Analog smartwatches have become common the market, particularly because full-blown smartwatches are not everyone's cup of java. Some consumers want watches that appear to be old-fashioned analogs, but have some smart features that help them do more than just tell the time. Fossil Q54 Pilot, Martian Kindred VIP, as well as the Isaac Mizrahi smartwatch engineed by Hewlett-Packard (HP) are two examples of what analog smartwatches have become, though some consumers prefer a smartwatch that is unashamedly so. I, for one, don't want a smartwatch that acts smart but hides behind a non-touchscreen, analog display as though it has to hide the best part of the experience (the watch with a touchscreen).
The Casio WSD-F10 features both a color LCD and a monochrome display, and shuts down the color LCD when the watch's battery gets low -- while still displaying the time on a monochrome display. This is a new take on analog smartwatches that don't compromise on smartwatch capabilities while still featuring some of the analog (in a way that maintains both equally.)
Yet and still, with smartwatches taking off now, there's always room for more players to disrupt the scene. Meizu has already teased us with a sketch of its new smartwatch, followed by photos and a press invite that made us believe the smartwatch existed but needed some time before its market entrance.
After days of waiting, Meizu has now unveiled an analog smartwatch called the Meizu Mix that compromises on the smartwatch scene to push the analog nature (which is something that analog fans will find appealing). The Meizu Mix features an LED notification light, sapphire glass display, is waterproof up to 30 meters (over 100 feet), and features Bluetooth 4.0 LE, 270mAh battery (with a 240-day battery life), accelerometer, gyroscope, and a a price tag of 999 Yuan ($151 USD), 1,299 Yuan ($196 USD), and 1,499 Yuan ($226). The Meizu Mix comes in Denim, Leather, and Stainless Steel variants, and comes in a 42mm 316L stainless steel casing (the Moto 360 doesn't). You'll need the Meizu app installed to get Bluetooth notifications on your Meizu Mix.
The Meizu Mix is now for sale at Taobao, a Chinese crowd-funding site, with the company planning to launch the Meizu Mix in October for mass purchase, if all goes well. Whether or not this will make it to the US is a matter of "wait and see."
Would you pick up the Meizu Mix if it made its way to the US? You can answer this question after viewing the photos below.
