Sony is no stranger to the wearables game, having launched a number of smartwatches in recent years, including the Android Wear-powered SmartWatch 3. Now it looks like Sony is crafting a new kind of watch, but doing so under in secret.
The FES Watch is a wearable that’s made out of e-paper. Both the watch face and the band feature e-paper, meaning that they can change looks any time. The Wall Street Journal explains that the FES Watch changes depending on the wearer’s gesture and that it has 24 different faces that can be selected. Because it’s just an e-paper watch with no “smart” features, the FES Watch is expected to last up to 60 days on a single battery.
A division of Sony dubbed “Fashion Entertainments” has been building the FES Watch, keeping its connection to Sony a secret because the company wanted “to test the real value of the project” and determine if real demand for it would exist. After going live on Japanese crowdfunding site Makuake, the device has gained 3.5 million yen ($29,590 USD), well past its goal of 2 million yen ($17,000 USD). The FES Watch is expected to ship to backers in May.
Even though it won’t alert you to new emails or track your heartbeat, the FES Watch looks like a pretty nifty device. It’s extremely minimalist, has a nice battery life and can be personalized by the wearer. And while it remains to be seen if the wearable will gain traction with mainstream consumers, I bet that a lot of watch and gadget nerds would be interested in owning one.
Would you buy an FES Watch if it were made available to the public?
