When I heard the news that Victorinox is making a smartwatch, my mind immediately sprung to a Swiss Army knife like wearable with multi-purpose tools built into it. Of course, Victorinox’s portfolio extends beyond Swiss Army knives and has a very established time piece business, but looks to be adding to that business as CEO Carl Elsener said to Reuters this week that Victorinox will be entering the wearable market in 2016. Elsener stops short of outright calling it a smartwatch, instead saying:
“Our concept is something approaching a smartwatch. We’re looking… for the opportunity to expand the functions of our watches. But at the same time the watch must have a long lifespan compared to a mobile phone or a computer.”
Seems like common sense, but Victorinox has obviously identified the primary gripe with smartwatch technology to date. We’ll have to see what Victorinox comes up with – previous attempts to save battery life have ranged from more discreet notifications like on the Martian Watch and Cogito Watch, or integrating the smarts into a smart band like the Kairos T-Band, both options which haven’t quite had the uptake their touchscreen brethren have had.
What do you think about Victorinox entering the smartwatch market? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
