Matrix Powerwatch X Review: a smartwatch with everlasting battery?!

In concept, this product sounded amazing. A smartwatch that doesn’t need to charge itself with a portable charger? That’s a description that immediately drew the attention of tech fans, who constantly find themselves having to recharge their smartwatches due to very short battery life. Even better, could this smartwatch have a battery that lasts forever?

The Matrix Powerwatch X successfully lives up to its advertised feature, as it is powered by body heat and thermal gradients. Even though this may sound like an odd feature for a smartwatch, it is a fully innovative mentality that many other developers don’t have, and Matrix deserves props for that.

However, it is still up for debate whether the “watch of the future” is worth buying despite its shortcomings.

First of all, it is quite bulky and overly-large. Of course, this is due to the heat processing technology inside of the device, but that still doesn’t really make up for the odd look of the watch. Some customers have said that despite its size, it actually is quite comfortable to wear. Nevertheless, smartwatch customers are also known for caring about the aesthetic value of their product, and this could be a turnoff for many in the X’s case.

Secondly, the watch can be a bit unpractical to use. In order to access its different recorded information – such as footsteps, the time or a stopwatch countdown –  one has to access each separately, pushing several buttons.

Another drawback that this watch has is the fact that it doesn’t have a touchscreen. This may sound weird since it is expected for almost all current smartwatches to have a touchscreen, but this device doesn’t have one.

This is only one aspect of a broader problem, which is that the watch mainly functions as an in-between device rather than a completely functional one. For example, when paired with a cellphone, the watch will give you notifications of having a text message, but will not display the actual message. The same thing happens with phone calls and emails.

Overall, I think the Matrix Powerwatch X is a device developed with a boundary-pushing mentality, but that leaves a lot to be desired in its performance. It will be interesting to see if other developers that have the expectations associated with smartwatches more in mind will adopt this technology in the future. But right now, the watch is pricey and not really effective as it is.

Featured image via Pixabay