The ZTE Quartz Android Wear watch is your cheaper option
The ZTE Quartz has 3G, is a T-Mobile exclusive and arrives April 21.
- Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
A cellular-enabled smartwatch for $192: ZTE Quartz.
There are more Android Wear watches than ever, and they're becoming mobile phone-enabled. The ZTE Quartz is the least expensive option so far: at $192 (which roughly converts to £155 or $AU256). When it arrives April 21, it'll undercut other cellular-enabled watches like LG Watch Sport and Samsung Gear S3 Frontier, but unlike those -- which connect to LTE networks -- the ZTE Quartz only has bands for 3G (HSPA/GSM). In the US, it's a T-Mobile exclusive.
It looks like a lot of other Android Wear 2.0-ready smartwatches: 1.4-inch fully round display, similar Qualcomm chip, but no NFC for Android Pay . It does, however, boast an even larger battery (500 mAh, which is more than the massive Samsung Gear S3 and LG Watch Sport ). And, unlike many budget smartwatches, it has GPS.
Will 3G be enough on a watch to offer basic connection over LTE? The competition in an already limited watch market is increasing with other budget smartwatches like the Misfit Vapor (which doesn't have cellular, but does have heart rate, which the Quartz lacks). Will ZTE Quartz be anything anyone will care about? We'll know more when we review one in a few weeks.
Key specs
- Networks: GSM/EDGE 850/1900, HSPA 850/1900/AWS
- Weight: 3.14 ounces (89 grams)
- 1.8 inches by 0.57 inches
- 1.4-inch 400x400 AMOLED round screen
- Gorilla Glass 3
- 1.1 GHz quad-core Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor
- 4GB storage
- GPS
- Bluetooth 4.1
- 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
- Speaker, microphone
- IP67 water resistance
- Barometer, gyroscope, accelerometer