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If you a smartwatch, chances are you're pretty protective of it, preventing it from becoming too wet, too beat up or too knocked around. After all, a smartwatch is a little more than one computer on your wrist that cost several hundred dollars. But the new Nixon Mission, an Android Wear smartwatch $ 400 which is available for pre-order from today and will be shipping on October 10, is designed to get wet and get knocked around and keep moving forward.
With its robust design, the mission is specifically built with surfers and snowboarders in mind - the demographic Nixon core - and can provide alerts to surf and snow conditions and even track sessions. This is not the smartwatch you wear in the boardroom or on a date - this is the show you put on when you head to the break to pitted or get on a helicopter to shred some gnar
.Therefore, the mission is a large, stocky beast of 'a watch. There is a polycarbonate frame; stainless steel bezel and bottom; and Gorilla Glass on its 1.39-inch, 400 x 400 pixels, fully circular touch screen with ambient light sensor. It is waterproof to 100 meters of water - the longest of any Wear smartwatch Android - and is shockproof to take hits and blows. Nixon said the touch screen works even when wet, so you can use intelligent features of the watch when you are in the ocean. The mission is much thicker than most smartwatches (which are already known to be thicker than many watches-holders prefer) and diameter of 48mm case means the watch can seem pretty ridiculous on someone with small wrists .
With the robust-looking bezel, fleshy legs and thick rubber strap, the mission has a system to seal off the microphone port when the watch will be used in water or snow. You will not be able to issue voice commands when the microphone port lock is closed, but allows the watch to reach its rated water resistant to 100 meters.
Inside, the mission a new Snapdragon 2100 chipset, Qualcomm and a multitude of sensors: GPS, thermometer, altimeter, barometer, digital compass , gyroscope, accelerometer, and moisture. The 400mAh battery is rated for "more than a day" of use between charges. Nixon has developed watchfaces customized news that may provide information on surf or snow conditions, and you can set up "Shred Alert" through the smartphone app Mission where conditions are ideal for your surf spot or snowboard favorite.
I have not had the opportunity to test the special features of the mission (I do not surf and the average temperature on the east coast was more than 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the last two weeks, so snowboarding was out of the question) but I bring it to the place of my smartwatch every day for a couple of weeks. The shows while certainly larger than I prefer, is designed for a specific aesthetic, and I think many strikes its target. (It is also consistent with the aesthetic of the rest of the Nixon watch online.) The display is sharp and readable outdoors, and automatic brightness control is convenient and completely unusual for a circular watch. Otherwise, it is a standard Android Wear and made all Android Wear standard functions as planned, including by providing notifications, control music playback, and respond to voice commands.
Nixon sells the watch with a variety of customization options through its online store, including 12 different bevels, three different colors of bodywork, and 24 straps in different colors. The background can also be customized with different logos and inscriptions.
The Mission was certainly not designed for everyone, but if you are looking for something that can keep your sessions, count your steps and make smartwatches all the other things to do, and does not need to be pampered, it is definitely worth your time.