Chronos turns any watch into a smartwatch

As smartwatches become more commonplace, we are starting to see more companies get involved in the wearables game, including traditional timepiece makers such as Fossil. Of course none of these smart devices have yet to master the iconic looks, design, or even feel of many of the high-end analog watches that attract watch enthusiasts.

Looking for ‘smart’ functionality, but not willing to give up on your traditional watch just yet? Chronos could be the perfect solution.

While much more limited than Tizen, Android Wear, or even Apple’s Watch OS, Chronos is a thin disc fits beneath a regular watch and brings vibration and light alerts for notifications. Beyond this, there’s also basic fitness tracking, the ability to skip tracks played on your phone, and a few other tricks that integrate with your existing Android (or even iOS) device.

The Chronos does add a bit more thickness to your current watch, at 2 ½ mm thin and 33mm in diameter, but it’s actually not that noticeable, especially when paired with a larger watch.

While you would think the Chronos’ basic design should allow for extremely lengthy battery life, the add-on only lasts about 36-hours on a single charge – likely because it’s small size makes it hard to fit a very big battery. Still, 36-hours is better than most smartwatches on the market, though it pales compared to many fitness trackers and watches like the Pebble series.

The Chronos goes up for pre-order today for $99, or just $79 for the first 250 orders, and is expected to start shipping during the spring of 2016. What do you think of the idea, could you see yourself buying one of these?