Meet the Activité Pop, an Affordable, Stylish Smartwatch That Tracks Your Steps and Sleep
(Courtesy of Withings)
Here comes yet another high-tech contender for that empty space on your wrist.
Withings, which develops health-conscious gadgets like smart scales that analyze your body fat, announced a line of colorful sleep-and-activity tracking timepieces Sunday.
Though the $150 Activité Pop features a classic watch face, it’s capable of counting your steps, automatically identifying whether you’re swimming or running, and monitoring your sleep. Just like its many competitors, the Activité filters all this information into an iOS and a soon-to-come Android app, so you can set goals and follow your progress. And — unlike many of its competitors — it doesn’t look half bad, either.
(Courtesy of Withings)
The watch band — which comes in ridiculously named colors like “azure,” “shark grey,” and “sand” — is made of a silicone strap; its case is covered in a protective plasma coating. The watch face shows two hand dials: One tells you the time, while the other shows you what percentage of your step goal you’ve completed that day. The Activité Pop can also subtly vibrate to tell you when you’ve reached your goal or to wake you up in the morning.
While the Activité Pop performs the same basic functions as a health tracker, it doesn’t require nearly as much upkeep as, say, a Jawbone UP. Its battery lasts an estimated eight months before it needs to be replaced. It’s also tougher than your average health band; you can submerge it in up to 98 feet of water. And it’s smart enough to automatically adjust its hand dial when you change time zones.
This gadget comes on the heels of Withings’ June release of the Activité, a $450 Swiss-made watch. Like the Activité Pop, it measures your sleep quality and steps, tracks your distance, and estimates the calories you’ve burned. But, most importantly, it’s made of all the same stuff as a typical luxury watch: a stainless-steel case, a sapphire glass face that doubles as a touchscreen, and a French-made leather strap.
The Activité Pop may not be Swiss-made or quite as extravagant, but it carries the same stylish anti-smartwatch design as its predecessor for a much lower price. And, if it works as promised, it may very well be a strong contender to the Apple Watch, slated to appear next spring.
You can order Activité Pop on Best Buy’s website starting Jan. 5. The gadget will be available in stores nationwide starting in March 2015.
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