Veldt Luxture: Our first take

A luxury hybrid smartwatch that instead of simply collecting activity data, may use it to help improve our lives.

One thing we always dislike about activity trackers is the lack of actionable feedback. They take our data, show us what has been happening, but very rarely tell us what it means and how we can improve our well being, fitness, or life in general. Veldt, a Japanese brand, may have the answer with its Luxture hybrid smartwatch and its Life Rhythm feature, which places the emphasis on changing our lives for the better with the data it collects.

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The Luxture is still a prototype and the companion app is still in development, but the plan is very clear. The watch will use various sensors to track movement, steps, sleep, and UV exposure, plus it’ll monitor your calendar activity through your phone. Each day you tell the app how you’re feeling, either after exercise, after waking up in the morning, or after your day has finished. Using all this data, the app will gradually begin to understand what schedule and activities make you feel great, and which ones don’t.

This will require dedication from you, but the results are likely to be worth it. Rather than simply telling you how much sleep you’ve had over the past week, the Veldt Luxture will tell you how much sleep you should have from now on to feel your best. Everyone’s ideal sleep pattern is different, and can be affected by activity during the day, so it’s not always going to be the same every night. The potential for telling us if we’ve had enough sunlight is interesting too, both for skin protection and for our vitamin D levels.

Notifications will also appear on the Luxture. However, because there’s no screen, they’re presented using an LED lighting system around the edge of the dial. Colors can be customized to represent certain people or events, while other data is fixed — blue lights for rain in the weather app, for example. It’s subtle enough that it’s not intrusive, and the many color variations really enhance the look of the watch. The final version will have an NFC chip built into the strap, ready for use with mobile payments and ticketing systems, without putting strain on the battery.

The Veldt Luxture is very slim at 11.8mm, compact, and lightweight. You’ll hardly know it’s on your wrist, and it looks more like jewelry than a sporty lifestyle product. Sapphire crystal covers the face and the wireless charging system on the back, and best of all the battery is expected to last for about a week. Veldt’s making the Luxture’s style and design as much of a feature as Life Rhythm, and the watch comes in various colors and styles. Our favorite is the red and black model.

One of the models has a dial made from stone slate, which is then machined down and added to the strap too. It’s still flexible so it won’t crack, and looks superb, plus it’s really unusual. Veldt’s other watch, the larger Serendipity, is available with straps and dials that have been hand-painted by a Kyoto-based artist, making each one unique. We’d expect similar styles to eventually reach the Luxture.

The Veldt Luxture has the chance to cure a massive activity tracking pain point, but at the moment, the benefits are only going to be available to a select few, due to the expected high price. It’s not final yet, but a Luxture model made from highest quality materials may cost up to $2,000. The Serendipity model is priced between $1,080 and $1,680, so it’s in-line with the company’s current product. Thankfully, Veldt told us it may launch a model at around $500, using less premium materials, in the future.

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For now, Veldt expects to have the Luxture on sale sometime in the winter this year. However, do remember this is a prototype seen here, and plans may change between now and then.

Highs:

• Focus on lifestyle improvement over fitness tracking
• Luxury design
• Premium materials
• Wireless charging

Lows:

• Expensive
• Still a prototype