assistance, users can ask the Google Assistant questions, manage daily tasks, set reminders and the likes.
- PUMATRAC: The newly updated PUMATRAC app, now supported by Wear OS by Google, can track distance, time, heart rate, and calories burned, as well as integration with Google Fit.
- Music: Integration to Spotify directly from the watch.
- Google Pay™: NFC payments are enabled via Google Pay.
- Weather: The unit provides real-time weather updates as needed.
- Training Apps: The Smaratwatch will integrate into various 3rd-party apps for personalised tracking.
- Swim proof: The unit is waterproof, allowing users to dive right in.
- Rapid Charging: When the power runs out, you’ll be back up again in now time with powerful charging.
The Smartwatch is designed for the ultimate training, allowing users to stay motivated, track goals and connect with other like-minded athletes. As such, the unit is the lightest Wear OS-powered smartwatch to date, weighing just 28g (0.06lb). The design is rounded off by textured silicone straps for grip and breathability to minimise sweat during activity. At launch, the unit will be available in three colourways, including black, white, and a neon (fizzy yellow), with the PUMA Smartwatch allowing wearers to easily transition from the gym to the streets.
The PUMA Smartwatch presents a new and unique user interface with several interactive dial options. These include Scorecard, Reach, Heartrate and Bounce, each of which presents different information as required by the user:
- Scorecard: Displays time, date and heart rate. Can be customised.
- Reach: Presented green cells indicate daily activity goal percentage.
- Heartrate: Reflects your heartrate by means of colourful wavelengths.
- Bounce: A football (soccerball) or basketball animation to indicate various data.
The PUMA Smartwatch is set to retail at $275 in the US, available puma.com and various retailers globally. At the time of the post, there has been no indication as yet when the Smartwatch is due for release in South Africa. Stay tuned for further information on the announcement and local pricing.
