New wearable fitness trackers and smart watches will hit retail shelves in time for the holidays, with Fossil launching its first wearables line and Misfit’s Shine 2 fitness tracker boasting features not available on its predecessor.
Watchmaker Fossil entered the wearables business with two bracelet-like fitness trackers and two smart watches, one of which runs on Google’s Android Wear OS.
Fossil’s Q collection incorporates Intel technology and connects via Bluetooth to Android and Apple phones running Fossil’s app, which tracks calories burned and distance run. The devices also connect to fitness apps Google Fit, Health, Up by Jawbone and UA Record by Under Armour. The devices also notify wearers of social-media updates, calls and meetings filtered by contacts or by apps. Users also have the option to send all phone notifications to the wearables.
The Fossil wearables are compatible with Android 4.3 and higher and iPhone 5 and above running iOS 8.2 and higher.
Fossil: Here’s what Fossil is putting in stores in time for Christmas:
The Q Reveler, in stores Oct. 25 at $125, is a bracelet-type wearable that notifies users of incoming notifications by vibration and color LEDs.
The bracelet-style Q Reveler, available Oct. 25 at $125, will come with choice of a leather band or a silicone work-out band. It also notifies users of incoming notifications by vibration and color LEDs.
The Q Grant smart watch, available Oct. 25 at $175 to $195, looks like a watch but incorporates fitness tracking and alerts wearers to emails, texts, phone calls and app news. It vibrates to alert users of notifications and flashes two LEDs in a color that can be customized to specific contacts.
At a price starting at $275, the Q Founder is the Android Wear smart watch, which the company said “will be available just in time for the holiday shopping season.”
All will be sold at Fossil boutiques and Fossil.com
Misfit: For its part, Misfit launched the Shine 2 fitness and sleep monitor at $99. Unlike its $69 Shine predecessor, the device adds notifications and control of a phone’s camera to take a selfie, phone-stored and music-streaming services (pause, play, skip, volume), ability to advance slides in a presentation, and control the Misfit Bolt connected LED bulb. Text and call notifications trigger LED lights and vibration.
Like its predecessor, the Shine 2 can be worn on a clasp, wristband, or necklace.
The Shine 2 is available for purchase on Misfit.com and will in retail locations worldwide in November.
Other enhancements include more accurate seep and activity monitoring via the addition of a three-axis magnetomer to join a three-axis accelerometer.
