Leave it to the folks at Skagen, the 30-year-old Danish subsidiary of Fossil, to design a sleek, slim, and stylish smartwatch that doesn’t compromise on functionality. The Skagen Signatur Hybrid, the newest in the watchmaker’s Connected family, boasts activity and sleep tracking, tweakable notifications, and hands-free smartphone controls.
“Our goal is to make more wearable products […] both from a hardware and a software perspective, and the Signatur Hybid reflects this,” Frederik Thrane, creative director of design and concept at Skagen, told Cool Hunting. “It is a subtle smartwatch that gives you the information you need, when you need it — not one that floods you with constant notifications and makes you less present.”
That’s apparent from the get-go. The Signatur Hybrid’s iOS and Android app lets you choose which contacts and apps vibrate your watch or assign colored labels to contacts, apps, alarm, date, and time zones. A hands-free mode allows you to program rings, music controls, and your phone’s camera shutter button to the Skagen Signatur Hybrid’s three buttons.
The conveniences don’t stop there. The watch’s auto time and date feature automatically update the Signatur Hybrid to account for traveling, time-zone changes, Daylight Savings Time, and the number of days in any given month, and its activity-tracking features record your steps and sleep cycles.
The Signatur Hybrid doesn’t skimp on design, either. The round watch features a large sub-dial, rounded buttons, and an all-metal unibody that extends to the lugs. It comes in four colors, including silver steel mesh, brown leather with a black dial, olive leather with a gray dial, and black leather with a white dial, and packs a replaceable battery that last up to 6 months.
“Our aspiration has been is to simplify and clarify wherever possible,” Thrane said. “For instance, mesh bands have been a part of Skagen’s designs since the inception of the brand, [so] we are launching the Signatur Hybrid on a mesh band to infuse a familiar design element with a new technology in this watch. That has been a grounding principle since we were founded in 1989.”
The Signatur Hybrid smartwatches are available starting today, with prices on the four styles ranging from $175 to $195. They’re the first of many to come; earlier this year, Skagen promised to launch 19 new hybrid smartwatch styles in 2017.
