Review: Sony SmartWatch 3

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Often overlooked, Sony's line of Android Wear powered SmartWatch devices have been on the map for some time now. The SmartWatch 3 is the latest available iteration and brings some much desired features to an already crowded market.

Sony is one of the companies that seems really bullish for the wearables market. The SmartWatch 3 is the third attempt at creating a complementary device for Android devices. Sony is positioning the SW3 as a peripheral to Sony's latest Xperia smartphones. I connected my review SmartWatch 3 to my personal Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and it worked just fine.

The look and feel of the SmartWatch 3 isn't a very big departure from the first two versions. It is still a square smartwatch and with the black case resembles the size and shape of a basic Casio digital watch. The SmartWatch 3's core unit does have some features I wish other smartwatches incorporated. 

First of all, you can plug the core unit directly to a microUSB plug. This looks rather crude and inelegant but it is super convenient. This also means you don't need to buy, carry and potentially lose a charging dock or plug. 

I also like that that the core unit can easily be inserted into various cases and straps in such a way that it looks and even feels like a completely different watch each time. Sony has cleverly made this possible and yet managed to keep the costs of the replacement straps low. 

There's even a modular SmartWatch 3 “holder” kit to come to market in the coming weeks. This will allow you to use the SmartWatch 3 with any 24mm watch strap. This will also come with brown or black leather strap options. So, there's definitely a lot of room to mix and match for the types of users who easily get bored with their watches.

What you get with this wearable is a screen with a hardened glass surface for maximum scratch resistance and durability, a stainless steel body, and an IP rating of 68. Sony says the SmartWatch 3 is built to take

whatever daily life throws at it and it can be used in the shower.

In terms of functionality, the SmartWatch 3 will work well with the latest version of Android Wear. It also has WiFi connectivity which will allow certain functions to work without a smartphone. 4 GB of onboard storage is ample to carry some tunes for a run or for working out, which seems to be one of the key features of the SW3 given the inclusion of a GPS and accelerometer and rugged look and build.

The Sony SmartWatch 3 is also one of the more affordable options out there selling at under US $300. This may be the reason it is currently out of stock on the online Google Store.

Caveats for this model are that it isn't the newest in terms of specs and hardware, it was announced way back in September 2014 and was shipping to some markets as early as December 2014.

Still, there's no denying that the SW3 is one of the more practical options for Android users looking for a complementary wearable that won't break the bank and which can also function as a music player and a health tracker.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5