Under Armour unveils fitness gadgets

Under Armour announced a partnership with HTC to create a suite of connected fitness products, as well as a partnership with Harman for two headphones at CES 2016 on Tuesday. For now we don’t know when HTC would bring it to India but the company had earlier said that it would launch the new wearable devices in India in January. Not judging, I do it too.

In addition to the UA HealthBox, Under Armor also debuted its first connected shoe. Which has become an enormous treasure trove of user data in the previous year mainly due to Under Armour’s major digital health acquisitions. The result this time around is the UA Healthbox, a set of three interconnected devices whose aim is to provide the user with a full overview of their health and fitness.

A step up from the more casual approach to data collection and fitness tracking is the UA Heart Rate, a chest-worn heart rate monitor that more accurately accrues statistics like ideal heart rate zone for weight loss or cardio goals.

All three devices work interchangeably with the UA Record app, which measures nutrition, fitness, sleep, and daily activity. But the tl;dr is that it’s a $180 activity tracking wristband with optical heart rate sensors that also records a variety of different workouts. This chest strap will provide a more accurate heart rate reading than the UA Band. The UA Band features a seamless exterior shell with a display hidden under an outer layer, allowing the technology to disappear when it is not in use. It looks like you won’t be able to buy the UA Band, UA Heart Rate, or the UA Scale individually. The SpeedForm Gemini 2 Record Equipped shoes are available February 29 for $150 (international prices are unavailable, but that’s about £100 or AU$210). Expected battery life is around five to seven days.

You don’t need to install anything or turn on the shoes, either.

These are the heart rate-free version.

Completing the first wave of Under Armour’s next-generation products are two pairs of wireless earbuds with a fantastic design and JBL sound. The UA Band also has an optical heart rate monitor on its underside, but the company says this will be used only to get your resting heart rate, similar to the Jawbone Up4.

As smart scales go, the UA Scale is certainly very attractive. Each quadrant fills up when certain goals are met. In the middle, your weight goals are stored with the tap of a finger. Products from competitors such as Withings, Fitbit, Apple Watch, Google Fit, TomTom, Jawbone, Misfit, Polar and more can all link up to UA Record to share data or connect together.

The hardware seems fine so far.

“Our intention is that Record will be the one app that everyone has on their phone”, Thurston says. I’ve been wearing them consistently and nearly like them more for comfort than I do for the untethered-running option. The scale is responsive.