Hybrid watches perform the balancing act between full-fledged smartwatches with display and classic wristwatches with analog hands. Previous models used vibrating alarms to alert people to news and, for example, use an additional pointer to visualize progress towards the daily fitness goal they had set themselves. For some users this is not smart enough.

(Image: Skagen)

Skagen is now preparing for hybrid watches at this year’s CES to make it a little smarter: The Jorn Hybrid HR presented still has conventional analog hands, but the dial consists of an e-paper display, as is known from e-book readers. There, the Skagen Hybrid shows, for example, the steps taken so far, the current pulse rate or information on notifications received from the smartphone. The digital dial can be personalized on request. Since the display of e-paper displays remains static and they only use electricity when changing the content, they gnaw much less on the battery than the OLEDs or LCDs of full-fledged smartwatches. Skagen promises that the Jorn Hybrid HR will last more than two weeks with one battery charge, depending on usage.

With its motion sensors and the built-in one optical heart rate monitor on the underside, it is primarily suitable for fitness tracking. Among other things, it should record the number of steps, the pulse, the distance covered, the calorie consumption and the progress in achieving individual goals. Sleep phase recording and automatic recognition of workouts are also on board. For the smart functions, the watch is coupled via Bluetooth with the Skagen companion app installed on the smartphone.

The Jorn Hybrid HR is available in black, silver and rose with a 42 – mm case and a 38 – mm case as well as with leather, silicone or metal bracelet for 195 Euro come onto the market.

(spo)