French hardware startup Withings has released two smart-ish watches so far — the Activité and the Activité Pop. Today, the company is releasing a new model sitting between these two options, the Activité Steel.
Available exclusively on the company’s website for $169.95, the Activité Steel comes in a premium stainless steel body like the one on the flagship Withings Activité. But compared to the high end model, it is much cheaper. As a reminder, the Activité costs $450.
So what’s the difference between the two models? The most obvious one is the strap. With a silicone strap, the Activité Steel seems to have the same silicone strap as the Activité Pop. The Activité Steel also comes in one color — black.
There are other minor differences between the Activité Steel in the Activité, such as the index markers and the hands. But it remains pretty minor. Other than that, the Activité Steel is a steal. The aggressive price tag might come from the distribution channel. By selling the Steel exclusively on the company’s website, Withings doesn’t have to pay distributors.
So what’s the Withings Activité anyway? It’s a fitness tracker built into a nice watch. You pair it with your phone using Bluetooth, and it will then track your steps and sleep cycles. You can find your data in the Withings Health Mate app on iOS and Android. There’s a small hand on the watch indicating your progress every day as well.
Compared to other fitness tracker, the Activité is quite good when it comes to swimming. It is water-resistant up to 50 meters, and it automatically detects when you’re swimming in order to track your activity.
It uses a standard watch battery and very little power, so you just need to change the battery every 8 months, according to the company. Finally, my favorite feature is that your watch automatically displays the correct time. If you fly to another country, your phone should switch to a new time zone thanks to the GPS, and your watch will reflect the time difference. Pretty neat.
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