Withings refreshes activity tracker line with classic looking Pulse HR

Going on pre-sale today, Withings Pulse HR is a great option for those that prefer the look of a traditional fitness tracker, but also want some key features.

Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets

The French consumer electronics company is certainly not wasting any time. A few months after Éric Carreel, its co-founder and former chairman, re-acquired the company from Nokia, they launched Steel HR Sport. Now they are back with a new device.

Pulse HR is an updated version of Withings Pulse, the company’s first fitness tracker released back in 2013. This seems to be the the rumored Withings Go 2 we wrote about recently.

The gizmo offers a sleek design, 20 day battery life, smart notifications, rich fitness features and connected GPS capabilities. All at a reasonable price.

Under the hood, there’s the usual gamut of fitness tracking sensors. This includes a heart rate monitor that will take a measurement every 10 minutes and continuously during exercise. Sleep tracking offers info on length and quality of your nightly rest and an overall Sleep Score in the Health Mate app. There’s also a Smart Wake-up alarm that will vibrate to bring you out of slumber when you are in a light stage of sleep.

When it comes to sports, Pulse HR has the ability to monitor over 30 different activities including walking, running, yoga, volleyball, rowing, boxing, skiing and more. Swimming is also here thanks to 5 ATM water resistance. The fitness band offers automatic activity recognition for 10 of the more popular activities, while others you’ll need to start manually.

Each activity has its own metrics viewable on the OLED display and Withings Health Mate app. The Connected GPS taps into your smartphone satellite signal to provide more detailed workout information for outdoor exercise.

“At Withings, we are dedicated to providing people with premium health and fitness tracking options that they can select from that best suit their personal lifestyles. With Pulse HR, we wanted to give people a new form factor from our Steel and Steel HR range that still offers the same wearability, quality design and best in class battery life,” said Eric Carreel, President of Withings.

“The band is the perfect fit for anyone who wants a device that offers important tracking features like heart rate monitoring at an affordable rate.”

Pulse HR brings back the classic fitness tracker look to the Withings’ range. It features a reinforced black polycarbonate surface that fits in a 316L stainless steel casing. You can pair this with different color soft silicone wristbands, and more color options to come early next year.

Perhaps best of all is the battery life. Pulse HR comes with a 110mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery that is good for up to 20 days between charges. This is just 5 days short of the Steel HR Sport, which packs similar specs but has the look of a traditional watch.

Pre-sales begin today on withings.com for £119.95. You can also pick it up on Amazon (check price). Withings says Pulse HR will ship in time for Christmas. We’re planning to put on to the test later this month, so stay tuned.

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