Michael Kors Access Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Michael Kors

It’s been a busy week for Android Wear. We’ve seen new watches from Fossil, Nixon and now Michael Kors. The fashion designer announced the $395 Michael Kors Access smartwatch this week at Baselworld, an annual watch and jewelry trade show taking place in Switzerland.

The Access is an Android Wear-powered smartwatch for fashionistas, complete with exclusive watch faces designed by Michael Kors and support for interchangeable metal, leather and silicone straps. It has a round display that’s not a complete circle. Like the Moto 360, the watch includes an ambient light sensor to automatically adjust display brightness, which is the reason for that black bar at the bottom of the screen.

Other specs weren’t announced, although the watch likely features ether an Intel or Qualcomm processor with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage for apps and music. Aside from the design and some unique watch faces, the Access can do everything other Android Wear watches can do, which means you can view personalized Google Now cards and notifications for emails, calls, texts and app alerts from your Android or iOS device.

We’ve seen a handful of fashion-forward smartwatches hit the market in the past year from Tag Heuer, Fossil, Huawei and Motorola. The Access will be offered in two models: a gold version that the company says is for women and a sporty one for men.

The Access will start at $395 in the US, and arrive in Michael Kors stores and select department and specialty stores around September of this year. International pricing wasn’t announced, but the US price converts to about £270 and AU$520.