Wi Things Activite Swiss Smartwatch Unboxing and Review

2 Weeks ago i got a Wi -Things Activite Smart watch. After some thorough testing, finally here are the unboxing pics and my review.

Before the unboxing, it is interesting to consider that this watch represents a first to market product from the Swiss watch industry defending their market against an all out assault from smart watches from Motorola, Samsung, LG, and next week Apple.

The Swiss watch manufacturers have joined together and created their own "smart watch" standard of hardwards sensors and Bluetooth radios. The design principle for the Swiss movement platform is that it needs to fit into a regular sized watch. Use a standard watch battery to power the device close to a year.  Have 1 dial that shows progress indicator for a metric like steps. Have a silent vibration alarm.

It will be very interesting to see how where the market goes for smart watches vs traditional analog watches which are dead simple elegant utilities.

OK back to the unboxing. I was very excited about finally ordering and getting this product, since it has been out of stock for months since its launch.  Reason for why i have been anticipating the Activite hat it is a very well executed intersection of 2 types of things i geek out on:

- Minimalist Watches with Analog dials (Preferably Swiss Made)

- Fitness / Health tech tracking bracelets , clips, etc ( fitbit, Jawbone Up, misfit shine etc)

The fact that the watch is French Designed and Swiss Made shows from the product and packaging. 

 

I have tried a number of various fitness bracelets and clips in the past and none of them stuck with me as much as a simple minimalist watch. Mainly due to battery life issues and the need to recharge the bracelet or clip. The Activite beautifully solved this issue, by using a standard watch battery CR3025 which is supposed to last 8 months !!! This is a battery life i can deal with for an object i use every day :)

The companion Healthmate app by Withings for iOS is really well done as well . It works well at pairing with the watch over blue tooth (the low power sipping kind). 

You can control the watch hands directly from the app, which is a cool party trick / way of making sure your watch is calibrated. For travellers this also lets your watch sync to the local timezone , based on the time zone your iPhone detects. The Activite watch hands automatically adjust :) 

Sleep Tracking and Step Tracking work as advertised. 

The app can even take your heart rate measurement, by shinning a light at your fingertip and detecting your pulse.

I also like the fun badges and event cards that healthmate adds into your timeline. 

Next step: 
Buy a Wi Things Smart Scale and start tracking how my activity and sleep levels interact with my weight.