Smartwatches may still be a long way away from becoming as ubiquitous as smartphones, but that isn’t stopping most consumer electronics companies from trying their hand at the segment that is expected to have a significantly large user base in the future. While Chinese telecom equipment and consumer electronics giant, Huawei, has already got a product in the segment (the Huawei Watch), its home grown rival, Haier, has thus far refrained from getting into the smartwatch business. Up until now, that is. Through a press release earlier in the day, the company has now announced that it will be launching its first-ever smartwatch range at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada. There will be two distinct models; one meant for children, and another one aimed at senior citizens.
Coming to the device(s), the features on the children’s model and the senior citizens’ model are almost identical apart from the form factor, which is a bit more ‘grown-up’ on the senior version. While the device targeted at kids is officially being introduced by the company as ‘SOS Connected Watch for Children’, the one meant for seniors is being called the ‘SOS Connected Watch for Seniors’. While the two versions are technologically identical to each other, the watch aimed at the adults comes with leather bands in lieu of the multi-color straps found on the children’s model to give them a degree of elegance. Otherwise, both versions come with microphones and speakers to facilitate phone calls. There is also a red SOS button that enables the user to send an alert to up to three different numbers in case of an emergency.
The Haier Smartwatches will come with 0.96″ OLED displays and will be waterproof up to a depth of 30 meters (100 feet). There’s also a ‘baby monitor’ feature in the childern’s version that’s been renamed ‘remote listening’ on the seniors’ version. There’s also a GPS tracker that comes with an app of its own (available on Android and iOS) that concerned parents or caregivers can install on the phones. This allows the watch to serve as an e-tag which can then be used to monitor the location of the wearer. Both versions of the device are being unveiled at the CES 2016 and although Haier hasn’t given away any details about pricing thus far, earlier reports have claimed that the children’s model will be priced at €99, while the one meant for senior citizens will come with a price-tag of €129.