Sony Fes Watch has an E-ink display, but it's not smart

Sony Fes Watch has an E-ink display, but it's not smart
Stupid, stupid watch

One of the biggest bug bears with the recent onslaught of smartwatches is battery life, but Sony has taken what seems like the first steps to fix that with the concept Fes Watch.

This isn't a smartwatch, it's just a timepiece with an estimated 60 days of battery life which has been successfully backed on crowd funding site Makuake.

The Fes Watch has been developed by a spin-off division at Sony dubbed Fashion Entertainments, which has been experimenting with E-Ink displays in a variety of objects including glasses, shoes and even bow-ties.

One for the future?

While there's little to shout about in terms of tech inside the Fes Watch, it could well hold the key to the future of smartwatches with later versions potentially gaining smart features.

Sony Fes Watch

At the same time, with the power saving screen, we're hopeful Sony may be able to overcome the short battery life plaguing the likes of the Moto 360, Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch.

Sony's not the first to dabble with E-Ink displays on the wrist, with the popular Pebble and Pebble Steel smartwatches already established in the market, although they can still only boast a week of battery life on a single charge.

It's highly unlikely you'll ever get 60 days of battery life from a smartwatch, but fingers crossed for a future where our smart wrist wearables can go longer than a week between charges.

Via WSJ and BBC

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.