Sony's still-new SmartWatch 3 gets a stainless steel makeover

Sony's SmartWatch 3 only trickled onto store shelves back in November, but the company has decided it's not done tweaking the formula just yet. Just as some last-minute leaks foretold, Sony just pulled back the curtain on a stainless steel version of the SmartWatch 3 here at its CES 2015 conference and it's, well, exactly what you'd expect it to be.

Same 1.6-inch 320 × 320 display, same IP68 water resistance chassis, same Qualcomm chipset, same spate of light and motion sensors -- it's just a gussied-up version of the regular SW3 meant to trade athletic appeal for some much-needed aesthetic appeal. If anything, Sony's design committee seems to have put form over function this time: We've already determined that if nothing else, the SW3 shines as a watch for athletic types, and those folks almost certainly aren't going to wear a more substantial steel band while they try to keep tabs on their split times. Then again, the SteelWatch 3 would be worth it if it launched in February with the right price tag, but since Sony's keeping mum, we'll just have to see.

Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.