A primer on the hottest hybrid smartwatches

From the top: Fossil, Mondaine, Skagen, and Misfit hybrid smartwatches. (Photo: Priscilla De Castro; art direction: Casey Hollister; fashion editor: Julie Tong)

What exactly is a hybrid smartwatch? To the naked eye, this new breed of tech watches may look just like a traditional watch, but what lies inside makes them truly unique.

All hybrid smartwatches have Bluetooth capability, which syncs up to an app on your phone. This is essentially the bread and butter of the watch. It is how the watch activates all of its digital features without having a digital screen of its own.

Through the app, you can use your watch to do just about everything from tracking your steps and calories to controlling your music and even activating notifications when your BFF or mom is calling or texting you.

My favorite feature is the camera component. While the watch does not have a camera of its own, you can link your watch to your smartphone’s camera. So if you were to place your phone on a shelf and huddle your friends together, you could easily snap a photo by simply pushing a button on your watch. No selfiestick or extra-long arms needed anymore.

The Apple Watch is old news — ahead is a new league of affordable yet sophisticated smartwatches that are tapping into a new generation.