After debuting its smartwatch at IFA in September, Puma has now officially launched the device at an event held yesterday on the Empire State Building’s 86th Floor Observatory.

Not one for beating around the bush with a creative name, the unit is simply called the Puma Smartwatch. Puma’s first-ever Smartwatch is powered with Wear OS by Google technology and equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform. It contains a heart rate tracker (like all respectable smartwatches should), as well as built-in GPS, the Google Assistant while also offering music playback through Spotify. All this functionality can be accessed through the touchscreen.

Runs can be traced by PUMA’s recently released PUMATRAC watch app on Wear OS, which is a companion to the free mobile fitness app PUMATRAC. Puma Smartwatch users can also choose from several interactive dial options, like the “Scorecard” dial which displays time, date and heart rate, and gives the ability for users to customize the information they can quickly view at a glance. “Reach” fills the watch face with green cells (an iconic brand detail) as you get closer to your daily activity goal, while “Heartrate” reflects the speed of your heartrate with a colorful wavelength. Finally, “Bounce” features a springing soccer/football or basketball (user’s choice) that displays data. Users can also upload photos from Facebook or Instagram accounts to display straight on their smartwatch.

Puma states the new Smartwatch is one of the lightest Wear OS smartwatches in the market thanks in part to the cut-out nylon and aluminium case. The device is also swimproof and is available in three colourways - black, yellow and white. We are still waiting for a South African release date and price, although it can be picked up Stateside for $275 (just over R4k).