Michael Kors is back with a new fashion smartwatch - the Access Runway runs Wear OS and is based closely on the designer's Runway style, so far so standard.
The twist? Like the recent Emporio Armani Connected 2018 and the Fossil Q Explorist and Venture HR launches, Michael Kors has added built-in GPS, NFC payments and heart rate tracking into the mix making this a much more capable smartwatch.
Read this: The best smartwatches for women
Starting at , the Access Runway is a 41mm womens' smartwatch with 18mm lugs, a crown and two pushers, which the designer classes as "oversized". It's made from stainless steel and comes in a range of nine styles including gold, silver, rose gold and pavé finishes and Michael Kors' first silicone smartwatch straps. We say womens, but some of the options actually look pretty unisex to us.
It's a fully round 1.19-inch, AMOLED display with a 390 x 390 resolution and the watch is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor with 4GB of storage. We'll update this story when we get more details on the weight and watch body thickness.
As well as the new fitness tracking features, there's also a "swimproof" build which means the Access Runway is water resistant to 3 ATM; Google Assistant voice controls, on-wrist smartphone alerts, access to Wear OS apps and Michael Kors' own My Social micro apps which lets you set Instagram pics as watch faces.
As ever, it's compatible with both iPhone and Android phones. The 300mAh battery is apparently good for 1+ day, depending on how much you use it.
The Access Runway is the third smartwatch collection we've seen from Michael Kors, following the Access Bradshaw/Dylan and the Access Sofie/Grayson. Compared to the Access Sofie, this is a cheaper launch price, a slightly smaller watch (41mm versus 42mm) and the Access Runway is more of a classic, everyday watch rather than an evening dress watch - so all good moves from Michael Kors in our humble opinion.
The Access Runway Fall 2018 collection - as this batch is being labelled - will be available from Michael Kors' online store and "selected retailers" from August.
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