The NoWatch smartwatch has no screen and may be fine

The NoWatch smartwatch has no screen and may be fine

It's somewhat ironic that so many health-focused smartwatches boast brightly colored, busy screens that, thanks to the incessant updates, notifications and prompts, practically demand your attention and perhaps add to your stress.

According to the Mayo Clinic (opens in a new tab), if left unchecked, stress can contribute to high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

NoWatch, however, has created a next-generation smartwatch that can reduce stress by removing just one key feature: the screen. You heard right, there is no screen on the laptop. While not an entirely new idea (the Whoop and Amazon Halo devices replace the screen with an extension of their simple canvas bands), NoWatch has gone for a more elegant approach, as its site features beautiful stones.

NoWatch offers interchangeable, display-size gemstones. They fit nicely into a slightly beefy gold smartwatch that includes most of the activity and health sensors you'd find, for example, on an Apple Watch or Fitbit. However, the focus is on reducing stress. Unveiled here at CES XNUMX in Las Vegas, NoWatch includes skin conductivity sensors, developed in partnership with Philips, that examine sweat gland activity and measure stress levels.

Gema NoWatch

(Image credit: future)

The accompanying app uses this data to prepare what NoWatch's developers call a restore plan. Company representatives told me that they were focused on "restoring the balance."

The lack of visual notifications and on-screen information plays an essential role in this, as do the static, jewel-like gemstones that can be picked up by stone hunters and crystal enthusiasts.

Image 1 of 3

NoWatch Gemstone Exchange(Image credit: future)NoWatch Gemstone Exchange(Image credit: future)NoWatch Gemstone Exchange(Image credit: future)

The cost, which starts at €300, will depend on the beautiful stone you have chosen. Each of them comes in the form of a disk that fits into the watch. Removing them requires a specialized bundled charger that has a strong magnet on one side. You place the charger on top of the beautiful stone and remove it, leaving a rather sparing watch body that houses all the sensors and a digital crown. By the way, the watch is also waterproof.

NoWatch in the water

(Image credit: future)

NoWatch representatives explained that the beauty of removable gems is that you don't have to replace your entire smartwatch to change your style.

It's a cool watch, but we wonder if the novelty of a screen-less portable existence will occasionally wear off and you'll miss the dreary old days when you could just raise your wrist and see you'd just gotten a text from your grandma.

NoWatch launches pre-sale in early February and is expected to ship in the first half of XNUMX.

Check out our CES 8 hub for the latest entertainment news in real time. We'll cover everything from XNUMXK TVs and folding screens to new phones, laptops and smart home devices, so stay with us for the big stories.