Casio G-Shock GSW-H1000 review: bad timing

Though the Put on OS watch market has been dominated by the likes of Fossil for a few years now, Casio has quietly carved out a distinct segment for itself as a purveyor of extra rugged units. The Japanese firm first launched its Smart Outdoor Watch all the way in which again in 2016 and has continued to iterate on the thought with Professional Trek-branded fashions.

All this time, although, there was one apparent query. Why hasn’t Casio made a G-Shock smartwatch?

G-Shock is likely one of the most iconic watch manufacturers on the planet and has lengthy had a powerful affiliation with streetwear tradition. In contrast to, say, Tag Heuer, whose Swiss luxurious all the time appeared like an odd match for smartwatches, many G-Shock fashions are each standing symbols and comparatively accessible digital items on the similar time. It doesn’t make a lot sense for most individuals to spend 1000’s of {dollars} on a smartwatch that may doubtless be out of date in a couple of years, however there are many G-Shocks that price below $100. Absolutely that is the right model for smartwatches?

Properly, right here’s the G-Squad Professional GSW-H1000. It’s Casio’s first really good G-Shock watch — until you depend some earlier fashions with restricted Bluetooth performance — and it’s out there now for $699. That’s a excessive value for any smartwatch, and this one struggles to justify it.

G-Shocks are available a number of sizes and shapes, and the GSW-H1000 is certainly towards the bulkier, extra rugged finish of the lineup. It feels extraordinarily nicely made, has 20-bar water resistance, and is totally large. It’s not likely the kind of watch I’d usually put on, however I do fairly like the way in which it appears. Then once more, my spouse instantly laughed at it and stated, “You’ll have to be way more into streetwear than you really are as a way to pull that off.” Which, ouch. However possibly meaning Casio has pulled off the G-Shock look?

Type is, in fact, subjective, and I believe this watch achieves what it was going for. However should you’re into the subtler, extra slimline G-Shocks just like the recently popular GA-2100, simply know that this very a lot isn’t that. Whereas it was comfy sufficient on my wrist, I’m undecided I may suggest it to folks with smaller frames.

In reality, the GSW-H1000 isn’t all that completely different to Casio’s prior Pro Trek Wear OS watches. The main target is extra on health than mountaineering this time round, however the bodily proportions are comparable and you continue to get the compass, altitude sensor, barometer, and GPS connectivity. (One main omission is any type of NFC, so there’s no cellular funds assist.) The proprietary barrel charger is as awkward as ever, and Casio can also be nonetheless making use of a dual-layer LCD that may lengthen battery life as much as a month in its fundamental monochrome timekeeping mode.

Beneath that monochrome show is a totally round 1.2-inch 360 x 360 LCD display screen. It feels fairly small relative to the remainder of the watch, nevertheless it isn’t troublesome to make use of, and I like that it doesn’t dominate the watch’s design. The larger drawback is that it simply doesn’t look nice in comparison with the OLED panels utilized in most smartwatches — it’s fairly low in distinction and isn’t simply seen in vivid daylight. The monochrome layer, nonetheless, could be left on on a regular basis and is rather more glanceable should you don’t want to make use of it for something difficult.

One slight oddity with the GSH-H1000 is that Casio included only a few watchfaces. You solely get an information-dense digital face, a fundamental analog choice, and one which matches the structure of the monochrome LCD. That latter setting was my favourite as a result of it felt much less jarring shifting between always-on and energetic show modes. Clearly, you may obtain no matter watchface you want from the Play Retailer, nevertheless it’s clear that Casio designed this watch across the dual-layer mode.

The sense that that is extra of a curated Put on OS product extends to the software program, which is constructed round a devoted Casio app that you simply activate with the bottom-right button on the watch. This handles options just like the barometer and altimeter, in addition to letting you entry G-Shock Transfer, a fitness-focused app that it’s a must to set up in your telephone alongside the bottom Put on OS app, which is a barely awkward course of. As soon as arrange, although, G-Shock Transfer could be linked to Google Match and helps a ton of actions — from paddleboarding to fishing — and I discovered it labored nicely for monitoring my bike runs.

The unlucky factor about this watch’s software program is that Casio introduced it proper earlier than Google and Samsung came out with the Galaxy Watch 4 and Wear OS 3, which is the most important refresh Google’s smartwatch platform has obtained in a number of years. From Casio’s perspective, it won’t be a essential improve. A lot of your interplay with this watch is thru Casio’s personal customized software program, and if that’s what you’re shopping for it for, the underlying OS isn’t fairly as essential because it is likely to be with a Put on OS Michael Kors. Even battery life considerations are mitigated considerably due to the dual-layer display screen — I received a few days’ use out of this watch simply in dual-layer mode.

Personally, although, I would really like my smartwatch to be purposeful as a smartwatch, particularly if I’m dropping $699 on it. I’m not about to dual-wield this factor with an Apple Watch, in any case. And Put on OS 2 is absolutely simply not match for goal at this level. That’s why Google essentially abandoned it with Wear OS 3, which lifts options from Samsung’s significantly better Tizen-based watches. Casio’s customizations work nicely sufficient by themselves, however I do know what I’d reasonably have working behind the scenes. There’s no phrase from Casio on whether or not this watch will get an replace, and I wouldn’t financial institution on it.

The GSH-H1000 arguably has extra going for it than every other Put on OS 2 watch ever made. The construct high quality is nice, it has real model cachet, and Casio has completed a variety of work to enhance the software program and efficiency. When you’re a G-Shock fan who’s been ready for a smartwatch and you like this specific design, then hey, that is it.

Nevertheless it’s costly, the styling is divisive, and it’s come at a extremely dangerous time contemplating the launch of Put on OS 3. Contemplating all of that, it’s laborious to think about this being the fitting look ahead to many individuals. I do suppose Casio is onto one thing right here and I’ve principally loved carrying the GSH-H1000, however I’ve to suppose there’s going to be a extra broadly interesting G-Shock smartwatch someplace down the road.