New Casio AQ-S820 solar-powered analog-digital watches leak in three new variants
Casio’s newest leak seems to point toward the return of a fairly quiet, lesser-known series: the AQ-S820. Recently spotted via Casioblog, three new models of this solar-powered analog-digital watch have surfaced in black, olive green, and beige, and each of them sports the label "Tough Solar" front and center. While not part of the G-Shock family, this line shares a similar tone in design, albeit without the shock resistance or premium casing.
In case you're wondering, the AQ series isn’t exactly new. In fact, the first Casio AQ series watch, the AQ-500, came out in 1982. The company was seemingly keen on providing a mix of analog style and digital functionality with a lower price tag. One could say it was specifically built with the everyday user in mind -those who wanted a reliable watch with solar charging, but without the feature set or flair of a G-Shock.
Now, it seems Casio is bringing it back, or at least refreshing it with new color options and a subtle design update. The general form is still quite familiar - bold screws on the bezel, a legible analog-digital hybrid dial, and labels around the rim for its core buttons. Features like 100-meter water resistance, five alarms, LED backlight, and world time are expected to be present as well, if you consider the original model’s specs.
That said, the new AQ-S820 doesn’t exactly break new ground. In fact, it treads very familiar territory. For a 2025 release, it feels slightly underwhelming in a time when even Casio's budget lines have started adopting Bluetooth syncing or refreshing their design language. Here, we’re essentially looking at a clean reissue with a paint job - military green (AQ-S820W-3B), tactical tan (AQ-S820W-5A), and all-black (AQ-S820W-1A). Great if you missed it the first time, but maybe not exciting if you’re already deep into Casio’s ecosystem.
Whether Casio intends to push this as part of a broader retro reissue strategy or just quietly refresh its standard range is still unclear. Pricing hasn’t been confirmed, but going by past trends, it’ll likely sit well below G-Shock territory - possibly in the $60 to $80 range.
We’ll keep an eye out for regional release dates and whether the feature list gets tweaked at all.
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