Samsung on Tuesday announced a partnership with Naver Labs on a family-geared wearable called AKI which utilizes Samsung’s Exynos 7 Dual (7270) SoC. The chipset, built on a 14nm FinFET process, enables Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Cat. 4 LTE connectivity in a watch format. That, in turn, has allowed Naver Labs to incorporate its own W-Fi Positioning System with exceptionally low power consumption. The result is effectively a smartwatch and communications device meant to help parents keep an eye on their children for days between charges. Of course, it could also feasibly be used in other instances where safety might be a concern such as for disabled users or during travel. Moreover, the inclusion of a speakerphone means that contact can be established with relative ease in case of an emergency. Additionally, the Naver Labs AKI is highly secure thanks to Samsung’s chip using ARM TrustZone hardware-based encryption across the board. The dual-core Samsung SoC, which was introduced back in 2016, is clocked at 1.0GHz, with a Mali-T720 GPU for graphics.
The entire package is designed to be cute without being too cute for younger boys to use. With a ruggedized metal frame rated at IP68, there are several color configurations to choose from and the silicone strap can be selected individually to give it more personality. The watch face, displayed on its 1.2inch AMOLED screen, has four puppy avatar emoji that the wearer can select from. Aside from basic clock, calling, and location tracking software, it also comes with CLOVA installed so that users can study to learn a second language. There’s a translator included for English, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese, as well. For children for whom even that level of software might become distracting, parents are given control over various software and interactions via a smartphone app. Interactions are conducted via voice command.
As to the watch itself, no pricing information has been provided but the wearable is currently only available in the company’s home country. That doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t eventually be sold more widely outside of South Korea at some point in the future but no details have been provided on that front, as of this writing.
