Ever heard of the Chronos watch accessory? No? That’s alright. We’ll introduce you to it shortly.
But first, let’s talk about smartwatches and wearable tech for a moment. They aren’t ideal for everyone, plain and simple. Some folks just want to stick with a traditional wrist watch, either because there aren’t enough features to warrant paying for a “smarter” watch, or they don’t want another connected device. By that logic, smartphones are enough.
If you’re one of those folks, we’re not going to bother trying to convince you otherwise. We’d argue there are plenty of reasons to pick up a smartwatch, but you probably won’t listen anyway, and that’s okay.
The good news is that there’s something out there just for you when you’re ready anyway. The Chronos – first introduced at CES 2016 – is a small disc-shaped device that allows you turn any regular ol wrist watch, into something “smarter”.
It sits behind the watch face, between it and your wrist. Because of this, it’s pretty discreet; enough that others would never know you’re using it unless you were to detach it from your watch and show them.
Right about now, you’re probably wondering what the Chronos watch accessory does, and what kind of “smart” features it has to offer? Let’s take a closer look.
Introducing the Chronos Watch Accessory, A Discreet “Smart” Disc
The Chronos watch accessory is a stainless steel disc that attaches to the rear – or inside – of a watch face using “micro-suction tech,” which the developers claim employs no adhesives and won’t leave behind any sticky residues after removal.
It is less than 3mm thick and measures about 33mm in diameter; the perfect size to fit on the inside of any traditional watch. The Chronos team promises the disc will be compatible with up to 80% of all watches on the market currently. That means there are some watches out there it won’t fit correctly, but that’s a pretty solid compatibility rating.
The only downside to using the Chronos watch accessory is that because most watches are designed to sit flush against your wrist, they will sit slightly higher than usual with the disc attached to the back. You won’t feel much of a difference, mind you, but you might notice one visually. That’s not to say the Chronos isn’t discreet as promised because it certainly is.
For all intents and purposes, what the Chronos does is turn your regular watch into a smartwatch, complete with notifications, gesture controls, and notifications.
Currently, the Chronos watch accessory is only compatible with iOS. Sadly, if you have an Android smartphone you’re out of luck at the moment. There’s no word on the official site if or when Android support might be coming, either.
What the Chronos Watch Accessory Can Do
The Chronos features come in three different tiers, if you will, which include: notifications, fitness tracking, and gesture controls.
Obviously, with the notifications, you won’t be seeing anything on the display because it’s a regular wrist watch you’re using and not a smartwatch. However, the notifications are provided through vibration and light patterns. So basically, if a certain contact you’ve selected sends a message or calls, the disc will vibrate against your wrist letting you know there’s a text or missed call waiting for you on your phone.
You will be able to customize the notifications through a connected app on your phone.
The fitness tracking works like any other fitness tracking device – such as a Fitbit – by monitoring various stats. It will track things like the number of steps you’ve taken, calories burned, and total activity time. This is done via a number of sensors embedded in the Chronos disc. All information is transmitted to your smartphone or mobile device via the app.
Finally, the gesture controls are unique in that you can tap or use gestures on your actual watch to call upon certain actions. Sensors inside the disc will pick up your gestures, even from where it sits underneath the watch face.
Through gestures, you can do things like turn up or down the phone’s volume levels, play or stop music, or open the camera app. There are a number of gestures and taps you can assign to these actions, but we’ll offer an example. Let’s say you want to program a gesture to open your camera app quickly. You can simply double tap on the face of the watch, and it will open up the camera app on your phone. Of course, you can personalize this to meet your needs. If you hardly ever use the camera app, then you can assign the double tap to another action.
Ultimately, the Chronos watch accessory turns your traditional analog wrist watch into a much “smarter” device. You can keep your regular watch, and you don’t have to worry about staring at another bright display all day long.
Chronos Watch Accessory Specifications
The Chronos disc will last for up to 36 hours on a single charge (roughly one and a half days). It charges via wireless conductive housing, which is done by plugging the disc into the included case. The good news is that even though that battery life is not necessarily ideal, you can continue using your watch should it die prematurely. You can’t say the same for most smartwatches.
Other important specifications of the Chronos watch accessory include:
- Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy wireless support
- Water-resistant body (no mention of rating)
- Integrated Accelerometer to track fitness and activity levels
- Haptic vibration support for notifications
- Integrated LED for light patterns (notifications)
- Stainless steel casing
The Chronos Watch Accessory Is a Great Entry Device for Skeptics
If you’ve been reading here and there that smartwatch owners love their devices and you still feel skeptical about buying one yourself, this is the “smart” device to go with. The best part is that you can pretty much bring any existing watch to the party. The Chronos disc straps to the back, and you’re good to go.
You get all the usual “smart” features that any smartwatch or fitness wearable would have, without all the distractions. There’s no color display to pull your attention away from the world at large, and there’s no serious power draining a battery. While 36 hours is arguably less than a watch, it’s a decent amount of time to stay out before making your way back to a charger. In addition, you can simply detach the Chronos disc and continue wearing your watch if need be.
If you want to check whether or not a watch you own will be compatible with the Chronos disc, you can check out the official sizing app for iOS.
A single Chronos disc is available for $99, or you can buy a double pack – with two discs obviously – for $189. There are additional bundles with unique watches if you’re interested in something like that instead.
The Chronos watch accessory is available for pre-order at the moment with an estimated shipping data of “Spring 2016”. Sorry folks, even though that time frame is a bit vague, no further information has been announced as to the release date.
If you get your order in right now, you can pick up a single Chronos disc for $89 which is $40 off the original $129 sale price.