Ask most girls out there – and many guys, too – and you will hear that accessorizing can make or break an outfit. Also, there is no such thing as too many fashionable accessories.
But what's a girl to do when she has a favorite watch, be it a traditional timepiece or a smartwatch, and it simply doesn't vibe with the rest of her outfit for the day?
It's not a huge dilemma, and it's definitely not the kind of problem that would keep the Earth from spinning. But it is a problem of the modern consumer. If said modern consumer happens to be the more traditional type that still glances at the wrist to tell the time, it's a problem without an apparent solution.
Enter Motorola, the pioneer of cellular telephones, as mobile phones were called back in the day. With its most recent concept of adaptive display and AI tech concepts, Motorola aims to replace traditional timepieces and smartwatches with a hybrid product – and to do so with plenty of flare.
Photo: Motorola
After years of being shunned, you could say that watches are having a moment right now. Smartwatches and health trackers have become the norm today, including with people not particularly concerned about their fitness or health. Traditional timepieces have also grown increasingly popular, and not just among collectors as before. At least for now, it's cool again to wear a watch on your wrist, whatever your reason for so doing and whatever the benefits you draw from it.
Watches are cool, but they're also fashionable. Let's be real, though, you can't buy one for every outfit of the day in the week – unless you're a millionaire, in which case, more power to you. An adaptable watch would solve this problem, and that's what Motorola is going for.
That said, the Motorola Adaptive Display concept unveiled at Lenovo Tech World '23 is not just a watch. It's a smartphone and a display, and it can also be worn as a watch, snapping around the wrist much like a slap bracelet from the glorious '80s (if you know you're old enough, you know).
Photo: Motorola
The difference is that it doesn't wrap around the entire wrist and, based on the footage released by the company, needs another bracelet underneath to stay in place. Also, unlike a snap bracelet, this one would be a much bigger loss if someone were to snatch it off your wrist – which, by the way, is a huge problem right now in many cities with expensive timepieces.
The concept aims to show the versatility of flexible hardware and, quite possibly, to blur the lines between modern devices and gadgets, hailing in a new transformative era for the smartphone. That's a lot of big words to say that Motorola believes this is the future of the modern mobile phone.
The FHD+ pOLED display folds, rolls, and adopts different positions depending on whatever purpose you're using it for. It also integrates four AI tech concepts, which help it do double duty as a personal assistant and "a tool to enhance everyday tasks, improve performance, and create more meaningful experiences for users."
Photo: Motorola
So you see, it's not justa watch. It comes with mobile doc scan, AI text summarization, and privacy content obfuscation, focusing on multiple functionality, ease of use, and privacy protection – and, of course, staying connected at all times, even on the go.
The fourth concept is a generative AI model that allows for constant customization, which, to return to the initial issue of fashionable accessories, turns the "watch" into the ideal accessory: modern, ever-customizable, and with extra functions no other watch could offer.
The AI model runs locally on the device and helps the wearer turn photos of their outfits into themes, which can then be set on both smaller displays. As the two videos below show, this means you will always, without fail, have the perfect, matching accessory for your outfit.
Photo: Motorola
"Convenience is at the forefront of innovation," Motorola says, promising that "the future has never looked brighter." As of the time of press, there's no word on possible plans to use the concept in an actual product, but Motorola is using it to pledge once more to deliver "innovative, on-the-go solutions that enhance mobility, pocketability, and overall ease for consumers."
But we'll take it – and not just for the sake of fashion – and we'll appreciate it as such, trying to put aside all negative thoughts of how uncomfortable such a large display would feel on a wrist, the kind of damage a clumsier person could cause to it, or the kind of frustration any sane person would feel when one of them watch thieves would simply snatch it off their wrist on a crowded city street.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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