A new type of hybrid with partial hands only, for less blocking of the display!
The idea is two rotating discs with florescent hand-parts over a normal colour smartwatch display.
It is a really clever idea that would give us almost all the benefits of classic hands but without having them obstructing the smartwatch display all the time.
I always loved the idea of a good old fashioned analogue watch on top of a smart display that goes invisible. That is part of why I love my forty years old Omega Seamaster Polaris Multifunction, that did exactly that! See this. (A very early example of a hole in the display solution BTW)
Sure these discs will take a while to get used to only having the outer parts of the hands, but on classic watches with florescent parts of the hands, this does not cover the whole hand either, so should not be that hard. 😉
The basic idea is rendered here. from their TimeFlix homepage, that clearly is at an early stage.
Here is a video rendering of the idea, and also here.
And here a longer video on the vision.
https://youtu.be/krUjV9A8EUg
2025-04-17: Only preliminary information yet, but plan to update as more/more accurate info gets available.
Here some crops from the video-renderings
The navigation is handled with multiple keys, that I hope will even be possible in combinations for optional advanced user shortcuts – at the least I have suggested them that, and got positive response.
I think it would have been even better if they had a top touch layer, that the user could then choose to disable, some things are just so intuitive to do with touch.
But we will have to wait and see how the UI works in real life, to see if the button navigation will work smoothly. And obviously such a layer would make it thicker, So if the UI works good and omitting it will save a millimeter it will be fine with me.
Specs
I’m sure these specs should be taken with a pinch of salt as things are at an early stage, but at the least this is what the homepage says they plan to do
Display
-
- Type: AMOLED
- Size: 1.3 inches
- Always-On Display (AOD): Yes
- Physical Timekeeping Hands: Always visible, positioned above the display, ensuring time is readable at a glance without activating the screen.
Build
-
- Material: Metal casing (Aluminum or Stainless Steel)
- Water Resistance: 5ATM (Final rating TBD)
- LED Flashlight: Yes, built-in
- Straps: Supports 22mm standard straps for customization (I think the 22 might be a typo, the renderings look like 20)
Battery
-
- Battery Life: Expected 7-10 days (varies with features, AOD usage, and connectivity)
- Capacity: ~400mAh (Final capacity TBD)
- Charging Method: Magnetic Dock (USB-C cable)
- Charging Time: ~1.5-2 hours
Sensors
-
- Heart Rate & SpO2 Sensor
- Barometer / Altimeter
- Accelerometer & Gyroscope
- Compass
- Ambient Light Sensor
Connectivity
-
- Bluetooth 5+ (BLE only) – No Bluetooth Classic for power efficiency
- NFC (Reprogrammable) – For contactless interactions & custom applications
- TimeFlix Watch App – Companion app for Android & iOS
- Third-Party App Support – Connects to apps like Gadgetbridge
Timekeeping & Power Efficiency
-
- Chipset: Ambiq Apollo4 Blue Plus – Ultra-low power processor for UI, BLE, and health tracking
- Independent Timekeeping: Real-time clock (RTC) keeps hands ticking even when the main processor is in low-power mode
User Interaction & Navigation
-
- No Touchscreen – Clean, smudge-free experience
- Four-Button Navigation – Physical buttons for efficient UI control
- Customizable Button Gestures – Assign shortcuts (e.g., long press for flashlight, double-click for quick workouts, timer, etc.)
- Muscle Memory Optimization – Over time, users learn button placements for quick interactions without looking
Software Features
-
- Adventure Mode: Tracks health metrics while disabling Bluetooth for extended battery life
- On-Device Voice Assistant: Perform basic tasks offline
- Elements Watch Face Builder: Create & share custom watch faces via mobile app
- Quick Replies: Respond to texts directly from the watch
- Camera Control: Remotely capture photos via your phone
- Voice Recorder with AI Transcription & Summarization
- Google Calendar Sync & .ICS Import
- On-Device Music & Media Storage: EMMC storage (~4GB, Final capacity TBD)
- Scheduled Power-Off & Battery-Saving Modes
- App SDK for Developers – Third-party app support
- Google Maps Directions – View step-by-step navigation
- Health Data Sync: Compatible with Google Fit & Apple Health
Health Features
-
- Heart rate
- Spo2 (Oxyden saturation)
- Sleep tracking
- Steps counting
- Workout tracking
Timeline
-
- Preorders would start in Q2 2025 and we will start fulfilling the orders Starting Q4 2025
Calculus & estimates/guesses
Looking at the renderings and doing a little calculus that CERTAINLY should be taken with a good pinch of salt I by the use of the 1.3″ display get: about ø42mm and total length about 48mm, the thickness is a bit hard, but my estimate is 10mm without protrusion, and a guess would be 12mm including. So calculating further that give 62% display coverage, not bad at all given that the bezels are not just waste-space on this, in contrast to so many other smart watches!! But please take these estimates with a truck load of salt….. If I did the calculus right the renderings were made with 19.5mm and not 22mm band as the spec says. So I guess it is 20mm, and I got some rounding error somewhere. (click to enlarge)
I hope the 42mm is right. It sounds like a good unisex size, and we can then tone it being more ‘butch’ or ‘feminine’ to our personal taste by the band we choose for it.
Final notes
It seems to be quite a bit thicker than the dumb one I currently use, see this. But that this is hybrid and all the other interesting goodies might make me accept that.
A detail like the 4GB. Yes please! Storage is not that expensive, why doesn’t everyone offer this! It is so ridiculous with the ones where you can only upload a singe watch face.
I also very much like the idea of an open SDK, so we can add stuff ourselves. I hope they will facilitate some community where we can share what we make, so others can use, and possibly tinker further.
I have no idea of the price yet but I will almost certainly get one – at the least out of curiosity…