Fitness tracker review: Misfit Shine

Fitness tracker review: Misfit Shine

Fitness trackers are becoming increasingly popular, as more office warriors strive to get out of their sedentary lifestyle to be more active.

Those that use GPS-based fitness tracking apps are not accurate, as they might not differentiate whether you are running or driving a car. Fitness trackers that use an accelerometer are more accurate as they sense and track your body movements.

The Misfit Shine is the latest in a whole series of trackers such as Up and Fitbit which are becoming more popular here.

The Shine is a disc-shaped tracker made of anodised aluminium with a matte surface and polished edges.

It is only slightly bigger than the old 50-cent coin and 3.3mm thick. Inside, there is a three-axis accelerometer to track your movements.

Shine has a sleek and minimalist look and is the most stylish fitness tracker in the market so far.

There are no physical buttons for you to press. Instead, there are 12LED indicators on its top, like the numbers on a clock face.

There is a groove between the polished edges for you to mount the Shine on a magnetic clip or a silicone wristband that are included in the package.

So you can clip it to your pocket or wear it like a watch. It is also water-resistant up to 50m, meaning you can swim and shower with it.

Personally, I prefer the wristband. It is the most comfortable fitness tracker wristband I have worn so far. The silicone is really smooth and does not give you the irritating feel of rubber. It is also so light that I forgot it was there until friends asked me what I was wearing.

Unlike most fitness trackers that use rechargeable batteries, Shine uses a CR2032 coin battery that you can easily find in watch shops. Each battery is supposed to power Shine for four months.

Installation of the battery is easy. Use the included tool to prise open the battery lid via a small depression at the rear, insert the battery and snap the battery lid back.

Next, you have to sync your Shine with your smartphone before use. Currently, Shine has only an iOS app. Android smartphone users will have to wait.

Turn on Bluetooth on your iOS device, start the Shine app and tap on the Sync option. On the Sync screen, a circle will appear. Place and hold the Shine on the circle to start syncing.

You can choose your daily fitness goal, such as walking 1,000 steps per day. You can also configure your activity tag, such as sleeping or football, in addition to the daily fitness goal.

After syncing, wear the Shine and go about your daily activities.

To see your progress, double-tap on the face of Shine. The LED indicators will then light up to show your progress. For example, if you have reached 50 per cent of your fitness goal, six LED indicators will light up.

In addition, after showing you your fitness progress, it will tell the time too. So, if it is 2.30pm, the twoo'clock indicator will light up first followed by the six o'clock indicator.

To track your activity, triple tap on the face of Shine to start and end the tracking. So, for example, if you want to track your sleep, triple tap when you go to bed and triple tap again when you wake up.

On the downside, the face of Shine is not touch sensitive. So you have to use a bit more force when tapping it.

In addition, the Shine app does not have any social media element or fitness community website. So you are able to see your fitness goals or sleep patterns only on your iOS device and you cannot share it.

Also, you need to place the Shine on your iOS device every day for syncing, or when you want to change the activity to be tagged.

This device does have its flaws. But if aesthetics is your top criterion for a fitness tracker, the Misfit Shine is an obvious winner with its sleek and minimalist design.

trevtan@sph.com.sg

TECH SPECS

Price: $169

Material: Anodised aluminium tracker with silicone wristband and magnetic clip

Connectivity: Bluetooth

Weight: 9.4g

RATING

Features: 8/10

Design: 10/10

Performance: 6/10

Value for money: 6/10

Overall: 8/10


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