This Magic Disc Can Turn Any Watch Into a Smartwatch

A small metal disc that goes by the name of Chronos can turn just bout any watch into a smartwatch. According to Bloomberg, the weightless and waterproof gadget is only 33 mm across and 2.5 mm thick, and sticks discreetly to the back of a watch using its microsuction surface without requiring any glue, bringing features like fitness tracking, curated notifications and more to your favourite timepiece. The Chronos packs an array of sensors, a few LEDs, a vibration engine and a battery.

The Chronos also comes with a charging pad and provides 36 hours of battery life on a three-hour charge, according to early tests performed on a prototype by Bloomberg. The companion iOS app is quite simple as well and the set-up process is easy. It prompts you to pair with the device and pulls in your health data from iOS’s HealthKit. Steps, distance, active calories burned, and flights of stairs climbed are the main categories. The other major function of Chronos is notifications. Each type of notification can be assigned one of eight vibration patterns and one of six colors of LED flashes.

“There are two tiers of notifications: person-specific and app-specific. For the former, you can assign a contact her own combination and get that vibration and flash whenever she contacts you, whether it’s through a phone call, an e-mail, or a WhatsApp message. Apps can also get their own patterns, which will be the default unless a contact has a special pattern assigned. The breadth of natively integrated apps is great, including Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter all from launch.

There are also options for turning on gesture controls, letting you use the Chronos as a basic remote. Tapping your watch in different patterns lets you silence calls, skip music tracks, and activate your phone’s camera remotely”.

The Chronos can be pre-ordered now for $99, while it will start shipping in spring 2016, when it will also become available for general sale at $129.