Montblanc Summit 2, the first Snapdragon Wear 3100 watch, has arrived

Luxury brand Montblanc has launched the $995 Summit 2 smartwatch. This is the first device to house Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Wear 3100 chip.

Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets

The device comes with a healthy boost in specs over its predecessor. Water resistance has been bumped up from IP68 to 5 ATM, on-board storage memory for apps and music from 4GB to 8GB, and Montblanc has slapped on built-in GPS and NFC for contactless payments. This is in addition to the heart rate sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope and altimeter of the first generation timepiece. The improvements mean the smartwatch will now do a much better job at tracking your fitness.

We wrote in September about Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor. The chipset brings low-power modes to keep Wear OS devices going for longer, it comes with sports watch-focused tweaks and improved always-on watch faces. Montblanc Summit 2 is the first watch that will benefit from these upgrades.

In terms of design, the luxury timepiece is smaller than its predecessor (42mm diameter vs 46mm), but its thicker (14.3mm vs 12.5mm). The front casing is made of Black DLC Stainless Steel and the back of Glass and fiberglass resin. The watch comes with 11 different 22mm strap options, including calfskin, steel, rubber and nylon.

If you are worried about scratching the display on the pricey timepiece, you need not worry. Taking cue from the Apple Watch Series 4, Montblanc Summit 2 has a 1.2 inch AMOLED touchscreen display that is encased in scratch-resistant sapphire. To its right you’ll find a rotating crown and two programmable pushers.

You’ll find the system offers all the bells and whistles dished out by Google’s Wear OS 2.0. Montblanc has added new custom apps to this, including a Running Coach app developed in collaboration with Firstbeat. This offers a number of goodies including:

• Fitness score: ranging from 0 to 100, it uses an AI and your VO2max to reveal changes in your cardiorespiratory fitness.
• Training load: which shows the combined physiological impact of your recorded activities across a 7-day period.
• Training effect: a metric that quantifies how your workout will influence the development of aerobic performance capacity.
• Real time training guidance: This provides data during your runs that offers guidance on the intensity of your efforts.
• Bespoke workout recommendations: setting a goal in the Running Coach app unlocks daily workout recommendations tailored specifically for you.

There’s also a Timeshifter app designed to help those traveling across different time zones.

Despite the new chip, battery life has not seen much of an improvement. This is probably due to the boost in spec. Between charges you can expect to get just over a day in full smartwatch mode. This can be extended by as much as 5 days if you opt for a mode that only shows the time and date.

“Built for travel, fitness or exploration, Summit 2 is a versatile companion created for urban explorers, business travelers and performance seekers looking to push boundaries in everything they do,” said Nicolas Baretzki, Montblanc CEO.

“These high achieving individuals want to be connected at all times with easy access to functional features and apps that allow them to always stay ahead and be productive on-the-go, while still enjoying the experience of wearing a fine timepiece.”

We hope you’ve been collecting your pennies. Just like the first generation the unisex timepiece retails for nearly $1,000. This is definitely one for those with deep pockets! You can check it out on montblanc.com.

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