Blocks modular smartwatch is launching its Kickstarter campaign on 13 October

The wait is over - you can finally pledge money for a Blocks watch next week
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Boy has Blocks made us wait for its indie modular smartwatch. It's been almost a year since the project shot to superstardom at Intel's Make It Wearable competition but Blocks is finally ready for Kickstarter.

The crowdfunding campaign will go live on 13 October at 9am PT/ 5pm BST/ 12pm ET. And to tease us even further before we get all the full specs, models and customisable functionality options via the swappable links, Blocks has released a swanky new video showing some UI elements and sexy close ups of two round faced watches.

Dubbed the Project Ara of smartwatches, the London-based team behind Blocks has won a lot of fans since the end of 2014 but since then plenty of big name smartwatches have been launched - the Apple Watch, the Moto 360 2 and the Samsung Gear S2 for starters.

It will be interesting to see how many people have stayed with Blocks throughout this underdog journey and how many will actually back the device on Kickstarter.

Read this: Design wearables for women or go home

The Blocks team posted a message on Medium emphasising how a modular system will save money and save the planet: "Back BLOCKS on Kickstarter. Not simply because we are building a pretty awesome smartwatch, but because there's more to BLOCKS than that. As tech enthusiasts, we have a responsibility to make sure that the industry we love is heading in the right direction.

"Modular technology isn't just a fancy name or a quirky concept that we thought up to make headlines. It is a new way of thinking. It changes our relationship with technology. It is more sustainable, better for the environment and the consumer: modular means less upgrades and more choice."

We don't have a confirmed shipping date yet but the word out of the Blocks camp is that the team wanted to get the product as close to finished as possible, with all manufacturing plans in place, before launching the pre-order campaign. So we could see a quicker turnaround than previous wearable Kickstarter projects.

Stay tuned for an in depth look at Blocks when the campaign goes live on Kickstarter on 13 October.

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Sophie was Wareable's associate editor. She joined the team from Stuff magazine where she was an in-house reviewer. For three and a half years, she tested every smartphone, tablet, and robot vacuum that mattered. 

A fan of thoughtful design, innovative apps, and that Spike Jonze film, she is currently wondering how many fitness tracker reviews it will take to get her fit. Current bet: 19.

Sophie has also written for a host of sites, including Metro, the Evening Standard, the Times, the Telegraph, Little White Lies, the Press Association and the Debrief.

She now works for Wired.


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