Hands-on with the Withings Go: an $80 fitness tracker with an E-Ink display

As far back as I can remember, Withings has always been a company that’s focused on design. If the Activité taught us anything, it’s that Withings is capable of making a really nice looking fitness tracker. But what happens when the company scales back its efforts a bit and tries its hand at a budget-friendly fitness companion? That’s what you get with the Withings Go, a new $80 activity tracker with a few tricks up its sleeve.

If I didn’t tell you this was a Withings device, you probably wouldn’t have figured it out. It looks nothing like the Activité Steel or Pop, or really anything else the company has produced. It’s small, minimal, and comes in a few different form factors. The fitness tracker itself is actually the little white coin-like device. You can toss it in your pocket, clip it to your keys, on a belt, or wear it like a standard wrist-mounted fitness tracker.

It also has an E-Ink display that helps it stand out from the crowd. Since the display just barely sips any power at all, Withings says the Go’s CR2032 button-cell battery will last up to 8 months. That means you don’t have to charge this thing… ever. Just go out and buy a new battery (a 25-pack is just under $5 on Amazon), and you’re good to go for another 8 months.

Speaking of daily step goals, the Go comes with just about all the built-in features that are present on other Withings products. It can track whether you’re walking, running, swimming or sleeping, and it does so automatically. There’s no need to tap a start workout now button, which is really nice. There’s no silent alarm on here, though, which would have been a nice addition to the already long feature set.

See also: Fitbit Alta review

In terms of walking and running, the Go will keep track of your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned and session duration. It’s also 5 ATM water resistant so you can take it in the pool or wear it in the shower. Sleep tracking is also present here. The Go will record your light and deep sleep phases, and also any interruptions that you may experience in the middle of the night.

The jury is still out as to whether or not the Withings Go will be a good value. This thing has a lot of positives: 8-month battery life, multiple color options, sub-$100 price point, water resistance, and you can wear it on your belt or on your wrist. With that said, $80 does seem a tad pricey for a device that’s not necessarily breaking any boundaries. Fitbit and Jawbone have similar products on the market for less than $80, though their feature sets all differ quite a bit.

If you’re interested, the Withings Go is now available for purchase for $79.95 from Withings.com in Black, Blue, Green, Red and Yellow color options. It’s also coming to Amazon sometime in Q2 of this year, so be on the lookout for that.

What are your thoughts? Is the Withings Go something you’d be interested in picking up for yourself? Let us know what you think in the comments!

[press]

Ready, Steady, Go! Withings Begins Sales of Its Advanced Affordable Activity Tracker

Withings GO brings activity tracking to a wider audience with automatic activity recognition, no charging and stylish “wear it your way” design

“Withings Go compliments the existing portfolio of Withings trackers and expands the appeal of activity tracking to both consumer and Corporate Wellness customers thanks to its attractive features, style and price.” says Cédric Hutchings, CEO of Withings. “By ensuring Withings Go is affordable, packed with features and sporting a vibrant, stylish design, we have developed a device that people will want to wear and use on a daily basis.”

Automatic activity recognition

The Withings Go features highly advanced automatic activity recognition capabilities that can intelligently determine between a wide variety of movements, motions and speeds associated with various activities. Because Withings Go automatically recognizes a variety of daily activities, it allows users to wear it all day and track without having to push a button to change between different activities. For walking and running, the device analyzes number of steps, distance covered, calories burned as well as the duration of the running session. Withings Go is also water-resistant (5 ATM) and automatically recognizes when the user starts swimming, providing the time of the session and the calories burned. At night, Withings Go analyzes and can distinguish between light and deep sleep cycles to give users a full understanding of their sleep patterns.

Stylish design with dashing E-Ink display

The Withings Go is designed to expand the appeal of activity trackers to wider audiences, helping people of all fitness levels achieve their health goals. It perfectly marries functionality and style, packed full of features without compromising on design aesthetics. Winner of the coveted iF Design award, Withings Go is available in 5 vibrant colors (black, blue, green, red, yellow) and can be worn in multiple ways to suit individual styles or social settings. Whether placed on the wrist, clipped to a belt, carried on a keychain, or put in a pocket, it is with you wherever you go.

As well as great looks, the sophisticated, always-on E-Ink display constantly provides users with intuitive information – even in bright sunlight or in water. The main screen provides the user’s level of activity – shown as a dial depicting the percentage of progress achieved towards a specific day’s activity goal. Once this goal is met, the central icon changes to display a star in recognition of the day’s achievement. The Withings Go will also transform to tell the time by pressing on the center, creating an analog watch face. The very low power requirement of the E-Ink display means the Withings Go can operate continuously for up to 8 months. There is no charging required as the device uses a button cell battery (CR2032).

Withings Go connects to the free, award-winning Withings Health Mate iOS and Android application. Acting as a powerful resources to manage many aspects of everyday health, Health Mate provides detailed information about activity including a timeline of daily reports and contextual advice as well as help to manage nutritional information and advanced food logging capabilities, thanks to a proprietary integration with LoseIt. It will even allow users to share their data and challenge friends via “in app” interactive leaderboards and through social media channels. From running to nutrition coaching to food logging, Health Mate integrates with over 150 partner apps that further adds the to the 360° wellness experience.

Availability

The Withings Go is available for purchase at www.withings.com priced at $79.95 MSRP and will also be sold at Amazon.com in Q2 2016.

About Withings

Withings leads the connected-health revolution by inventing beautiful, smart products and services that help people become happier and healthier. Founded by visionary innovators Cédric Hutchings and Eric Carreel in 2009, Withings is committed to creating enjoyable, empowering experiences that easily fit into our daily lives.[/press]