Misfit Wearables announced the availability of their newest Misfit Flare fitness + sleep tracker yesterday. Having been bought over by Fossil and teasing us with the Misfit Vapor smart watch, the company surprised by making available a spartan looking activity tracker with essential activity tracking features, bucking the fitness wearable trend of squeezing more features into hardware.I thought it’s interesting to still see minimalist fitness trackers on the market now that the segment is pretty much populated by smart watches with a heavy focus on fitness such as the Apple Watch and Android Wear hardware. Fitness wearable giants such as Garmin and Fitbit have also stopped offering essential entry activity trackers altogether.

Misfit Flare Features:

• All day activity tracker. Automatically tracks steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, and light and restful sleep
• Aluminum case with crystal face and single white LED light
• Capacitive touch sensor makes Flare instantly responsive
• Fully molded on a TPU strap; non changeable straps
• Smart button allows you to control connected household devices with Misfit Link app
• Vibration enabled for activity feedback and alarms
• User replaceable coin cell battery that lasts up to 4 months
• Data syncing via Bluetooth 4.1
• Waterproof to 50 m
• Count swim laps and track swim distance with the In-App Lap Counting Upgrade by Speedo (Extra cost)

There’s no smart notifications nor changeable wrist straps options since the Misfit Flare is molded to the TPU strap. You will still get access to a reduced form of control for connected household devices through the company’s Misfit Link app.

I’m unsure if there’s a strong reason to put your money on the Misfit Flare other than the price; this activity tracker will retail for $59.99. Sure there are better trackers out there but those will cost at least twice what the Flare is going for.

Source: Misfit Wearables