Watches are personal gadgets that allow their wearers to express themselves. In the case of the Nubia Watch, it communicates that you are interested enough in flexible OLED screens that you desire to be one of the very first people in the world to wrap one around your wrist and are prepared to back the job on Kickstarter.
Something that looked more or less like the Nubia Watch, as it occurs. Nubias new smartwatch is basically a bracelet dominated by a big flexible OLED screen that curves halfway around your wrist, which is technically quite impressive. After wearing it for a number of weeks, I think its probably for the very best that the Apple Watch turned out the method it did. If you desire your wearable technology to represent engineering aspiration above all else, it could be worth an appearance.
The Nubia Watch just introduced on Kickstarter with rates starting at $199, and its project has currently been funded. The Chinese version of the device, which Ive been checking, is currently offered at retail and runs various software, so do not take this as an evaluation– these are simply my impressions of the hardware in case youre considering backing.
A few of the first reliable reporting about the “Apple iWatch” I remember reading explained it as being “made from curved glass.” The ultimate Apple Watch did use curved glass to a degree, of course, however it wasnt actually a specifying function of the item. After all, in 2013 The New York Times stated Apples watch was expected to “differ from rivals based on the companys understanding of how such glass can curve around the human body.” I was thinking of something a little more futuristic than what we got.
The rest of the Nubia Watchs spec sheet is rather less ambitious. It also carries the typical range of sensing units for heart rate, movement, and location, and the Watch has normal fundamental physical fitness tracking abilities.
The very first thing to note is that its pretty chunky at 14.2 mm thick, though it does a minimum of feel solid with its mostly metal develop. Its rated for IP54 water and dust resistance, and its reasonably comfortable to wear, though I wouldnt say I love the way it looks. This is an unabashedly techy gadget, but its at least a little sleeker than Nubias previous take on the idea, the Alpha.
Theres no way to act on notices or customize the included watch faces, though you can modify text for a “marquee” mode that constantly scrolls throughout the screen. The music app, for example, just supports tracks that have actually been packed onto the watchs storage– you cant use it to control playback on your phone.
The total UI is very easy– swipe up on the watch face for alerts, down for quick settings, and left or right to access the built-in apps. As you d expect, its designed to optimize the severe verticality of the screen, so there tends to be info showed around half of your wrist. In practice, this doesnt make much distinction to usability. While the weather condition app does reveal a complete weeks projection at once, you still have to flex your wrist to see more than the central part of the screen. Is that actually more hassle-free than swiping on a normal watch?
The ultimate Apple Watch did use curved glass to a level, of course, but it wasnt actually a specifying function of the product. Something that looked more or less like the Nubia Watch, as it takes place. After wearing it for a couple of weeks, I think its most likely for the finest that the Apple Watch turned out the method it did. The rest of the Nubia Watchs spec sheet is somewhat less ambitious. In the case of the Nubia Watch, it interacts that you are interested enough in versatile OLED screens that you desire to be one of the very first individuals in the world to cover one around your wrist and are prepared to back the task on Kickstarter.
The screen is 4 inches diagonal and has a resolution of 960×192; you can see the pixels if you look carefully, but its sharp enough at routine watch viewing ranges. It can be a little tough to see outside, and theres no automatic brightness modification, but otherwise its as punchy and contrasty as you d get out of a great OLED panel. The display screen is covered in flexible glass from Schott, which is the business that dealt with Samsung on its ultra-thin glass for foldable phones. It bends easily around your wrist, and I havent seen any scratches or other damage appear.
