At CES 2026 a Paris startup introduced a watch strap that begs a simple question: why choose? Smartlet’s stainless‑steel band lets you mount an analog timepiece on the top of your wrist and tuck a smartwatch or fitness tracker face‑down underneath. The pitch is irresistible to people who own a luxury mechanical watch but don’t want to give up notifications, payments or fitness tracking.
The product’s founder, David Ohayon, framed it as a solution to a tiny but persistent morning decision — pick the Rolex or the Apple Watch? Smartlet says you don’t have to. For $418 you get the modular strap system (you still provide both watches). It supports most major smartwatches and trackers — Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch, Google Pixel Watch, Garmin, Fitbit Charge and Whoop among them — and fits analogs with lug widths from 18 to 24 mm, which covers many vintage and high‑end brands.
What it does and how it works
The band bolts to a mechanical watch on the outside and creates a recessed cradle on the underside for a smartwatch or band‑style tracker. When assembled, the company estimates the system adds roughly 9–12 mm of thickness to the padding under your wrist — enough to change how your sleeve falls and how your arm meets a desk.
Compatibility matters here: if you rely on an Apple Watch for seamless payments and health alerts, Smartlet claims to accommodate it. That said, Apple Watch owners are already navigating regulatory and software quirks — like the company’s recent decision to alter how watch‑phone Wi‑Fi sync works in the EU — so integrating across ecosystems can be messy in practice (Apple to Disable iPhone–Apple Watch Wi‑Fi Sync in EU as DMA Deadline Looms).
The appeal — and the risks
There’s a clear romantic logic in Smartlet’s storytelling. Luxury watches are status objects; smartwatches are functional tools. Placing both on one wrist keeps the “investment piece” visible while your wrist still buzzes with messages and counts steps. The marketing leans heavily into that image — think boardroom polish with gym‑floor metrics — and even borrows language from classic watch culture.
But critics were blunt. Detractors point out the underside placement turns a smartwatch screen into a scratch magnet. Everything your wrist touches — desks, countertops, car doors — becomes an abrasion test. Stack a touchscreen against the sweatiest part of your arm and you’ve invited invisible wear. The extra bulk also changes ergonomics: sleeve fit, keyboard posture and comfort while resting your wrist on surfaces. One reviewer called it a design that “disrespects both watches at the same time.”
There’s also an aesthetic critique: hiding a smartwatch isn’t neutral. It reads as an attempt to have the prestige of analog while secretly clinging to the digital. Some would rather wear two watches honestly on both wrists than conceal one beneath the other.
Context in the wider wearables world
Smartlet isn’t the first oddball attempt to reconcile old and new. The wearables landscape keeps expanding — from smart rings that promise subtle tracking to connected glasses — and companies are experimenting with form factors that blur jewelry and gadgetry. If you follow how brands are trying to make tech more discreet, the Smartlet is one of the more literal (and literal‑looking) experiments; it sits somewhere between a clever engineering tweak and a fashion statement that asks for daily compromise. For a sense of how the broader wearable ecosystem is evolving, watch updates like the Ray‑Ban Meta firmware and app shifts, which show how quickly hardware and software expectations move.
If you’re curious but cautious: the strap sells alone — no watches included — and at $418 it’s aimed at a narrow slice of the market. Some will love the convenience; others will see it as an expensive workaround for a choice most people are happy to make each morning.
Smartlet’s band is a vivid reminder that as tech follows fashion, designers will keep trying to solve problems that are part practical and part psychological. Whether hiding a smartwatch under a Rolex is clever or comical depends on your priorities: style, convenience, or simply good sense.