Billing their product as the "world's first and only mechanical smart watch hybrid," Kairos Watches has set the expectations bar high. Especially considering their watches haven't launched; they're taking pre-orders, but still working out the tech.
That's because the tech hasn't been done before, at least not in a commercially-viable way. Kairos is aiming to be the first to master OLEDs that are transparent—the company is aiming for 40% to 60% transparency—and if they can pull it off, they'll be able to produce a traditional, mechanical watch with a kick-ass feature: The glass over it will function as a smartwatch display, fulfilling their "hybrid" description. Notifications, social media alerts, fitness-tracking apps, a chronograph, and remote-control functionality for a user's devices are all meant to be displayed on the OLED.
Of course, when you dip your foot into the technological pool, you have to plan for obsolescence. Kairos intends to get around this by offering regular servicing on their customers' watches under their "Watches are Meant to Last" philosophy:
Worried about smart watch components getting outdated? Need more processing power? More memory? More features? With Kairos Watches, customers have the option of sending in their watch for an upgrade of all electronic components including the battery. In fact, we will even service the mechanical movement as well.
The upgrade does come with a small price tag – starting at just $99. Expert technicians will carefully replace the components and mail it back to you.
That's an interesting approach, and one we're curious to see if customers will embrace. While consumers accept that cars must occasionally be brought to the shop for maintenance, we wonder if watch owners—particularly those accustomed to traditional, mechanical models—will be willing to ship it off and live without it for however long it takes.
We should also point out that the company claims they'll have a battery life of 5-7 days. That sounds batshit crazy, but in an apparent nod to reality, they acknowledge that it will be charged via a plug-in USB cord; wireless charging, they say, isn't viable as the magnetic fields that engenders would mess with the mechanical movement of the watch.
In any case, the company is offering two models, one with movement supplied by a Japanese manufacturer, the other Swiss. The lowest-price model will run for $549, and the line tops out at $1,249. (That's for the pre-orders, which the company says are 40% to 50% less than what they'll retail for after launch.)
Okay, ready for the sexy, CG-heavy promo video?
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