Adidas may take advantage of Nike’s decision to focus more on software, by releasing a FuelBand-esque fitness tracking wristband, currently known as the MiCoach Fit Smart. The device isn’t official yet, but leaks from a retailer and through the FCC both indicate an announcement isn’t far away.
The little device looks like a cross between the FuelBand and Adidas’ own Smart Run smartwatch. On the front is an LED dot display, just like the one on Nike’s activity tracking band, but instead of a bracelet design, the Fit Smart has an adjustable strap to keep it snuggly fitted on your wrist. Overall, it also owes a debt to Samsung’s Gear Fit in its design.
Three buttons of unknown function surround the display, which is mounted vertically like a watch, and underneath the watch face it appears the Fit Smart will have a heart rate monitor, just like many of this year’s fitness trackers. The FCC page reveals it’ll use Bluetooth 4.0 LE to connect to your smartphone, but there’s no mention of a dedicated app, or whether it’ll be compatible with both Android and iOS.
We can expect the announcement to come soon, due in part to Adidas being named as a Google Fit partner during Google I/O. This could make the Smart Fit one of the first devices to support Google’s open source health suite, ready to take on Apple’s HealthKit when it arrives as part of iOS 8.
Neither of the leaks indicate when Adidas will fire the starting pistol for the Fit Smart, or even confirm whether that will be the device’s final name. Like most fitness tracking wearables, Adidas’ offering will be price sensitive, and judging how it’s happy to charge $400 for the Smart Run, we may not be looking at a bargain device this time around either.
