Tag Archives: watch

OnePlus Watch 2 Launches Next Week at MWC

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OnePlus LogoOnePlus is returning to wrists with the OnePlus Watch 2, three years after their first model came out in Spring 2021. The details on the new model are fairly scarce with only a few pictures, a promised 100 hour battery life and a quote from the  COO and President of OnePlus, Kinder Liu.

“After a three-year hiatus and a reflective pause following the OnePlus Watch 1, the Watch 2 re-emerged, and we are more confident than ever about this product. This confidence is not unfounded, it’s built on a foundation of substantial advancements in our technological ecosystem and capabilities. Watch 2 indicates our determination to transform from “Flagship Killer” to “Ecosystem builder”. It will provide you with experience that’s not just improved, but transformed.”

In addition, a 100 hour battery life has been claimed while in Smart Mode – that’s 4 and a bit days, if you are trying to do the maths and failing. That comfortably exceeds the duration of competitors such as the Samsung Galaxy Watch series which tops out at 80 hours for the 5 Pro.

The Watch 2 will follow the design aesthetics of the new 12 and 12R smartphones, and will come in two versions, Black Steel and Radiant Steel.

There’s no news on the OS but the smart money is on a WearOS device rather than the proprietary OS of the Watch 1. OnePlus seems to be all-in with Google as OnePlus rounds out the ecosystem but it’s not without pitfalls While the Pixel Watch 2 looks great, it’s battery life is poor and Google’s approach to Fitbit hasn’t exactly endeared itself to fans of the original brand. There’s definitely an opportunity here if OnePlus executes well.

Price hasn’t been revealed though there are some discount offers over at OnePlus for early interest.

The OnePlus Watch 2 will be fully launched at MWC in Barcelona on Monday 26th February. More news then.

Swatch Launches Space Collection

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Swatch logoSwatch has launched a five-watch space collection inspired by NASA and the exploration of space. On sale today in Swatch stores and from 8 June on-line, the watches feature the famous “worm” NASA logo. These are going to be hot.

The collection consists of two different model sets. The first set of three watches are Big Bold watches with Bioceramic 47 mm cases and take their cues from NASA flights and spacesuits. The Big Bold Chrono Extravehicular riffs on the spacesuits from the ISS; the Chrono Launch model uses the orange pumpkin suit from the Shuttle era; and the Jumpsuit uses the blue flight suits donned for ground-based activities.

Three wristwatches on the lunar surface
Image courtesy of Swatch

Bioceramic is Swatch’s latest innovation. It’s a new material composed of two-thirds ceramic along with one-third bio-sourced plastic from castor oil. Swatch says that it’s “lightweight, resilient and resistant with a silk-like touch”.

The second set are more traditional Swatch models: the Space Race is white with black accents and a silver dial in a 41 mm case. The Take Me To The Moon model comes with a 34 mm transparent case.

Two wristwatches on lunar surface
Image courtesy of Swatch

Prices are as follows:

  • Extravehicular – GB£137
  • Launch – GB£141
  • Jumpsuit – GB£108
  • Space Race – GB£79
  • Take Me To The Moon – GB£70

Available now from Swatch stores and on-line from 8 June. I think these will sell well, so if you are interested, I wouldn’t hang around.

OnePlus Teases A Smart Watch

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There have been rumours of a OnePlus smart watch for some time but it’s finally been confirmed by CEO Pete Lau. In a community post, he says, “The first-ever OnePlus Watch will launch together with the OnePlus 9 Series on March 23, adding a new element of convenience and seamless connectivity between all of your OnePlus devices.”

Frequently requested by OnePlus fans, the new Watch will be part of the OnePlus ecosystem, carrying through their “burdenless” design, offering “seamless connectivity between OnePlus smartphones, audio peripherals, smartwear devices, and even OnePlus TVs, making smart control over all these devices simple and intuitive.” That all sounds fairly slick.

In a follow-up post, the OnePlus CEO confirms that the watch won’t be running WearOS, “We chose to go with a smart wear operating system developed based on RTOS because we believe it provides you a smooth and reliable experience while offering a great battery life, covering some of the biggest concerns we’ve been hearing from people looking to buy a smartwatch.”

The OnePlus 9 series and the OnePlus Watch will be revealed at the online event on 23 March at 10:00 am EDT / 14:00 GMT / 15:00 CET / 7:30 pm IST at https://www.oneplus.com/launch.

Can we have a OnePlus tablet next, please?

Oaxis Combines Fitness Tracker with Analogue Watch

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That spot on your wrist is in high demand at the moment. From Apple Watches to smart watches, retro digital and vintage automatics, they all want in on that skin real estate. Personally, I still like a watch with hands to tell me that I’m late but I do like step counting and heart rate monitoring too. Consequently, I tend to swap what’s on my wrist depending on activity: it’s not ideal but works for me…mostly.

There might be an improved solution to my problem with a new watch launching on Kickstarter by epaper experts Oaxis. iPhone owners might know the company for their InkCase which provides a second epaper screen on the back of the phone. In this instance, Oaxis are crowd-funding Timepiece, a minimalist analogue watch with an embedded fitness tracker than displays data in a small OLED display in the dial.

The watch uses a Swiss quartz movement from Ronda and the fitness tracker records heart rate, steps, sleep and call / text notifications. As you’d expect, there’s a complementary app to get the data off the watch with Bluetooth. The info only mentions an iOS app, so you might want to confirm there’s going to be an Android app too.

There’s a range of combinations of case, strap and size, with both 38 mm and 41 mm cases. The black dial with red hands looks particularly good but the white dial looks classy too. I’m not sure if its just the lighting but sometimes the white dial has black hands and sometimes they’re silver. Case is a little over 12 mm thick.

And unlike certain other smartwatches, Timepiece will last a month on a single charge – charging is done via a small dock. One of the other cool features is that the time can be set via a Bluetooth connected smartwatch.

The watch is waterproof to 30 m, which means that it’s ok for a bit of light swimming.

If you like the look of this, head over to the Kickstarter campaign. Early birds can get in for US$123, GB£95 or €110.

Delivery is expected in March 2019 and as with all things crowd-funding, don’t pay what you can’t afford to loose.

 

Christopher Ward Launches Ultra Slim C5 Malvern 595

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Here at GNC, I don’t usually cover old school things like watches, but I get the feeling there’s been a little bit of a renaissance in analogue time pieces. Certainly there are plenty of Fitbits and Apple Watches on people’s wrists but there are still plenty of watches out there going tick-tock. Anyway, let me know in the comments if watches are of interest and I’ll do more. – Andrew

Christopher Ward have announced the C5 Malvern 595, a new ultra-slim mechanical watch at just under 6 mm thick. Using a hand-wound mechanical movement, the ETA 7001 which itself is 2.5 mm thick, the designers managed to fit it into a slender case that is just 5.95 mm, hence the 595 moniker. The ETA 7001 has a 42 hour power reserve, meaning it’ll need wound every other day or so.

Christopher Ward’s Co-Founder Mike France explains: “I knew immediately that it would be a significant test for us to create a truly ultra-slim watch. But I felt that it could be possible. And so, my challenge to the team was, can we create a mechanical timepiece, under 6mm high, at a Christopher Ward price point?”

The design comes in two Opalin dial variants, pearly white or cool grey, with a choice of three straps (black, brown, camel) and a Milanese mesh bracelet. The case is 39 mm in diameter, which is very much on trend and wearable for both men and women.

Adrian Buchmann, Senior Designer, explains: “Because the 595’s most important quality is that it’s very slim, it was important we didn’t distract from that – which mostly meant removing clutter. So the dial is very simple with no raised elements or extraneous detail, and we needed exceptionally pure, clean hands. The main detail, in fact, is on the rear of the watch, where we have used a crystal exhibition caseback, so the movement can be viewed.”

For comparison purposes, a Rolex Submariner is 13 mm thick and if you are wondering what the thinnest watch in the world is, then for a mechanical hand-wound it’s the Piaget Altiplano at 3.65 mm. Mind you, they cost a bit more than the Malvern.

Talking about the price, Christopher Ward is milking the 595 theme for all it’s worth. Not only is the C5 Malvern 5.95 mm thick, it costs GB£595. The watch is available now from their boutique and online store.

For those that don’t know Christopher Ward, it’s a British company that designs watches in the UK but are then manufactured in Biel, Switzerland. The company’s been around for 11 years and has a reputation for producing good value watches, both mechanical and quartz.

There’s the obligatory promotional video below.

Timex Metropolitan+ is an Analog Watch and Activity Tracker

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Timex Metropolitan+There’s been a real convergence in wearable devices over the last year. It’s a logical progression for consumer technology, especially when it comes to devices like watches and activity trackers that you’d wear on a wrist. Timex, a long-standing name in the watch industry, is embracing this trend with the release of its new Metropolitan+ watch/activity tracker.

The Metropolitan+ probably doesn’t fit the image you’ve already conjured up, based on other similar products. The Metropolitan+ isn’t some bland-looking digital clock with a small readout that just also happens to be an activity tracker. The Metropolitan+ features a stylish analog clock face and the watch can be customized with a number of interchangeable bands.

Along with the time, the Metropolitan+ also displays your activity information right there on the watch. The device employs a special fourth watch hand that’s used to measure your progress. There’s also a special register that shows how close you are to achieving your daily activity goal.

The Metropolitan+ can sync your activity information with a mobile device via Bluetooth. From there, you can share the information with most popular fitness/activity tracking apps. The watch also comes with a replaceable battery capable of holding a charge for over a year. No need to plug the watch in and let it recharge overnight. The Metropolitan+ also includes an Indiglo backlight for viewing the watch in dark environments. The watch is water resistant as well.

The Timex Metropolitan+ watch is available for purchase now starting at $125.00. Additional bands typically run $20.00 each.