Today’s best smartwatches are ultra-capable, feature-packed powerhouses. But is it just me, or are they all starting to feel kinda samey? Casio recently made headlines with its delightfully retroF-B100W, which takes your classic, rubbery, blocky Casio watch and adds in step-counting features. That sent me off on a hunt for other smartwatches and fitness trackers that do something a bit different, and I was not disappointed with the results. I’ve rounded up my favorites below.
There’s the new-out Huawei Watch D3, which looks like your standard, modern smartwatch, but has a secret, in-built blood pressure cuff. For those who prefer a traditional watch aesthetic, there are the Garmin Instinct Crossoverand Withings Scanwatch 2, both of which have smartwatch features but also mechanical hands. Neither is especially new, but both have maintained popularity by their seamless blending of digital and analog.
Finally, a couple of especially intriguing options from outside the big watch brands. The Jaye band is an ultra-minimalist smartwatch that displays onlythe most important notifications on its tiny screen to minimize distractions. And then there’s the LightInk, which can run for an absurd 400 days on a single charge. Such a lengthy runtime is achieved by adding solar charging, swapping your average vibrant AMOLED display for a low-energy, monochrome e-ink one, and stripping the smart features right, right back. It’s open source, so with the aid of a 3D printer and a few basic components, anyone could own one.
Scroll down for a closer look at these weird and wonderful smart trackers — hit the View detailsbutton to learn more about each one.
Weird watches
- Analog hands!
- New GPS chipset with 5 satellite systems
- Good battery life
- More expensive than Instinct 2
- No maps is a miss at price point
- Hands break up the screen
- Looks classy
- Skin temperature tracker
- Companion app is remarkably easy to use
- Small display won’t be for everyone
- Very few additional smart features
