There are precious few E INK smartwatches out in the market. The Sony FES Watch is likely the most popular, since it provides a ton of flexibility in setting up custom images on the face and band. When it comes to premium watches that look good and also have long battery life, there is the Fossil Hybrid Smartwatch, Skagen – Jorn Hybrid HR, Citizen CZ Smart Hybrid Smartwatch and to a lesser degree, the Epson Smart Canvas. Today, we are taking a first look at the Skagen Hybrid Smartwatch HR.

The Skagen Hybrid Smartwatch HR uses a power-friendly e-ink display to provide smartwatch functions in a subtle way. The hands of the watch are mechanical with the E INK screen underneath it. This screen will provide smartphone notifications, activity tracking, weather details, and music controls. However, you won’t find more advanced features like voice assistants or support for contactless payments. Battery life is around 2 weeks before you have to recharge it.

To get the most out of this watch, you need to download the app. It provides health details like calorie burn, resting heart rate, sleep tracking, and workout statistics. There is also a few dozen watch faces that can be installed. Some of them are health focused, while others are minimalist and just show the date and weather. If you are not a fan of any of the designs, you can create your own. Just create a new watch face and select the things you want displayed on the E INK screen.

One of the things that I liked about this watch was the backlight display that can be triggered by a double-tap of the watch face. This ensures that no matter the lighting situation, can you still see the time and any other E INK elements.

This watch retails for around $195 and comes in a myriad of colors such as silver, gold or black. Different bands can also be purchased, such as stainless steel or rubber.

The post First Look at the Skagen Hybrid Smartwatch HR with E INK first appeared on Good e-Reader.