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The biggest problem with the smartwatch is taking over the traditional watches are the looks. I would like to have something smart on my wrist if it can raise some eyebrows among my fellows.
Kairos, the first hybrid smartwatch is trying to get into this game with its own style. I termed it hybrid because it’s a Swiss Made Mechanical Smart Watch with TFD (Transparent Film Display). It came out in October and had me impressed.
How does this watch works ?
Developed by of experienced techies, Sam Yang, Chris Park and Andrew Jo, the watch uses a Transparent Film Display embedded just below the Crystal Sapphire protective glass. This seamless integration makes it possible to project notifications like emails, calls, messages and so on as if it was displayed on the glass surface.
Now this is a technology which can be implemented on any watch and to start with they have picked a Swiss Watch which not only makes sure to deliver quality as regular watch but also keeps the looks up compared to those cheap plastic watches coming up.
Specifications:
There are two types of models here. One is Japanese while the other is Swiss. They also change the cost which I have discussed at the end.
- Connection: Bluetooth BLE (4.0)
- Display: TOLED RGB Full color (36mm x 1mm), 40% transparency
- Optional Choice: ICON Type Transparent Display (Static icons, Numbers & English text only), 60% transparency
- Sensors: Touch sensor, 3 axis accelerometer w/ gesture detection, Gyroscope
- Processor: Arm Cortex M4 / Intel (TBD)
- Battery: 180mAh (5-7 days)
- Charging: USB charging cable with magnetic connector
- Operating System: Kairos OS (Compatible with IOS + Android)
- Optional: Android Wear OS
Battery power is expected to perform better than competitors due to the fact that power is not consumed in order to “display time”. Power is only consumed when alerts are pushed through to the watch.
- Dimensions: Case: 46mm diameter x 16.5mm height || Band: 22mm wide (replaceable)
- Movement:
- MSW 115: Miyota 82S7, 42 hour power reserve, 21600 bph, 21 Jewels. Automatic movement.
- SSW 158: Soprod A10BV-2 Swiss Automatic Movement, 28800 bph, 25 Jewels, 42 hour power reserve
- Materials: 316L Stainless steel, Genuine leather band, Crystal Sapphire Glass
- Water Resistant: 3 ATM
How smart is it ?
The watch works with Android and iOS and there is a future optiont to upgrade to Android Wearable but there is no solid confirmation on this. What is told to be working are these:
- Notifications.
- Push Alerts
- Remote Control
- Fitness
- Chronograph
- Multi Language support
A watch you can send to upgrade:
This is unique and none of the other smartwatches offer this as of now. You can send your watch for an upgrade (all electronic components including the battery) including a service of the mechanical movement at a small price tag starting at $99.
How much does it cost ?
Kairos have started their pre-orders its damn expensive and if you are wondering why, then it’s because the watch you would get is the Swiss Watch. The usual cost of Kairos ranges between 1119 USD and 2149 ( Metal to Gold) but the pre-orders are discounted between 50% to 60%.
What do we think about it?
While the idea is brilliant, the watch look stunning ( its like a Diamond ring for guys), I am still not convinced and there are lot of confusion. Their team haven’t put on some real pictures, no prototype has been showcased on their channel and there is no detail on how its going to work with the phones except for the listing.
I will strongly request the team to be open about all the things and showcase what they have in hand to convince people to opt in for pre-orders.
