This Cool New Gadget Turns Your Old Watch Into A Smartwatch For Half The Price

The Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, and Pixel Watch are a few examples of the best smartwatches available on the market. Several other brands also make smartwatches that pair with the most popular smartphones. The advantage of a smartwatch is that it tracks a variety of health metrics, including fitness activities and sleep, in addition to quickly relaying notifications. The problem with smartwatches is that they can make your traditional watch less practical. Tracking health parameters around the clock means having to wear a smartwatch instead of an analog model. But that's where the Heir, from new startup Ganance, comes in handy. It's a puck-like device containing health sensors that attaches to the back of traditional watches to turn them into smartwatches.

While the Heir is an alternative to the Apple Watch and other smartwatches, it doesn't offer the full set of health features you'd expect. This gadget's advantage is that it lets you keep wearing your existing watches, which may be unique timepieces or gifts from a loved one, without giving up the usefulness of health trackers entirely. The Heir is still in its preorder phase, priced at $149, with another batch of deliveries scheduled to start this spring, which means you may need to wait to use it.

The Heir weighs 5 grams, has a diameter of 30 mm, and a thickness of 3 mm. That makes it suitable for most conventional watches with a minimum diameter of 34 mm that has a flat or slightly curved back. The gadget attaches to the back of analog watches via microsuction rather than magnets. This lets you easily remove the Heir from one watch for another watch in your collection or for charging.

The device offers 42 hours of battery life, according to the official product pages. The Heir can be recharged wirelessly with a proprietary dock, similar to how the Apple Watch recharges. The gadget is splash-proof, which makes it good for tracking daily activity, and wearing it in rainy conditions. But the company says the tracker isn't designed for swimming. However, users should not shower with the Heir still attached to their watch.

The Heir doesn't offer a display of any sort, given that it's hidden out of sight when in use, sitting between your wrist and watch. To access the health information it gathers, you'll need to install the companion app on your iPhone or Android phone, which needs to be paired to the Heir over Bluetooth. The Ganance app will track activity parameters (steps, distance, calories, and active minutes), but it doesn't offer heart rate tracking, which may be a core smartwatch feature for many users. The health data is synced with Apple Health or Health Connect. Ganance also says that all health data is encrypted and stored securely. In addition to health tracking, the Heir offers support for notifications. The device will vibrate when the phone receives calls and messages.

The Heir is one way to turn a conventional watch into a smartwatch, but it doesn't offer the same base health features as an entry-level Apple Watch or alternative. Also, the App Store reviews indicate that some of the early customers who have received their Heir units have experienced a few bugs, including connectivity issues. While most of those problems will likely get fixed, it's something to keep in mind. The Heir is still a new product that may need more refinement. The good news is that there's no subscription cost for the Ganance app. All future updates will be available for free, including improvements to the current experience.

Interestingly, the company also offers a $39 HeirBand accessory that turns the Heir into a display-less smart tracker that can be worn around the wrist without a watch. Similar health trackers already exist from competitors, like the $199/year Whoop– a health tracker for the wrist that doesn't feature a display. You could wear a health tracker without a display on one wrist and your old conventional watch on the other. A smart ring can also help you track health parameters while you wear a traditional watch. Options like the $349 Oura 4 model or the $399.99 Galaxy Ring from Samsung are excellent alternatives to consider. However, the Heir is cheaper than all these other options.