What to say about the Sony SmartWatch 3 Stainless Steel edition? Well, it's got a rather nice Android Wear smartwatch in there. And it's metal.
There's not a lot more to add really, making the idea of giving an in-depth run down of what is, essentially, a fancy new strap rather difficult.
It's not hard to see why Sony's done this, of course. There's the Apple Watch coming in the very near future, the Asus Zenwatch looks rather posh and adding the touch of metal makes the Smartwatch 3 look a lot more premium.
After all, the point of this smartwatch game seems to be all about making the timepiece look as much like a 'normal' watch as possible. While the original SmartWatch 3 was all rubber and therefore good for sport and running, it lacked the premium finish its high price tag would have usually been associated with.
The beauty of the SmartWatch 3 from Sony is that the main module can be popped out and put in other surrounds, making it easy to change between styles should you want to get all active with your new metal watch.
The strong clasp and links don't really lend themselves to speedy movement, so being able to flit back and forth makes sense.
The only downside is this version is clearly going to be more expensive than the rubber option, which is a shame as the additional components (for instance, the only Android Wear to come with GPS) have pushed the cost up.
We liked
The metal looks a lot more premium than the rubber option, and if you put it in the fridge it would get colder than the other one, if that's something into.
We disliked
It's not really enough to headline a press release from the mobile division - and it also begs the question of why it wasn't the launch strap and chassis for the SmartWatch 3? It's much better looking and seems to be the sort of thing Sony should have done to get lust up for its wrist gadget.
Verdict
A good addition to your range if you already own the SmartWatch 3, but nothing to see here given it changes precisely none of the functionality of the Android Wear device. On the plus side, the Sony SmartWatch 3 steel release date will be here in February, should you worry you might be unable to wait.
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