Withings Steel HR Sport marks the brand's big comeback with style and multisport tracking
Founded in 2008, Withings claims to have “paved the way for all hybrid smartwatches” with the “groundbreaking” 2014 launch of the beautiful Activité wearable. But the company didn’t exactly thrive under Nokia’s management between 2016 and 2018, prompting its original cofounder to buy back the business and revive the brand.
The Withings Steel HR Sport is now here to battle various fitness-centric devices from the likes of Fitbit and Garmin, combining an unquestionably stylish design with a fairly robust feature set.
Priced at a reasonable $199.95, the Steel HR Sport comes with a 40 mm stainless steel case, water-resistant build, and your choice of white or black face colors. It definitely looks less classy and “traditional” than the regular Steel HR, but for a very good reason.
Its smartphone notification-displaying abilities are substantially upgraded, with over 100 apps now supported instead of just calls, texts, and event reminders. A “discrete” new OLED display also shows all the health and sports data you should really care about, including daily steps, calories, distance, and heart rate.
A single side-mounted button is in charge of UI navigation, while the Steel HR Sport is also billed as the first product “within the Steel HR range” to offer GPS support. Unfortunately, we’re merely talking about “connected” GPS tracking, which means you’ll be needing your Android or iOS phone on hand to map your workouts.
That’s obviously not as impressive as the “multisport tracking” capabilities of certain professional Garmin devices, but it’s pretty good for such a classically handsome watch. The Withings Steel HR Sport can even generate “Fitness Level” assessments based on complex VO2 max measurements, boasting a remarkable 25-day battery life, and already shipping from the company’s official e-store, with Amazon and “selected retailers” to follow.
The Withings Steel HR Sport is now here to battle various fitness-centric devices from the likes of Fitbit and Garmin, combining an unquestionably stylish design with a fairly robust feature set.
Its smartphone notification-displaying abilities are substantially upgraded, with over 100 apps now supported instead of just calls, texts, and event reminders. A “discrete” new OLED display also shows all the health and sports data you should really care about, including daily steps, calories, distance, and heart rate.
A single side-mounted button is in charge of UI navigation, while the Steel HR Sport is also billed as the first product “within the Steel HR range” to offer GPS support. Unfortunately, we’re merely talking about “connected” GPS tracking, which means you’ll be needing your Android or iOS phone on hand to map your workouts.
Speaking of workouts, the Withings Steel HR Sport allows you to select from over 30 different activities, including yoga, rowing, boxing, skiing, and ice hockey, delivering customized information on intensity and other in-depth stats.
That’s obviously not as impressive as the “multisport tracking” capabilities of certain professional Garmin devices, but it’s pretty good for such a classically handsome watch. The Withings Steel HR Sport can even generate “Fitness Level” assessments based on complex VO2 max measurements, boasting a remarkable 25-day battery life, and already shipping from the company’s official e-store, with Amazon and “selected retailers” to follow.
source: Withings
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: