CES 2018 finally brings us the first modular smartwatch, Blocks being the product I'm talking about today, it was initially presented at CES 2015, but in the form of a prototype that did not reach the market. The company behind it had promised to deliver the first units of the product in 2016, but it was only in September 2017 that it managed to deliver them for the financiers of the project, and only now has it available for pre-order.
Blocks is a modular smartwatch that allows the modification of a part of the strap to add new functions, something that has not been offered by any smartwatch manufacturer to date. The creators of Blocks have managed to integrate various sensors and even batteries in pieces of the belt that are interchangeable and extend the functionality of the smartwatch when needed.
Blocks allows adding, through extensions, a sensor that measures the temperature/humidity/pressure around us, an external battery, a GPS, a sensor for measuring heart rate, or an LED flashlight. Each of these modular extensions costs 35 dollars, so we are not talking about a high price and their type will be expanded in the future by the manufacturer.
Blocks is sold at a price of 260 euros for the central unit, so those 35 dollars are added in addition to the standard price of the product. Blocks brings to life an excellent idea regarding smartwatches and I think we should see more products of this kind, including from manufacturers like Apple or Samsung, as we have seen in the case of modular smartphones.
