Adidas has joined the growing ranks of fitness brands getting in on the wearable tech craze, coming up with its own wristband called the miCoach Fit Smart, which has been announced this week after rumors of its arrival spread in early July. While it may look like a FuelBand competitor, it’s not going to appeal to those who want to casually track their activities all day, every day. Instead, the Fit Smart is going to appeal to seriously sporty fitness fanatics only.
It has a heart rate monitor built in, which shows how your body is reacting to exercise, so as overly tanned fitness instructor may say, you can stay “in the zone.” Adidas has fitted a set of FuelBand-like LED lights to the Fit Smart, which provide a visual guide to how intensely you’re working out. There are four color coded zones, blue, green, yellow, and red, helping you stay motivated. The wrist band vibrates to let you know when you shift to the next level.
The Fit Smart connects to its own mobile application where it’s possible to set weekly and longer term goals, while it’ll also be integrated with the existing miCoach Train and Run mobile app. This should make it slightly more accessible to casual users, but the Fit Smart is certainly not aimed at someone who struggles to get off the couch for a weekly gym visit.
You’ll have to sync the Fit Smart regularly too, as it only retains ten hours of workout data, and the battery needs charging on average every five days, assuming you work out for an hour each day. Adidas has made its own charging station, which comes with the device.
Adidas will release the Fit Smart in the U.S. on August 15 through its own website, where it will cost $200. By the end of the month, Best Buy will be stocking the fitness band, while its global launch will come in September.
