IFA 2018: MyKronoz rolls out ZeTime 2 and ZePop smartwatches
Swiss company MyKronoz has served up two new smartwatches at IFA 2018. ZeTime 2 is an upgraded version of the original device which managed to raise some $6 million through Kickstarter back in 2016. ZePop is its cheaper alternative.
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This is a timepiece that combines mechanical hands with a full round colour touchscreen. Which means the watch continues to tell time even when its touchscreen is turned off. To achieve this, there is a hole drilled at the center of the console onto which the hand gears are secured. The watch also sports some clever technology to move the hands out of the way when you are reading notifications.
ZeTime 2 comes with some improvements over the original. The watch sports a better AMOLED touch screen with 360 x 360 pixel resolution. There are two models to choose from including a 44mm diameter one with 22mm straps and a smaller 39mm version with 18mm straps. Presumably the first is meant for men, the second for women. The Regular model comes with a 1.3-inch screen while the smaller Petite model sports a 1.05-inch display.
The watch is equipped with a 3-axis accelerometer, optical heart-rate sensor and gyroscope, and can track heart rate, steps, distance, calories, active minutes, and sleep. There is also NFC for wireless payments and a microphone for voice recognition support, Water resistance is 3ATM which is actually less than the 5ATM on the original version.
Battery life has received a boost, though. The Li-iON 205 mAH battery will keep the watches going for 60 days in analog mode and 4 days in smart mode. This is an huge improvement over the 30 days on its predecessor.
ZePop Regular and ZePop Petite are budget versions of the timepiece. They come in a polycarbonate casing and lack the NFC, microphone and gyroscope of their more expensive sibling. The display is TFT and comes with a resolution of 240 x 240. You still get the same 3 ATM water resistance, but battery life is only 30 days in analogue mode and 3 days in smart mode.
ZeTime 2 will retail for around $230 when it is released into the wild, while the cheaper ZePop will go for $150. Kronoz has yet to reveal when the watches will be made available.
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