The Nowatch has got an official launch at CES 2023, and is now available for general sale.
Nowatch (pronounced "Now-watch") has been around for a couple of years, and we got a look at CES 2022. The company launched a successful crowdfunding campaign (shock horror) and now the watch is available for everyone to buy.
But NoWatch is a curious device with a strong USP. Despite having the form factor of a watch, it has no screen and is designed not to steal your attention away from the things that matter. That’s why the company refers to its device as an ‘awareable.’
Under the hood is a host of bio-sensors, including heart rate, skin temperature, SpO2, and an electrodermal activity sensor, that looks for signs of stress.
If that sounds familiar it’s the same as you’ll find on the flagship Fitbit Sense 2 – and works in much the same way.
> Stress tracking wearables explored
But the key difference is that the NoWatch aims to predict stressful feelings using Philips sensor tech, and to help you manage them before they negatively manifest themselves.
It will also track activity – with a focus on energy expenditure.
All the health stats are browsed on the companion app, rather than the watch itself.
The screen is instead replaced by hot-swappable gemstones. Polished, flat surfaces that turn the Nowatch into super-sized jewelry.
The idea of screenless, silent tracking of our wellbeing isn’t new. The Whoop 4.0 is a great example – as are smart rings such as the Oura Ring 3 and the forthcoming Movano Evie (for women).
It’s curious that Nowatch has replicated the exact form of a large smartwatch for its device – it even has a digital crown for tagging moments of stress or happiness you'd like to record – yet omitted the screen. The wrist is a precious piece of real estate, even for just telling the time. To put a watch there that provides no useful information is a bold play.
"When the Nowatch wants to communicate with you, it simply vibrates twice to remind you to be mindful of yourself in the present moment. Nowatch wearers can set the vibrations to occur randomly a handful of times per day. Over time, the vibrations will gradually become more driven by the wearer’s physiology," a spokeperson for the company told Wareable.
But Nowatch has certainly created a unique and interesting product via the swappable gemstones. It starts at £300 depending on your choice of gemstone.
How we test
James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.