Smartwatches were always out of reach for those who were into outdoor sports. Sure, they come with tons of features, but what's the point of all those features if they get ruined once they get wet? Well, Qualcomm and watch brand Nixon have the answer: the Nixon Mission.
The Mission is designed for those who like to take their action outdoors and its features are designed to emphasize this. First and foremost, the Android Wear device touts a 10-ATM water resistance rating, meaning that its resistant to water at depths of up to 100 meters - double Casio's Smart Outdoor Watch WSD-F10, which is resistant at depths of up to 50 meters.
Under the hood, the Mission is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 2100, a new wearables-specific system-on-chip that's 30 percent smaller and is 25 percent more efficient that its predecessor - the Snapdragon 400. This in turn is underneath a round multi-color AMOLED display protected by Gorilla Glass.
The apps the watch features is equally impressive, with custom apps designed to track not just water sports but skiing and snowboarding as well. These are all powered by Surfline, Snocountry and built in partnership with Trace, which bring the user up-to-date info on relevant conditions around the world.
In this case, the outside counts as well and the Mission aims to please. The outer bezel is stainless steel around a polycarbonate and stainless shell with a silicone band, but the Nixon takes this all to the next level with the ability to customize the watches finish as well as the bezel and band colors to create a color scheme unique to your own watch. What's more, you can set the digital display to mimic that of other timepieces such as the 51-30, The Sentry, The Player, The Ranger and The Unit.
Granted, this isn't Nixon's first smart sportwatch. That honor goes to the $300 Ultratide designed for surfers. However, the Mission, unlike the Ultratide, features Android Wear, meaning that the Mission has access to other apps beyond Surfline and Snocountry.
Nixon has yet to detail how much the Mission will cost, but the company plans to show it off during the annual Baselworld event later in March before going on sale this fall.
