The Birth of Solana’s Eco-friendly Watch
Solana’s launch of the Saga phone set a sales record due to its “airdrop” benefits, with prices on the second-hand market on eBay reaching an astonishing $5,000, while the original phone was priced at only $999 (later reduced to $599).
Now, the Solana ecosystem has created the smartwatch “Showtime,” a wearable device that combines AI and blockchain technology.
Developed by innovative tech company Hetaro Labs, Showtime’s CEO, Ben Crox, who is also a senior participant in the Solana ecosystem, stated that the Human-Computer Interface will develop to a level of naturalness, just like wearing clothes, snapping fingers, and speaking, “The machine will know you, follow you, and understand you. And the emergence of the Showtime watch will bring us closer to this kind of life.”
Showtime itself is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 processor, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage space. Additionally, the watch runs on the Android operating system. Showtime also features an AMOLED display screen and supports GPS, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC technology, giving the watch the basic ability to interact with other devices.
Of course, the smartwatch also includes basic health monitoring features. Showtime has built-in motion and health sensors that can track user steps, heart rate, sleep patterns, and other indicators.
Combining AI+Web3 Functionality
One of Showtime’s unique highlights is its AI partner, the built-in Show AI, which can learn user habits and preferences to provide a predictive personalized experience. For example, it can recommend physical activities that match the user’s preferences, experiences, and abilities, or even provide airdrop prompts based on the user’s risk preferences and investment portfolio.
Because Showtime operates on the Solana blockchain, the watch becomes your digital wallet, allowing you to perform transactions, play blockchain games, and present NFT certificates from your wallet just by wearing Showtime.
Furthermore, Showtime has partnered with Coolso, a company with multiple patented technologies, to enable the watch to accurately recognize finger movements and their intensity, with quick response times. For example, a simple fist bump can be used to exchange business cards with someone, and raising your hand can receive airdrop rewards from the watch’s wallet.
Creating a “Beyond Phone” Smartwatch
Why choose to create a smartwatch instead of releasing another phone? Ben Crox stated that after discussing with many different Solana ecosystem participants, many people believe that achieving widespread adoption and changing people’s lives with devices requires challenging the market’s biggest competitors (Samsung, Apple, etc.). However, top-of-the-line phones are not only difficult for small teams to develop, but their prices are also not attractive to consumers. A smaller and more convenient smartwatch would be a better choice for mass adoption.
Ben Crox hopes that Showtime can change people’s perception of smartwatches, proving that the product is not just a tool for displaying time and detecting health indicators, but a highly functional device that can be used for payment, socializing, and even replace a phone.
To achieve this goal, Ben Crox particularly emphasizes the security design of Showtime. The developers use multi-signature and voice authentication techniques from blockchain technology to protect users’ security during payments and prevent theft.
Additionally, he is aware that even with advanced technology, users are concerned about information preservation in the event of loss or damage to the watch. Therefore, the Showtime team is committed to enhancing multi-factor authentication capabilities and improving data recovery.
Currently, Showtime already has many ecosystem partners, including Bonk, Genopets, and 852web3, and as the ecosystem expands, there may be more features, gameplay, and even airdrop rewards that will excite users.
Showtime is now available for pre-order at a price of 3 SOL (approximately $450), and the product is expected to ship in the first quarter of 2025.