Diesel is the latest fashion brand, joining Armani, Movado, and others, to embrace Android Wear and make its own smartwatch. It’s called the Diesel On Full Guard, and if you already like Diesel’s big, bold watch designs, you’re going to love its smartwatch.
The body around the circular screen is large and covered with sharp lines, angles, and neat design touches, while the custom watch faces are directly influenced by Diesel’s mechanical watches.
We think it looks great, but it’s not going to be a watch for the shy and retiring. It’s big, at 48mm x 54mm, and the straps come in either metal or leather with oversize screw heads and stitching on the band. Diesel watches all exude confidence, and it’s exciting to see the smartwatch version continuing the theme so well. The On Full Guard comes in five different styles, including a silver/black combination and a gold/black model, with eight different strap options. The leather and metal straps will be joined by Diesel’s traditional denim option, a silicone strap, and a canvas version.
Getting the right style of watch for you should be achievable, and the watch faces are equally customizable. There are three dial designs, with the chance to change the hand design, the component colors, and the finish. The best news, at least for Diesel watch fans, is the dial’s “crystal” can be given that cool, colored iridescent look, as seen on Diesel’s Mini Daddy and Big Daddy 2.0 watches amongst others.
Filters can be added to the dial as well. These are unusual, and use the face in a different way to let you know certain details about your day. When the watch is in do not disturb mode, notifications are hidden behind a “shattered” screen, and dust gathers around the edges when you’re way behind your daily step goal. It’ll also show weather reports using graphic representations of what to expect.
Soon after the watch goes on sale, Diesel will release an app call T-ON-I, which is like a virtual assistant for the On Full Guard watch. The name stands for Time, Organizing, Notification, Intelligence, and it will deliver requested notifications and updates based on your calendar, activity, and environment up to five times a day. It’ll apparently do so in a chummy way, with messages being more personal, like they’re coming from a friend.
On the technical side, the On Full Guard watch uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100 platform, and has Android Wear 2.0 with Google Assistant installed. The screen size, resolution, and other hardware specs are still to be confirmed; but we do know it’s IP67 water and dust resistant, and the wirelessly charged battery should last 24 hours.
The first Diesel On Full Guard smartwatch goes on sale August 29 for $325, and will come with a black case and brown leather strap. The full line-up will be in stores on September 25. The T-ON-I app will be sent out as a software update on October 25.