HTC's Grip activity tracker gets postponed, though its fitness goals aren't all lost

Back at Mobile World Congress, HTC announced a wearable fitness tracker called the Grip in conjunction with Under Armour that was originally slated to hit shelves in the spring. Now that it’s summertime, many folks have been wondering why the fitness band has yet to launch. The company has finally shed some light on the situation, telling Engadget that it has no plans to ship the wearable we saw at MWC.

If you’ve been planning on picking up one of the devices, all hope isn’t lost, though. A spokesperson for the company said HTC has “decided to align Grip with the entire product portfolio for health and fitness launching later this year”. So, we might not see the HTCGrip launch in its current form, but in a newer, shinier variant alongside some other fitness-related products later this year.

HTC released this statement earlier today:

Through our partnership with Under Armour, we have continued to refine our vision and approach to the health and fitness category. Our goal is to offer best-in-class products for our customers and partners. After extensive wear testing and user feedback, we have decided to align GRIP with the entire product portfolio for health and fitness launching later this year. This will be a state-of-the-art comprehensive portfolio of products for this category powered by UA RECORD. We are excited to launch this new comprehensive product suite and will share further details as we get closer to launch.

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We went hands-on with the HTCGrip in February, and from what we could tell, it didn’t really bring anything new to the table. Although it was incredibly well-built, just like most other HTCproducts, it failed to stand out from other fitness trackers that have already made their way to market.

As of now, we have no idea what HTCplans to do with the Grip line in the future. Could we see an improved second generation Grip, or will it be a completely revamped fitness tracker? Only time will tell, but for now, folks who were looking forward to the HTC-made wearable will have to wait.