Fresh from its split from Nokia, Withings is on a roll releasing its second health and fitness device, the Pulse HR. Inspired by the company’s first fitness tracker, the Pulse, the new Withings Pulse HR takes the best features of its recently released Steel HR Sport hybrid watch and bundles them into a slim and stylish fitness tracker.
Withings is known for paying attention to design as well as features, and this characteristic is apparent in the Pulse HR. The watch has a sleek design with a black, scratch-resistant polycarbonate front, a black-and-white OLED display, and a stainless steel casing. The casing houses the heart rate monitor, which sits flush against your skin. The Pulse HR also features a soft silicone band that is removable so owners can customize their watch to match their style.
The Pulse HR looks like a fitness tracker on the outside, but it has the features of a smartwatch under the hood. The user can raise her wrists and use the button to scroll through a variety of data screens including heart rate information, activity goals, workout detail, and incoming smartphone notifications. Users can receive alerts from text messages, emails, social media, news apps, and more. When a smartphone notification is received, the tracker will vibrate an alert and will display the information on the tracker’s screen.
For those who are serious about their health and fitness, the Pulse HR has an integrated heart rate sensor that monitors your heart rate every 10 minutes throughout the day and continually during a workout. This lets you track your resting heart rate as well as heart rate zones while exercising. It also has connected GPS that connects to your phone to monitor distance and pace during outside activities. The tracker also tracks sleep and has a handy, smart wake up feature that will trigger an alarm at the best point in a user’s sleep cycle.
The Pulse HR is available now for pre-order on Amazon or direct from Withings for $130. Shipments will begin when the tracker officially launches on December 5. Additional color wristbands will be available beginning in January.
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We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
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