Timex unveils a stylish new collection of smartwatches with awesome battery life

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By Adrian Diaconescu

Published: Jun 05, 2020, 5:23 AM

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Timex Metropolitan R

While most traditional watchmakers that decided to try their hand at wearable devices did so a number of years ago, when the now-thriving industry was still timidly and aimlessly getting started, Timex may have waited a little too long to take the smartwatch market seriously.

Technically, the 1844-founded US company managed to beat Apple to the punch by around two decades in collaboration with Microsoft, but it was only back in 2016 that Timex first made headlines with a modern analogue timepiece featuring activity tracking functionality. The brand also released a kid-friendly smartwatch in partnership with T-Mobile last year, followed by a fitness-centric device with built-in GPS, stellar battery life, and a great starting price a few months ago.

That brings us to the brand-new Timex Metropolitan collection, which can be considered the company's rookie attempt at a "mainstream" smartwatch with a stylish design. The "collection" includes two main variants and several different eye-catching designs, all of which are up for pre-order right now on Amazon at a recommended price of $179 apiece ahead of an actual release later this month.

The cool thing about this line of Android and iOS-compatible smartwatches is that you can choose between a circular Metropolitan R variant and a rectangular Metropolitan S design. The latter is billed as a "unisex" timepiece, arriving on June 30 in a black hue and a swanky blush/rose gold combination, with a relatively large and sharp 1.65-inch AMOLED display in tow sporting a resolution of 348 x 442 pixels.

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan R is available in a brown leather flavor for men and a blush silicone model with a pink ceramic top ring that should primarily appeal to the ladies. Interestingly, the "manly" version is scheduled to start shipping on June 14, with the "feminine" smartwatch due out more than a couple of weeks later.

Both Metropolitan R variants come with 1.2-inch AMOLED screens sporting a 390 x 390 pixel count, and all four members of the intelligent Timex Metropolitan family also have on-board GPS connectivity, a built-in optical heart rate sensor, 24/7 activity monitoring, sleep tracking, and top-notch water resistance going for them.

One important thing to note before pulling the trigger here is these affordable bad boys don't run Google's Wear OS software, instead opting for a proprietary operating system developed by Huami, the manufacturers of those relatively popular and incredibly cheap Amazfit smartwatches. This OS is mainly focused on saving energy while helping display all the smartphone information you need on your wrist, contributing to a phenomenal battery life rating of up to two weeks.

That's obviously with power-hungry features like GPS switched off, but even so, if the number proves attainable in the real world, the Timex Metropolitan collection could turn out to be a real game changer.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.

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