The Vibe Check
If you are a watch enthusiast, you probably know the pain of needing a fitness tracker but not wanting to ruin your wrist aesthetic with a chunky piece of plastic. You want to keep your favorite analog watch, but you also need your health stats. Enter Hiyd, a startup that is highkey trying to solve this problem.
How It Works
Instead of making you wear a whole new device, Hiyd has developed a tiny, slim disc that sticks to the back of your current watch. Founder Salah Batroukh—who previously worked as a manufacturing design engineer at Apple—developed this using microsuction technology. It is basically a thin, textured silicone sheet that creates a vacuum, so it stays put without using gross adhesives or magnets that could mess with your watch’s inner workings. It is super light at 7 grams and only 0.3 mm thick.
The Tech Specs
So, what does this little guy actually track? It handles all the standard metrics: heart rate, HRV, sleep staging, movement, calories, and VO2 max. The company is currently using AI to analyze data sets of themselves doing different activities, like walking or jogging, to make sure the sensor is accurate. They are even working on a nutrition tracking feature in their app. It isn’t about counting every single calorie; it is about giving you personalized insights, like telling you if that late-night slice of cake ruined your deep sleep.
Why it matters
Batroukh wants to move away from the big-tech approach where products feel like "an Apple product" rather than something built for the user. With over 16,000 people already signed up via deposits, the hype is real. The company is competing at TechCrunch Disrupt this week and is dropping a Kickstarter campaign in November. If you have been waiting for health tech that doesn't scream "I'm wearing a gadget," this is definitely one to watch.
