Swatch, father of the colourful plastic watch boom of the 90s, could have its very own smartwatch on the way if the latest rumours prove to be true.
Bloomberg, who spoke with Swatch CEO Nick Hayek, believes that the watch will be made form colourful plastic (naturally), and will play nice with both Android and Windows devices.
Oh, and it won’t ever need charging.
How it can go cable-free remains a mystery, but we can make a few guesses.
The first theory involves a microscopic hamster running around an internal wheel, generating enough energy to power the watch itself. This is, however, probably unlikely.
Withings’ Activité manages to squeeze out 8 months of use from a regular watch battery, using low-energy Bluetooth to transfer data to a connected device. Its lack of a touchscreen and OS, all helps achieve that impressive battery life, suggesting that the smart Swatch could offer something similar.
Tissot, which is owned by Swatch, has used touchscreens in its watches for years however, albeit ones without actual displays. It’s possible that Swatch has combined these screens, with its thin, bendable batteries, to produce a smartwatch that won’t need charging on a daily basis.
The watch will also apparently have NFC powers for mobile payments, which could also double up as a way to communicate with connected devices. With the Apple Watch set to launch in April, and more Android Wear devices on the way, the battle for your wrists will soon be fiercer than ever.
And if you want to wrap a brightly coloured taste of the 90s around your limbs, Swatch’s mysterious offering could be the way to go.
