Sony launches Wena straps which makes regular watches a smartwatch

Love wearing traditional analog watches but want to get notifications or track your fitness on it as well? Sony has something in store for you. The company has launched a strap that can practically convert your regular watch into a smartwatch.

Wena, as Sony calls them, comes in two variants — Wena Wrist Active Wena Wrist Pro. The Wena Active is the budget variant amongst the two that is focused more towards fitness. It is made up of silicone and targets fitness users. It has GPS and a heart rate sensor that display all the stats on a display. The band is 20mm wide and has a ‘quick release system’ which assists the user to remove the head during workouts or while sleeping. It is designed to be more durable than the Pro variant as it is waterproof.

Wena Wrist Pro comes with a premium and fancier looking metal strap. Its functionality is limited to getting notifications, contactless payment and counting steps. Wena Pro is designed for users who wear luxury watches and gives them an alternative to use the strap as a hybrid smartwatch.

Both the smart straps support contactless payments and Sony has partnered with Mastercard, NXP and Wirecard for its Sony Wena Pay platform. These straps sync with the mobile app that is compatible on both, Android and iOS.

Wena smart bands are 20mm wide but are compatible and come in 18,20, and 22mm pin size watch heads. The Wena Pro is available in two colours- Silver and Black, while the Active is available only in black. Sony has also released four non-smart watch faces along with the Wena Straps.

The watches have just been launched in the UK as of now at a starting price of £349 for the Active and £399 for the Pro variant. These smart straps are expected to be launched in India in the coming years.