Sony Wena - FutureTech Review

Coming to the UK, apparently <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology-47546546/tech-filled-strap-makes-old-watches-smart" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology-47546546/tech-filled-strap-makes-old-watches-smart</a>

Hi Mat, thinking of your military telecom video which I very much enjoyed, how about trying out the British Fullerphone of WWI? <a href="http://www.wftw.nl/ful.html" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.wftw.nl/ful.html</a> They seem to only be about $50 on American eBay, and you could have an acting scene where you try to tap your lines.

That must have been a real sinking feeling when you realized you had to redo the video!

Very frustrating that smart-watches aren't made with epaper-style high-contrast displays like Pebble has. (had) It must have to do with how these devices are sold. In the soft lighting of a store display, OLED looks fantastic, but ePaper looks a bit washed out. ...and that's all that matters, by the time you see it outside, you've already paid your money.

Lol! The update really changes the tone of the video. Glad you found out how to make it useful. The funny part of the "can't see it outside" is that one of the versions is marketed to those odd people who like to be outside (and while outside, actually do things).

As others have said, look after yourself, and get videos made when you can. I love your videos, and the main thing I love about them is you, so please try to gentle to yourself.

I’m not surprised that Sony doesn’t have its name on it😀

I'm currently using an Amazfit Bip (highly recommended but already reviewed to death on YouTube) but miss wearing a proper watch. I like the idea of this but even if it worked perfectly, it seems to have less functionality than a Xiaomi Mi band which costs £20-30. If only someone made a watch strap that could incorporate the workings of the Mi Band on the inner side, it could be a very cheap alternative to the Wena.

As others have said, pebble watches have been able to suck up any general notification from iOS. Feel a bit of shame that they got bought by Fitbit. My pebble steel is e-ink and works pretty well in sunlight. This Sony device seems an expensive under featured device. Keep up with the good content Mat, but keep yourself healthy and happy. I’m sure many of us are happy to support you at a rate of producing videos that you’re fine with.

Just as an observation, some of those places with “hands on” reviews quite possibly got pre-release models sent to them by the manufacturer to review. It’d be particularly easy if it’s something previously sold elsewhere with just some NFC/software tweaks. Anyway I hope your review earns you back the money you spent on the product, as it’s not sounding like the best deal for your use cases. Ewen

Could this be an example of overpriced technology just because we can? It's an interesting market to enter. And Mat, take care of yourself, you sound exhausted!

When the smart watches first started appearing, I remember thinking that they are interesting tech but even to this day I have had a hard time thinking of a worthwhile use case for them, at least for me. Some of my tech friends rave about them, but I could never really see it. Horses for courses I guess. Shame about the display though. I would imagine that you would mostly use this thing outside if you're into the fitness thing and not being able to read it outside is a bit of a design fubar.

A suggestion for a product to review, Mat. The Amazfit Bip. It's an amazing little smart watch with a 45 day (yes, day) battery life, and 'always on' display and it costs less than $70 US. I've already got one, and love it, but I'd love to see it get the Techmoan review treatment.

I was mildly gutted when my second Pebble finally died. The Apple Watch does way more stuff than I need and frankly I didn't like it's appearance. Finally settled on a Fitbit Charge 2. Decent appearance, decent price, notifications work fine with iOS.

why not use an e-ink display?

In a way I'm almost disappointed in sony for this one. I bought a "hybrid smartwatch" a while ago, and never ended up wearing it for the same reasons you mentioned about notification restrictions. It seems strange to come out with something like this, and have it be so restricted in what is can do when there are fitness monitors that can easily knock it out of the water in terms of functionality. It seems like a last gasp attempt to get into the smartwatch market, and while it's a decent Idea, and seems to be manufactured quite well. I think it will be something someone like you would review in 40 years, and talk about it the same way you did with the "bone fone".

Well, that must have been quite the disappointment. Hope Sony sees your vid and thinks some things through. Dunno how they'd fix the "can't see the display when outdoors" issue though.

When one is officially knackered, do you have to register somewhere?

The good old Pebble smart watches supports every kind of notifications from all apps on iOS. So there shouldn't be any limitations in what notifications are supported. So I guess it's just poor implementation from Sony.

mmm Sony and OLED :( had a Sony minidisc with OLED and the screen died. a very expensive mistake. thanks for the review but reckon the chinese will rip these off and knock them out for sub £50 soon.

Good to see you out and about.

Thanks for the video Mat. My initial reaction for the first minute was 'I want one'. My heart sank when it does not support apps you use. Please don't feel pressured to get a certain number of videos 'out' - when they appear is fine by me. I am a fellow insulin addict and tire easily. Sometimes I get exhausted doing stuff on the computer. I stop and have a cup of tea (and a biscuit) and put one side of an LP on. I play the other side when I need another tea break. Best wishes and I hope you feel better soon. PS - taking your watch strap "for a walk" is very funny.

Couldn't you use this with IFTTT? It seems like it would solve the patreon/ebay notifications problem, even if Sony doesn't support them directly.

Another excellent money saving review thank you Mat.

About the restrictions on iOS: If Sony wanted, they could get this to work. iOS does expose notifications to bluetooth accessories. The Pebble smartwatches have used this from the beginning, mirroring all notifications on the phone to the watch. For some popular apps, Pebble had special support (showing nice icons, and sometimes even allowing replies on the watch), but every push notification on the phone could at least be displayed with a generic icon and the ability to dismiss the notification (including on the phone).

Thanks for the video Mat! Hope you're alright, cheers!

I wear two watches (sad? probably!) An Apple Watch, and a Junghan's Radio Controlled Solar. The strap would be an ideal upgrade for the Junghan's bringing it into the 'connected' world - despite its ability to set itself daily already. But whilst I like the idea, the Screen is awful - and as you tightly pointed out, OLED is not the future. If Sony are hoping folk pay £800 for a bracelet and movement they're going to be mightily disappointed in the sales figures!

On Android there is an optional system permission that can be granted to an app, which have to be manually enabled per-app from system settings for reasons that will become obvious, to allow the app to read and control notifications from other apps. One example of an app that makes use of this is a 3rd party app that manages, filters, and aggregates all the notifications from another app which has the tendency to generate a lot of notifications the users would like to ignore based on the content and their personal preferences. I don't know if the Wena app uses this as this app permission. That app permission tends to be viewed as naughty, kind of like access to phone and call info.

I'm slightly confused what is advantage of say this over something like a Apple Watch? they cost about same sort of price but seems do a lot less

Hello Mat, you’re very good at what you do, so I don’t need to tell you that was another great video. What rather appealed to my sense of humour in this one was the “and now over to our reporter live at the canal” element. Great stuff, thank you.

Similar concept, I had a Garmin wristband with an OLED 2-line display. Was nice to see my phone/email messages while in meetings. However, one had to tap the screen to wake it up, and the constant tapping eventually destroyed the display. Pity. They replaced it with a newer model, but I don't wear it much as it's too plasticky.

Hmm ... it looks nice, but for functionality I'm definitely sticking with my fitbit ionic. Does a lot more and has similar battery life, as well.

Oh, how disappointing! As you were describing the product at the start, I thought I would really have to get one of those. I don't fancy an iWatch, I really like my current watch and although I don't get many alerts, I do use Apple pay quite frequently, so wouldn't it be great not to have to fumble my phone from inside my jacket and use my watch strap instead? But, as your (excellent) video progressed, you popped the bubbles one after another! Having to pay even the small monthly fee for not getting my phone out just seems rather extravagant - not to mention the price of the strap in the first place. However, I am impressed by Sony's lateral thinking about smart watches. Definitely a step in the right direction, although the implementation just isn't there yet. Maybe the UK model will be more useful! Thanks, as always, Mat. Have a good week!

It’s great to see Sony trying something different. I like the concept, if not the execution. Well done putting the video together so quickly.

AFAIK, the 18mm and 20mm head should come with the strap. I really like the idea of smart straps. Even if you forgot to charge it, you just lost the strap and still have a functional watch.

Wow, a smartwatch you can't read outside? That reduces it's overall value by about 90%. When I'm home, I have my phone out, don't need a smartwatch. However when im out and about, in public areas I dont want to be pulling my phone out constantly, especially at work. So having a device you can't read in sunlight is just ridiculous.

OMG thank you for this. Couldn't come at a better time for me. As soon as I heard about the Wena last week I wanted to buy one. I've been thinking about getting a smart watch for years now, but I thought it would be wrong of me to get an ugly watch that needs charging every day or so, while doing away with my beautiful solar powered Citizen which has been ticking for 13 years without so much as a battery replacement. The Wena seemed like just the right thing for my niche needs. However, upon seeing your review I toned down my expectations. I'll wait until the official launch and see if it gets and more useful. I'm particularly disappointed with the OLED screen in bright sunlight (I live in Israel). Thanks, Mat!

Interesting, but looks way too expensive. But the concept is great!

Never heard of that! So many old Sony's Gadget. Damm.. Very interesting! Thx n thx again for all your researchs and dedication for this awesome youtube channel. The best of all.