There is certainly a market niche for people who
don't want a full-fledged smartwatch that has to be recharged every other day
and costs a pretty penny, but rather an elegant timepiece that will have some
smarts and connectivity, and doesn't have to be babysat. That's precisely the
niche that Misfit is targeting with its new Path stainless steel hybrid watch,
which is the smallest and arguably the most elegant one that the company has
announced to date.
Priced affordably at US$ 150 the Misfit Path looks like
a regular timepiece, wrapping around your wrist unobtrusively, but has
Bluetooth connectivity and sensors inside that allow it to shoot activity
tracking like step counting, sleep patterns, calories wasted and how long have
you walked or ran during the day or a set period. All this info is gleaned not
from a puny watch display, but from the comfort of your phone, connected to the
Path via the Misfit app. There's also a programmable side button that can act
as your phone's camera shutter, as a music playback controller, or can call
your phone if you misplace it somewhere.
The Path offers stainless steel, rose, gold, and a
steel/gold models, with swappable 16mm straps to go with them when it lands in
the spring. The best part besides the price? It comes with a coin battery that
is good for six months of endurance, and is still water-resistant up to depths
you'll never dive to.
