The Apple Watch, which was released this year, was off to a great start, as it captured the attention of a signification portion of smartwatch users. But there are a number of other devices, like the recently released Asus ZenWatch 2, which look set and prepared to take on the tech giant's premium offering. Here is how the two smartwatches compare.

Design

When it comes to design, the Apple Watch has a massive advantage as it offers more options compared to any other smartwatch. It comes in two sizes: a 38 mm model and a bigger 42 mm model. Apple has three smartwatch lines, the basic Apple Watch Sport, which comes with an aluminum body, the Apple Watch, which has a steel body and the Apple Watch Edition, which is crafted from solid gold. As for straps, there is a huge variety available for users to choose from and they include versions made from steel, leather and Fluoroelastomer. The Apple Watch has an IPX7 rating but Apple does not recommend that it be submerged in water.

As for the ZenWatch 2, it has a steel body, which comes in three colors, gunmetal gray, silver and rose gold. Just like the Apple Watch, it also comes in two sizes, 49 mm and 45 mm. Asus also have 18 other straps available for purchase, which are crafted from rubber, leather and stainless steel, as well as a version embellished with Swarovski crystals. It has an IP67 certification, which means it can be submerged in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes.

When it comes to operating systems the Apple Watch runs on Watch OS and can only be paired with iOS devices while the ZenWatch 2 runs on Android Wear and therefore can be paired with Android and even iOS devices.

Display

The AMOLED display on the 4 5mm ZenWatch has a resolution of 280 x 280 pixels while the bigger 49 mm model has a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels. As for the Apple Watch, its 38 mm version has an OLED display with a resolution of 272 x 340 pixels and a density of 290 pixels per inch, while its bigger model has a resolution of 312 x 390 pixels and a density of 302 pixels per inch.

Specs

The Apple Watch has an S1 system on chip and it has around 8 GB of internal storage while the Asus ZenWatch 2 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.2 GHz along with 512 MB RAM and 4 GB of internal memory.

Sensors

There is no heart rate sensor on the ZenWatch 2 but it has a 6-Axis sensor including a pedometer. The Apple Watch has a heart rate sensor, accelerometer and gyroscope.

Price

The Asus ZenWatch 2 has an edge in this category, as pricing information released so far indicates that its cheapest model will start at about $167. The basic Apple Watch costs $350 and its Edition model costs as high as $17,000.