wena

wena is a Japanese hybrid wearable brand that integrates smartwatch functionality into the band or buckle of a traditional analog watch, allowing users to keep their favorite watch head while gaining notifications, contactless payments, and activity tracking. The project originated in 2015 from Sony's internal Seed Acceleration Program and raised over 100 million yen through the First Flight crowdfunding platform. The first-generation model, wena wrist, launched in June 2016 and combined an analog watch face with a band containing FeliCa electronic money, smartphone notifications, and an activity tracker. Subsequent generations—wena wrist pro, wena wrist active, and wena 3—added features such as OLED displays, water resistance, GPS, heart-rate sensing, voice assistant Alexa, and Suica support. In 2024, Sony announced the end of support for wena 3 by February 2026, and in March 2026 the brand and related trademarks were transferred to augment AI, led by CEO Teppei Tsushima, who had been the wena business lead at Sony. The first product under augment AI, wena X, was announced on March 17, 2026, featuring a two-way structure that switches between watch mode and smartwatch mode, and is positioned as the world's smallest smartwatch. The brand targets users who value traditional watch aesthetics while wanting modern smart features, and it operates primarily in the Japanese market.

wena began in 2015 as an internal venture within Sony's Seed Acceleration Program. The project sought to create a hybrid wearable that would add smart functionality to traditional analog watches without replacing the watch head. In August 2015, the wena project launched on Sony's First Flight crowdfunding platform and raised over 100 million yen. The first-generation product, wena wrist, was released in June 2016. It embedded FeliCa electronic money, smartphone notification alerts, and an activity tracker (steps and calories) into the watch band, with LED indicators and vibration for notifications. In March 2017, a new color for the Chronograph model, Chronograph White, was added. Later in 2017, wena wrist leather was introduced, a leather band with only electronic money functionality, using a custom FeliCa module that required no charging and supported services like Rakuten Edy. On December 21, 2017, the second-generation wena wrist pro was launched, featuring an OLED display, 5 ATM water resistance, and a band that was approximately 25% slimmer in width and thickness. Also on that date, mechanical (automatic) and solar-powered watch heads were added for the wena wrist line; these heads contained no electronic functions and were used in combination with wena bands. In early March 2018, the running-focused wena wrist active was released, with a silicone rubber band, GPS, optical heart-rate sensor, and a structure allowing the watch head to be detached during exercise. On October 1, 2020, the third-generation wena 3 was announced, featuring a 6.9mm-thick large touchscreen in the buckle, Alexa voice assistant, and support for Suica and other electronic money; it went on sale on November 27, 2020. In 2021, wena released collaboration models developed with Seiko Watch (such as the PROMASTER Edition) and signed a cooperation agreement with Citizen Watch for its IoT platform Riiiver. In 2024, Sony announced that support and services for the wena 3 series would end in February 2026, with new registrations for Suica functionality stopping at the end of November 2025; no successor model was announced at that time. On February 28, 2026, wena 3 support ended, disabling new smartphone linkages. On March 2, 2026, Sony announced the transfer of wena trademarks and related assets to augment AI, whose representative director and CEO is Teppei Tsushima, the wena business lead. On March 17, 2026, augment AI announced wena X, the first product after the transfer. wena X features a two-way structure that allows easy switching between watch mode and smartwatch mode, and is positioned as the world's smallest smartwatch. It includes a newly designed buckle structure (international patent application PCT/JP2024/001061), a wena OS based on RTOS, a curved AMOLED display with about 1.7 times the display area of the previous model, surgical steel (SUS316L) exterior, and DLC coating. The brand continues under augment AI.

• wena project launches on Sony's First Flight crowdfunding platform, raising over 100 million yen.

• First-generation wena wrist released.

• Chronograph White color added.

• Second-generation wena wrist pro released; mechanical and solar watch heads added.

• wena wrist active released for running.

• Third-generation wena 3 announced.

• wena 3 goes on sale.

• Collaboration with Seiko Watch and cooperation agreement with Citizen Watch.

• Sony announces end of wena 3 support by February 2026.

• wena 3 support ends.

• Sony transfers wena trademarks to augment AI.

• wena X announced as first product under augment AI.

Premium hybrid smartwatch that preserves the look of traditional watches while adding smart features.

• wena wrist

  First-generation hybrid smartwatch band with FeliCa electronic money, notifications, and activity tracker.

• wena wrist pro

  Second-generation model with OLED display, 5 ATM water resistance, and slimmer band.

• wena wrist active

  Running-focused model with silicone band, GPS, and optical heart-rate sensor.

• wena 3

  Third-generation model with large touchscreen in buckle, Alexa, and Suica support.

• wena X

  Fourth-generation model with two-way structure, wena OS, and world's smallest smartwatch claim.

1. 1wena X（クロス）｜日本発・世界最小スマートウォッチwena.jp
2. 2wena - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Wena - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org