Nowatch Is A Healthfocused Smartwatch Without The Watch Part
Your health is all you have, and you can't change what you can't measure, so it's no surprise that health trackers are everywhere. However, the problem with many of them is that in addition to measuring steps, heart rate and more, they also offer a ton of notifications. Nowatch takes a different approach and offers many of the features you would expect from a health tracker. The company has replaced the watch face with a series of bright materials that subvert the standard Apple, Google and Samsung approach to the "small smartphone screen" and look like a traditional analog watch face from companies like Withings.
The company likes to call itself Careable, reflecting its mission to counter sensory overload, anxiety and stress. The inspiration for the company came from the misfortune of Hilke Muntinga, the company's CEO and co-founder, and the diagnosis of a rare genetic disease.
“Five years ago, I lost six of my closest friends in one year. At such moments you realize that life and death are so close to each other. Then, two and a half years ago, I found out that I was blind due to a rare disease called PXE. It's a warning not to get lost. "I have to live now," Montenga told TechCrunch at CES in Las Vegas.
Nowwatch at CES in Las Vegas. Photo : Haye Kamps/TechCrunch
From this, the company developed Nowatch. The device does not have a screen and instead uses beautiful faces from ethical sources. Inside, the watch features state-of-the-art health-tracking technology that does its work discreetly while the wearer goes about their business. The device uses Philips EDA (Electrical Activity) biosensor technology, which measures changes in sweat gland activity using skin conductivity. The biosensor technology applies a gentle, harmless current to the skin and measures the change in electrical conductivity between two points on the skin over time.
“In fact, we decided not to use the ability to display the time on wearable devices: it just adds more distraction. The Nowatch is for anyone who really wants to be into science and technology and prefers to wear something pretty, and the watch has always been a piece of jewelry that says, "Hey, it's me." people are drawn to aesthetics,” explains Montenga.
The wearable device can assess stress levels and send subtle vibrations to the wearer to help them become more aware of their own stress and emotional state. Nowatch investigates the wearer's vital systems in an attempt to measure and alert them. The watch also uses its readings to evaluate your "cognitive range", meaning how clear your thinking skills, mood and "stress alerts" are.
“We have a way to predict stress an hour ahead. We're trying to understand how much stress is related to your habits, and we're working to help people change their habits or change certain things that affect their habits over time,” says Montenga.
The watch is interacted with via an iOS or Android app, which can display the user's physiology in real time and provide actionable tips and insights for a more balanced life. Sensors include red and green PPG (photos), EDA, accelerometer, temperature sensor and barometer.
The Nowatch battery lasts for four days (depending on usage) and the MSRP starts at $500. It will be available next week. Other gems can be purchased separately, including chalcedony, tiger's eye, rose quartz, malachite, lapis lazuli, labradorite, eagle's eye, and amethyst. Prices range from $25 to several hundred dollars depending on the stone, and the team informed us that a private collaboration is possible.
“We work with several artists and jewelers. They will produce limited edition Nowache watches, including moonstones and meteorites. People say, “I want something completely different,” and that’s a common request,” says Montenga. "We're excited to see which artists we can work with for new collaborations."
The Nowatch team created a video demonstrating the technology and some of the options available:
