“If you’re not in smartwatches today, particularly as a conventional watch producer, then we are the manner in which you get the ideal item for your consumer.”
This is how Steve Prokup, co-founder of Mijo Connectedexplained the company’s service, and it has me seriously captivated and thrilled about the future of smartwatches. I spoke with Prokup over a video call throughout CES 2024and although you most likely have not become aware of Mijo Connected, and it likely will not be a name on a real item you’ll purchase in the future either, that does not imply you need to overlook it. Here’s why.
Getting where Fossil ended
Prokup has substantial experience on the planet of wearables, having actually worked as head of hardware at Pebblebefore heading to Fossil, where he worked as vice president of engineering and senior vice president of linked gadgets. Mijo Connected’s other co-founder is Hai Nguyen, who likewise operated at Fossil on item management and research study and advancement jobs. It’s possibly not a surprise that the business maintains a connection with Fossil, as Prokup informed me.
“We are not part of Fossil. We are pursuing a comparable course and do have access to some of the Fossil innovation,” he stated befoe including that he was not able to broaden even more on precisely what that implied. It is, nevertheless, a strong indication of how seriously Mijo Connected takes smartwatches, as it makes total sense to continue leveraging the experience of a long time watch and smartwatch maker.
What is Mijo Connected, and why should you care? It prepares to develop a wearable gadget platform that some extremely familiar style and high-end brand names will ultimately put their names on, enabling them to draw out preferable, special, and stylish smartwatches that likewise have the best innovation and software application to support the appearances.
If that seems like a familiar technique, it’s not different to how Fossil introduced smartwatches with partner brand names like Diesel, Kate Spade, and Skagen. It has just recently stepped back from such endeavors, and Mijo Connected is primed to fill that area.
Smartwatches for style and high-end brand names
“Our platform allows our consumers to rapidly release entirely separated items. For example, a brand name desires to introduce a smartwatch. They do not desire some generic app– it requires to be their name. It needs to have their branding, their design. Exact same thing for the watch? It’s got to appear like a watch from that specific business. That’s that’s what our platform does.” described Prokup.
“The underlying platform has an entirely special ID, so the look of the watch, the watch case, the strap, whatever is entirely developed by [the brand] due to the fact that they normally have great style groups that understand how to execute their brand name’s design. The exact same thing with the app and even the information in the cloud.” he continued.
Mijo Connected will bring its market know-how to brand names that wish to release smartwatches (and, in the future, other linked mobile phones like cordless earbuds and wise speakers), however do not wish to purchase structure collaborations with software application business, producers, and after that discovering the tough method how to make an item that’s agent of the brand name. Mijo Connected will do all this rather and will bring a substantial quantity of modification in addition to it, too, according to Prokup:
“We have an extremely comparable method to how conventional watches are made, where the motion is covered in various styles and various watch cases. We can go to a premium titanium case, we can put pavé [a reference to jewels set into a bezel or case] on it, or go to stainless-steel and other alloys, or to plastic. If someone desires a lower cost point plastic case with a silicone strap, that is likewise readily available from our platform,” he described.
The level of the personalization and individualization offered has actually implied Mijo Connected is talking with both style and high-end brand names about collaborating, consisting of some high-end brand names that have actually currently launched a smartwatch in the past. What about the software application that will run on these brand-new smartwatches?
What about the software application?
At CES, Mijo Connected introduced its smartwatch platform with software application business MicroEJ (which is noticable as Micro Edge) and exposed that it will utilize MicroEJ’s Vee Wear running system in the future. While you might not instantly understand the name, you might have currently utilized MicroEJ’s platform on a wearable, as it has actually powered smartwatches made by Polar over the last couple of years.
I likewise spoke with Semir Haddad, primary item and method officer at MicroEJ, throughout CES 2024. He spoke about the significance of total personalization on the software application side too, so brand names can make the gadget their own. He likewise exposed that a person of the business’s strengths remains in how its innovation makes it simple to adjust Wear OS apps to work on a non-Wear OS smartwatch. It is dealing with a range of various names currently, plus it has actually struck a collaboration with the Facer app to offer various watch deals with.
Vee Wear has low power needs, however that does not impact efficiency. Both of these are long-lasting concerns on affordable smartwatches that might have put some style brand names off in the past. Vee Wear smartwatches will likewise deal with both Android and iOS phones, supplying more versatility. Does this mean Mijo Connected will not supply a choice for a Wear OS smartwatch and is just dealing with MicroEJ?
“MicroEJ are a fantastic partner,” stated Prokup, “however we have a platform readily available for an RTOS watch, along with a platform that we’re dealing with for Wear OS.” The option of software application alternatives demonstrates how it’s covering all smartwatch personalization requirements beyond the physical style.
When are the watches coming?
Smartwatches at the minute are truly controlled by 3 primary designs– the Apple Watch Series 9the Google Pixel Watch 2and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 — which are all exceptional, however are not constantly what somebody who likes conventional watches or style watches desires. Mijo Connected is amazing since it’s working to fill the space in the market that was left rather open by Fossilpermitting brand names that wish to make a smartwatch to not need to go all-in and end up being a tech business.
The business might be brand-new, however it brings significant experience with it– and most likely currently has a great concept of what works and what does not when making a top quality smartwatch. That must provide self-confidence to business that might have prevented a linked item in the past.
When does Prokup anticipate the very first designs to show up?
“We do not have locked-down launch dates, however as you understand, in this area, [the fourth quarter] is huge for everyone,” Prokup hinted before including: “We’re dealing with a big launch with a brand name.”
Mijo Connected will mainly be the business behind the smartwatches and might not be a name you’ll hear unless you’re “in the understand.” Prokup likewise discussed it might have a little item launch of its own, although not under the Mijo Connected name, at some point.
This would provide us an excellent concept of what to anticipate from its smartwatches in the future and simply how transformative they might be. This would likewise take place in a market presently managed by a choose couple of tech brand names that traditionally have not catered well to style and watchmakers. If all goes the method Mijo Connected is hoping, it might extremely well alter the smartwatch market permanently.
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