Withings Activite the clever classic swiss watch
It’s all well-and-good that your choice of smartwatch can include ones that resemble classic analogue timepieces, but they’ll never have that Swiss movement or actual real hands. So, what do you do if you want some clever sensors and a Swiss analogue watch? How about the Withings Activité?
The Activité is a rather neat looking watch by those health and fitness monitoring gurus at Withings.
Beneath its sleek Swiss dial lies accelerometer and motion sensors that track your steps, sleep, calories burned, and distance traveled.
Ok, so the fitness tracker may not offer the same notifications and input capabilities as its fancier digital touchscreen competitors, I’m digging its classic looks with new-school tech hidden under the bonnet.
Most of the information gathered by the Activité is displayed in the Health Mate app for iOS and Android, which conveniently syncs with Withings smart scales in order to keep track of your weight.
The great thing is that, even though the watch looks old-school, it does manage to display other data besides the time of day. The inset dial shows, how much progress you’ve made toward your daily activity goal as a percentage – You set your target in the mobile app.
The tech doesn’t stop there either! For example, you should never need to adjust the watch once its synced with your phone via Bluetooth LE; it will auto-adjust the time regardless of where you are. And the sapphire crystal is touch-sensitive – tap the glass and the watch will show your alarm clock settings.
Where the other smartwatches attempt to pack a computer in to a watch this means that you’ll be recharging it almost as much as your smartphone, not so with the Activité. The Activité uses a conventional watch battery that lasts as long as 8 months.
Other benefits over the current breed of smartwatches is that it’s Swiss, has a stainless case and is water resistant to 165 feet. It comes with a calf-leather strap but there are silicon straps in the box if you want to wear it in the pool or are against wearing animals.
Withings plans a free software update by the end of the year that will allow the watch to be used as a swimming tracker.
The Activité has been rumoured since the summer but Withings promises that it’s now just around the corner.
Preorder now for $450 (you can choose black or white) and the company says you’ll have it before the watch is widely available in late November.
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