Fitness trackers have been part of Misfit’s line of devices since its inception, and the company does know what they’re doing with their development strategy, seeing as the company is focusing on different price spectrums to focus on different kinds of users. After having the Misfit Vapor announced earlier and due for release any time now, the company has announced another new wearable – the Misfit Flare.
Mistfit Flare is priced at just $60
The Misfit Flare is an entry-level device that measures activity as well as sleep and is priced at an attractive $60. In that price-point, users will get a capacitive touch sensor as well as a single LED to display the progress. The tracker will also bear an unorthodox form of battery power, in the form of a CR1632 coin cell battery that can power the tracker for four months straight. Users will be able to take it for a swim, being water-resistant as well, for up to 50 metres.
The tracker itself is a single-piece design without any modular elements. It looks sleek and does not really demand attention. What might be a sore point for users would be the lack of colour options, being available only in a black variant. The LED of the tracker will flash at different instances the closer the user reaches their fitness goal. One flash for reaching 25%, two flashes for reaching 50%, 3 flashes for 75% and upon completing the goal, a cool LED light animation for be conjured by the device in order to celebrate.
The Flare can also track how well the user is sleeping, how many steps they have travelled as well as how many calories they have burned. According to The Verge, the Flare is good at only these things, because it only offers these features. At the low-price point, there is not much else that can be added on such a device. This means, no way to receive call and text alerts from the phone. For getting those features, buyers will have to shell out $99.99. The Verge also highlights that the company’s owner, Fossil, will benefit from the addition of such a basic functioning watch, since they already different kinds of smartwatches available at different price-points but no wearable that only does tracking. The Flare will thus, be able to fit nicely in the company’s portfolio and cover a brand-new price-range.
Misfit’s offering is interactive to a limited extent, where the touch capacitive layer on the watch-face can be pressed on to be used as a kind of “smart button” through Misfit Link, when connected to a smart phone. This enables specific activities to be activated when configured with the companion app. Now granted, Misfit’s offering is not the lowest price wearable ever made. The Mi Band by Xiaomi killed in sales when it had first come out at a tempting price of just $23, providing more or less, the same essential features of the Misfit Flare. It is still an innovative way for Misfit to fit itself in the entry-level market.
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