The Ideal Smartwatch Is Discrete

I’ve been following items like the Pebble Watch, the Samsung Galaxy Gear, and so on.

None of these are exactly what I’m looking for, but the Pebble is probably the closest. This is why I’m hoping for Pebble 2.0 or similar. Pebble as a company has had issues delivering its existing units though.

So, what do I want in a watch? I was thinking about this. It has to look like a watch. If you want to bridge the divide between a digital watch and a smarter watch, it should be the same size as a normal watch. I don’t want people coming up to me and staring at my watch.

It should be simple. If I wanted a full size device on my arm, I can get a sportband for my cell phone and hold it there. I like the idea of phone integration, but the purpose needs to be simplified.

Look at Ion Glasses, which is set to offer a pair of sunglasses with a notification LED only visible to the wearer and control buttons. This is meant to be discrete…so no one would know about the integration. This is what I want in a wearable device. It should integrate with the environment.

I have a phone/tablet, I don’t need another fully functional screen.  The blocky square that the Pebble seems to be is closer, but only seeing pictures and video, the Pebble doesn’t look that impressive visually.

While writing this, I’m holding my actual watch for inspiration. Imagine a watch that contains a multicolored led notification light, a vibrating alert, and less bulky/blocky shape to the Pebble. Bluetooth 4.0 LE by default.

I could picture a Pebble 2 doing that, allowing me to be notified of important notifications without pulling out my phone, but not something I’m watching continually.

What do you think?