Movado Connect 2.0 smartwatch unveiled with latest Wear OS features

American watchmaker Movado has officially unveiled the Connect 2.0, its second generation Wear OS smartwatch.
A follow-up to the Connect smartwatch it launched in 2017, the new Connect now comes in two sizes and packs in new features into a unisex design including a heart rate monitor and built-in GPS.
Essential reading: Your ultimate guide to Wear OSYou’ve got your pick of 40mm and 42mm size options, with a variety of styles to choose from – 15 in total. The watch duo also have interchangeable bands, and some impressive hardware additions from the last few years of smartwatch design. There’s a rotating digital crown to the right of the watch’s body, à la Apple Watch, as well as two buttons that are programmable to your own choosing.
Both watches have always-on AMOLED displays, much like the Apple Watch Series 5, though we don’t have precise details on resolution or sizes.
Performance is powered by Qualcomm’s now more widespread Snapdragon 3100 chipset, with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of on-watch storage, meaning you can transfer some music across for offline playback. That Snapdragon processor also brings new battery modes with the Connect 2.0 said to deliver up to 24 hours battery life with a few more days possible thanks to those new modes.These watches do run on Google’s Wear OS bringing features like Google Pay, activity tracking through Google Fit and access to Google Assistant. There isn’t a speaker here though like some other new Wear watches, so you don’t have the ability to play music or take calls. You can fully expect some Movado-branded watch faces that you’ll be able to customise to add in more of the data you care about.If you want in on the new Movado smartwatches, they’re available to pre-order now from Movado, ahead of an October release. Prices start from $495 and can go all the way up to $795. That means it’s jumping up a little bit in price on its similarly expensive predecessor.
The first Connect was a decent enough smartwatch, but wasn’t all that drastically different from other Wear watches already out there. Hopefully we’ll feel differently about the Connect 2.0 once we get some time with it.