I first ran into Nowatch at CES last year<\/a>, and its founders have been hard at work to evolve the product over the past year, packing in a bunch of AI-powered insights into its wearable jewelry that\u2019s shaped like a watch, but doesn\u2019t interrupt you or, well, do anything other than track you and look pretty. Including, perhaps somewhat ironically, adding watch faces to the wearable that is called \u201cNowatch.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur philosophy is centered around \u2018quality time,\u2019 and this extends to our new products, such as the time discs,\u201d defends Hylke Muntinga, founder at Nowatch, when TechCrunch spoke with him at CES 2024<\/a>. \u201cPeople need time management tools for various activities. Our approach now integrates these needs, positioning us as a premium smartwatch brand that stands out in the market.\u201d<\/p>\n The Chronos inserts for Nowatch turns the Nowatch into a watch. Yeah, I don\u2019t quite get it either. Image Credits:<\/strong> Nowatch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The founders say that the Nowatch Chronos inserts have a 20-year battery life and that the battery can be replaced. The ability to insert different watch inserts does open the possibility to include a huge variety of designs in a single smartwatch system \u2014 while the underlying tech that tracks your health stays hidden away and invisible \u2014 unless you choose to pull it up on the companion app.<\/p>\n The product is a relief within the constant buzz of notifications and fitness goals and the relentless race against time. The company has retooled as a B Corp<\/a> and is doubling down on its promise to bring calm, mindfulness and a deeper understanding of one\u2019s body and mind. This is a remarkable shift from the norm, where wearables often create more stress than they alleviate.<\/p>\n The design philosophy behind the device is centered around the understanding that wearables need to be, well, worn<\/em> \u2014 a concept often overlooked among an ocean of soulless plastic-and-glass fitness trackers. To spruce things up a bit, the company uses interchangeable discs made of polished metal and gemstones, allowing users to customize the device to fit their style and mood, day or night.<\/p>\n The company uses its AI back end to learn the wearer\u2019s biorhythms and can send gentle personalized vibrations to remind you to calm the hell down, already. The basic idea is that it empowers users to respond to stress triggers more effectively, fostering resilience and promoting overall well-being.<\/span><\/p>\n One way to improve well-being is to introduce an element of accountability (read: peer pressure), and the company has taken an interesting tack to enable that.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have features for sharing data, like heart rate monitoring, which can be especially useful for people like my mother, who has a pacemaker,\u201d Muntinga says. \u201cI would like to see if her heart rate heart is going into certain zones that might be worrying. Our users can choose to enable notifications to support circles.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps unusual for smart devices, Nowatch takes the tack that data rights are human rights, meaning that users have full control over their data and can decide where their data is stored, who they share it with and how they use it.<\/p>\n The team didn\u2019t want to tell me exactly how many units the company has sold to date, but suggests it is in the thousands. He also points out that the company is seeing increased interest in B2B sales, especially in stress management and scientific research.<\/p>\n I love a good oddball curveball company, and it was interesting to see the company continue to grow and evolve.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/CHRONOS-CLASSIC-24-Large.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nBring on the AI<\/h2>\n
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