It's safe to say that in 2014, we're not short of smartwatches. But how many do you actually want to wear? That's a question that manufacturers are finally starting to ask themselves. It's also a question that Creoir -- who designs products for brands like Nokia and Jolla -- is trying to answer with its Ibis concept (shown above). Unlike most smartwatches, the Ibis was designed as a watch first. The elegant, metal design resembles a timepiece you would expect to see in a jewelry store. The "smart" part was conceived with the intention of supporting, not overwhelming the device's primary function. Essentially, the clock part is a regular watch face, while a small display sits beneath, ready to serve up notifications, calendar entries or let you answer and reject calls.
While the hardware we saw was a prototype, we were also shown the user interface on a separate demonstration device. The UI has been skinned to complement the watch's design language, and runs on a pruned back version of Android. A working device would also include WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, an accelerometer and USB connectivity. While the Ibis is very much a concept for now, Creoir has built products -- including smartwatches -- for a number of household names, including other watch-makers such as Suunto. So, while it might not be finding its way to your wrist any time soon, there's a very good chance a version, or "inspired-by" design will at some point.
It's safe to say that in 2014, we're not short of smartwatches. But how many do you actually want to wear? That's a question that manufacturers are finally starting to ask themselves. It's also a question that Creoir -- who designs products for brands like Nokia and Jolla -- is trying to answer with its Ibis concept (shown above). Unlike most smartwatches, the Ibis was designed as a watch first. The elegant, metal design resembles a timepiece you would expect to see in a jewelry store. The "smart" part was conceived with the intention of supporting, not overwhelming the device's primary function. Essentially, the clock part is a regular watch face, while a small display sits beneath, ready to serve up notifications, calendar entries or let you answer and reject calls.
While the hardware we saw was a prototype, we were also shown the user interface on a separate demonstration device. The UI has been skinned to complement the watch's design language, and runs on a pruned back version of Android. A working device would also include WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, an accelerometer and USB connectivity. While the Ibis is very much a concept for now, Creoir has built products -- including smartwatches -- for a number of household names, including other watch-makers such as Suunto. So, while it might not be finding its way to your wrist any time soon, there's a very good chance a version, or "inspired-by" design will at some point.
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