MyKronoz announces a world first hybrid smartwatch, with touchscreen and traditional hands

MyKronoz are a Swiss company that you might not have heard of, but they’re definitely my find of Mobile World Congress 2017. They’re watchmakers, as you can see from the image above, and their party piece this year is a hybrid smartwatch that doubles a smart touchscreen with the traditional mechanical movement from watches of old.

I know, it sounds like a bit of a gimmick, but it actually feels like it’s a really great idea. No, before you ask they don’t run on Android Wear, but no, before you ask, it doesn’t really seem to matter either. Let’s face it, the thing we use our smartwatches for the most, apart from telling the time, is to check notifications on our wrist, and the MyKronoz ZeTime will do precisely this from your Android and iOS devices.

In addition, it packs in the other things that people seem to want in a smartwatch, including heart-rate monitoring, sleep tracking, fitness tracking, step counter and more. However, all that is to be expected. The unexpected and cool feature is the way the ZeTime manages battery life; the smartwatch display can last up to three days, depending on what you do with it, but you can also disable the smart screen, and the mechanical movement will work for up to 30 days.

In short, this means if you find yourself unexpectedly away from your mobile, or away from power, you can switch to a low power mode that will last for a clear month. That’s quite a claim, and it seems like it’s something MyKronoz can deliver on.

For those who like details, here’s the main things to know about the ZeTime:

• Bluetooth BLE 4.1
• 44mm watchface, with stainless steel construction
• Interchangeable 22mm leather or silicone bands
• 200mAh battery
• 240 x 240 pixel 1.2-inch display
• 3-axis accelerometer and optical HR sensor

MyKronoz have a range of other watches available which you can explore on their website. They’re not specifically available in Australia, but shipping is available worldwide. Besides the ZeTime, MyKronz have a variety of other smartwatches available, and here’s some of our favourites which we saw on their booth today: