Matrix’s Powerwatch 2 charges itself with your body heat
The Powerwatch 2 has a colour screen and lasts as long as it's attached to its wearer's body
Matrix has revealed the follow up to last year’s Powerwatch, which came with the headline-grabbing feature of never needing to be plugged in to charge. The Powerwatch 2 builds on its body-heat fuelled predecessor, boasting a 1.2-inch LCD colour display, GPS tracking and solar charging.
The second-generation Powerwatch is clunky 42mm disk of a watch, unlikely to run out of power as long as it’s touching your wrist, converting it into thermoelectric power. Throw in scope to draw extra energy from sunlight, using sensors housed in the watch’s ring bezel, and the Powerwatch 2 could be the ideal timepiece for long outdoor treks.
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The extra solar juice also means Matrix’s smartwatch can support a broader range of features. There’s little in the way of third-party apps, but it comes with heart rate monitoring, onboard GPS and a full-colour display. Because the Powerwatch 2 draws energy from its wearer’s body, it can even chart the amount of power you produce.
The Powerwatch 2 comes with support for Apple Healthkit, Strava and Google Fitness, but you can’t download third-party apps. Nor can you make calls, meaning it’s not a contender for the one-stop-shop of the Apple Watch. It’s bulkiness might also make it an unwieldy watch for thinner wrists. Nevertheless, it’s an innovative fitness wearable with a killer feature that could mean big things for the smartwatch industry in years to come.
The price is due to be pitched at $499 (£391) when it comes to market in June this year. For the next few weeks, however, you can still support it on Matrix’s Indiegogo page for only $199 (£156).