If you’re determined to buy a smartwatch today, your options are still pretty limited. There’s Pebble’s sleek and barebones approach, Samsung’s bulky Gear and few other unconvincing entries as well as a growing army of fitness trackers. Google and Apple are both expected to blow the market open with their own devices later this year, but another contender called Blocks jumped into the ring this week with plans for a totally customizable modular smartwatch that looks pretty incredible.
Blocks, which is still just a concept design and a sleek introductory website, lets you customize everything on your smartwatch from screen-size to which apps come pre-installed. Each small interlocking block serves a different function and comes in a variety of colors, while also connecting to form the device’s wristband. The company also plans to open its design to third-party developers, meaning anyone could create their own block for specific purposes. Meanwhile, the display comes in different sizes, and customers will be able to choose between E-Ink, LCD and touch screen depending on what they need from a smartwatch.
Unfortunately, there’s no official word on when Blocks will actually hit the market. According to Italian site AndroidWorld, the company already has a working prototype with a crowd-funding campaign expected to launch in the near future. Still, we likely won’t see an official launch until mid-2015. Hopefully if the idea catches on we’ll see a release a bit earlier, but for now Blocks is just a great idea and a cool video.
