The latest smartwatch to try and solve a problem you didn’t know existed is the Arrow. It features a rotating bezel which contains a tiny camera, allowing you to twist it around to take a selfie one minute, and snap the landscape in front of you the next. Because it has 360 degrees of movement, the Arrow watch can actually take pictures from any direction.
Adding a camera to a smartwatch hasn’t made much sense up until now, but Arrow’s approach does sound more sensible, with the rotating bezel cutting down on the awkwardness experienced using devices such as the original Galaxy Gear. According to the company, the camera won’t be a feeble 2-megapixel affair either, and it aims to fit an 8-megapixel, auto-focus camera inside, complete with HD video recording.
Arrow has other lofty plans for the smartwatch too. It will follow the Moto 360 and use a circular touchscreen, making the watch look great in these early renders, and cover it with sapphire glass to ensure it stays in pristine condition. The size is expected to be 1.61-inches, but the resolution isn’t confirmed. Arrow says it’s considering using Android Wear as the OS. Google’s wearable software is likely to become the de-facto standard for smart watches over the coming months, so let’s hope it does.
The watch will use the Qi wireless charging standard, and come with a handy stand, plus it’ll act as a fitness tracker with a heart rate monitor and a step counter built in. You’ll also be able to use it to make and receive calls, thanks to a speaker and microphone setup. Provided Android Wear is used on the Arrow watch, you’ll get all the expected notifications on your wrist, music player controls, GPS directions, and social media updates too.
All this sounds great, but it’ll be the camera which makes the Arrow smartwatch standout, and it’s certainly the feature which is being pushed right now. Whether it works in real life remains to be seen, because at the moment, the Arrow Smartwatch is still under development, and there’s no information on its release.
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