Today, Glide unveiled CMRA, an industry-first smart watchband for Apple Watch featuring two HD cameras for seamless photo and video capture directly from your wrist.
The CMRA wristband is the brainchild of former Apple Watch engineer, Shawn Grening, and Glide CEO, Ari Roisman, who began developing the product together at Glide in June 2015.
The dual-camera band equips Apple Watch with the same camera capabilities as a smartphone—a self-facing camera for photos and video chat and an outward-facing camera for the amazing and unexpected moments you share with the world.
“Life’s spontaneous moments happen fast and are easy to miss. Having a camera instantly accessible on the wrist makes capturing and sharing incredibly simple and convenient,” said Ari Roisman, CEO of Glide. “As smartwatches become independent of the phone, wrist cameras will become commonplace for capturing memories and communicating visually. We are thrilled to be the first to deliver on this long-awaited vision—something science fiction has imagined for over half a century.”
With CMRA’s dual high-definition cameras, Apple Watch users will soon experience:
• Instant photo and video capture: Snap a hi-res photo or capture HD video from the 8-megapixel outward-facing camera and 2-megapixel self-facing camera.
• Photo and video chat from the wrist: Snap a selfie or share live video directly from your wrist with a single tap. CMRA enables futuristic, science-fiction-like visual communication on your watch. It’s fast, natural and feels like magic.
• Immediate sharing, robust storage and all day battery: Photos and videos captured with CMRA can be shared instantly on popular apps like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Glide’s visual messenger, all directly from the CMRA Apple Watch app. Photos and videos are saved to the device’s 8GB embedded memory that holds thousands of photos. Embedded rechargeable battery lets you capture hundreds of photos or more than 30 minutes of live video on a single charge.
• Capture without compromise: CMRA users can capture life’s moments hands-free, with no need to retrieve, hold, or stare through a phone. CMRA is designed to facilitate quick, natural capture and sharing of everyday moments, without interruption.
• Seamless integration: CMRA is Bluetooth and WiFi enabled for rapid and seamless media transfer to iPhone or the cloud. Photos and videos, captured on the CMRA Apple Watch app, automatically sync to your iPhone’s camera roll.
• Stylish functionality: The durable, splash-resistant elastomer bands are soft and flexible and come in four colors: blue, black, white and a limited-edition gray.
• Simultaneous charging: CMRA comes with a thoughtfully designed charging stand that simultaneously charges your Apple Watch and CMRA band. In addition, the CMRA charging stand includes an embedded battery that holds enough power to charge both your Apple Watch and CMRA two times on a single charge.
• Companion app: CMRA is controlled by the CMRA app, available for download from the App Store. CMRA owners will also be able to use additional Apple Watch Apps offering camera functionality through the CMRA Developer SDK. Photo and video apps supporting CMRA will be announced soon.
CMRA is now available for pre-order starting at $149 with plans to ship beginning Spring 2017. The CMRA band is available for pre-order starting today at a discounted launch price of $149 for a limited time at http://getcmra.com. Afterward, CMRA will be available for pre-order online for $199. CMRA will then be available in stores at a $249 MSRP.
CMRA will open its SDK to select developers later this year. Developers can apply for early access to the hardware and SDK at: getcmra.com/developers
MacDailyNews Take: Hello, Dick Tracy!
We’re looking to get our hands on a CMRA wristband to review ASAP.