Sony has launched a successor to the FES Watch, the e-ink digital watch that was one of its first successful projects on First Flight, the company’s own crowdfunding portal.
The FES Watch U features a more premium design, swapping an all-plastic watch-face for metal and sapphire glass.
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A button on the side of the watch controls the different e-ink designs, letting the user change the look of the watch in one touch. Sony has imported 12 designs, but third-party designers can add more.
Designers will be able to import designs onto the watch store, available on iOS and Android. Customers can try and buy the different designs, and import them straight to the FES Watch U.
Sony call this an “accessory,” not a real piece of tech
The watch has a low amount of onboard storage, so users will only be able to store 24 designs at any one time. Users are able to swap out the designs when the watch is connected to a smartphone.
Sony is marketing it as a fashion accessory rather than a tech gadget, and for good reason. The FES Watch U is extremely basic, it only shows the time and offers limited customization options. Fitness tracking, alarms, notifications, and heart-rate monitoring are all off the table.
The FES Watch U is aiming for 20 million yen ($194,000) in crowdfunding on First Flight. It has already reached 6 million yen at the time of writing with 37 days to go.
Sadly, for anyone outside of Japan, it seems unlikely that Sony will launch the watch outside of its home country.
