Casio WSD-F30 PRO Trek Smart hands-on: New improvements for the outdoor enthusiast
We may still have a couple of months before it’s officially available, but we recently got a look at Casio’s latest Wear OS powered smartwatch – the WSD-F30. Being part of the company's PRO TREK Smart line, the WSD-F30 is very much geared towards the outdoor enthusiast with its rugged design and features.
Much like the WSD-F20 before it, the F30 is certainly a beast in terms of smartwatch designs when compared to the rest of the competition. Technically, they’ve been able to shave off a little bit because it’s now a smidgen narrower with slimmer bezels. Still, when it’s on our wrist, it still looks humungous, but it’s going after a particular demographic – so being the most stylish looking thing isn’t high on its priority list. Instead, it’s designed to meet the needs of the outdoor enthusiast because it’s designed with MIL-STD-810G for protection against water, dust, impact, and extreme temperatures!
One could argue that this smartwatch is very similar to its predecessor, which it is in a way because it offers the same bevy of features consisting of a tri GPS system for precise and accurate location, accelerometer, gyrometer, compass, and a pressure sensor. However, we’re told that improvements have been made to the display – a 1.2-inch dual layer 390 x 390 OLED display. Naturally, we love the switch to OLED versus the LCD-based display used by the F20, mainly because of its minimal distortion, punchy colors, and wide viewing angles. Additionally, we’re told that the monochrome display layer has been enhanced as well, but it’s tough to notice that checking it out indoors under artificial lighting.
Battery life is being emphasized a bit more as well, seeing that the new “extended mode” can generate upwards of around 3 days of battery life from a full juice – and that tally is extended to 1 month when the smartwatch is in multi-timepiece mode. Generally speaking, most Wear OS powered smartwatches continue to reach on the average a day of battery life, so for this to be rated for 3 days under mixed usage is rather intriguing. As for the experience, it offers the same core functions and features that all Wear OS powered smartwatches deliver, but as you can imagine, the watch faces offer some useful information pertaining to atmospheric pressure, altitude, and location.
In terms of pricing, it’s definitely up there at a whopping $550 when it launches sometime in January. On one hand, that shouldn’t be too surprising given that the F20 is still selling at $400. The cost, as you would imagine, is largely due to the F30 being designed to meet MIL-STD-810G.
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