Humon shuts down service, will no longer sell Hex muscle oxygen sensor
Humon has announced it is shutting down shop. Existing users will be able to continue using Hex, but the startup will no longer sell the muscle oxygen sensor.
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Here’s the most important part of the announcement which was emailed yesterday to those on their distribution list.
“As of February 13th, 2020 we regrettably have no choice but to shut down most of the Humon service. Our iOS and Android mobile application will no longer be available for new downloads on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, our cloud backend and web platform will be shut down, and our support channels closed. That said, you’ll still continue to be able to use your Hex with your Garmin data field that will remain available to download on the Connect IQ Store.”
The company has not cited the reason for the decision, only saying “sadly, Humon will no longer be able to further develop this technology and make muscle oxygen available and understandable to the world.” The statement goes on to say “it is the necessary path forward today. It is also why we stopped selling the Hex in early January, as we began to realize that this would be the case.”
The company started out in 2015 and launched their first product, the Hex, three years later. The thing is essentially a wearable coach that helps you understand the limits of your body. Strap it on to your thigh and you’ll get real-time audio and visual feedback on the hemoglobin saturation in the quadriceps.
Knowing information on oxygen saturation allows you to warm-up properly, it lets you know your threshold so you can adjust your pace, and it lets you know when you are sufficiently recovered for a new training session.
In our review we found all of this works well. With Hex we were able to adjust workout intensity accordingly. It takes guesswork out of the equation allowing users to maximize effort while avoiding over-training and potential injury.
If you head over to humon.io now, you’ll notice all products are marked as “sold out. So you are no longer able to purchase it.
We suspect there’s a good chance the startup has sold the technology to a larger company. This is not an uncommon story, and it might be good news in the long-run as it would allow for a much bigger penetration of the market. Let’s hope this is the case.
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