Recently Olio Devices entered the smartwatch market with their first device, the Model One. The watch is extremely impressive, with a clever interface, strong battery life, and true water resistance. The concept behind the device is unique in that Olio Devices believes that 3rd party apps do not belong on a watch. The company wants the watch to be able to control your Hue bulbs, drive your Sonos, and display your boarding pass but they want to control that experience and have it directly integrated into the watch design. It is a pretty daring idea, especially in the very app driven world we are all living in, but makes some sense. The team behind Olio have impressive pedigrees; the CEO was a product designer at Apple and HP and the staff comes from places such as Movado and Pixar. The Model One falls into the premium end of the smartwatch spectrum (pricing starts at $595) and the first batch of 1,000 watches has already sold out. It will interesting to see more about the Model One. The concept is intriguing and the watch seems to be very well designed. Head past the break for the company’s launch video:
