Sony SmartBand 2 unveiled with heart rate monitor

Sony has just officially lifted the lid off its new SmartBand 2, as the company looks to grab a bigger share in the crowded fitness tracking market. Again, Sony’s tracker is trying to cater to quite a wide audience, but the hardware change-up might make it more appealing to the sports market this time around.

The e-paper display is the most noticeable feature to be dropped from the SmartBand 2. In fact, the new band doesn’t feature a display at all, but does vibrate to alert your attention to a few little things. However, the new Sony fitness band has gained a heart rate monitor and is IP68 water resistant for depths up to 3 meters.

Sony is pitching the SmartBand 2 not just as a fitness device, but as a handy day-to-day companion. The band can vibrate to alert you to calls and messages, if you accidentally leave your phone behind, when you achieve a daily or monthly fitness goal, and it even works as an alarm clock. The band can also pause and play music from your phone with a couple of taps and has a night mode to disable notifications.

For the fitness side of things, the SmartBand 2 pairs up with Sony’s Lifelog app, which keeps track of your stress levels, heart rate and various other activities. It also functions as a timeline of your events, pictures and music, so you can presumably see how these activities affect your health and lifestyle. You will also find all of the usual fitness statistics to track over time, including steps taken and heart rate, but the SmartBand 2 doesn’t appear to do anything all that new.

The SmartBand 2 supports Android devices running 4.4 KitKat or later and will be available to purchase sometime in September. The retail price is set for around $130 (€119) and will be available in black, white, pink and indigo color options.