Under Armour is entering the world of connected fitness devices in a big way with help from HTC. The two companies have joined forces to launch Healthbox, a starter kit full of new connected devices to help you keep your New Year's resolution going strong well into 2016.
The Healthbox aims to be the complete, all-in-one setup for those looking to keep to keep a close eye on their lifestyle habits. Each of the devices included in the bundle feeds vitals and tracking information to UA Record, the free app available for iOS and Android, which acts as the backbone of the experience.
Inside of the Healthbox, you'll find the UA Band fitness tracker. Remember the HTC Grip that we saw at last year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona? Well, it's no more. But there's little reason to be sad, as its best qualities, like the slick PMOLED touchscreen and understated look, have found a new home in the UA Band. This wearable features a heart rate monitor and sleep tracker, and can keep track of your steps out of the box, too. This device alone will cost $180.
Next up is the UA Scale, a connected scale that acts similarly in a way to your average weight scale. You step on it and it tells you how much you weigh. But what makes it unique is that once it's connected to your UA Record account, it greets you by name and can provide your body fat percentage and help you track the weight goals you've set up through the app. I never thought I'd say this, but this scale looks really cool. If you're looking to buy just the scale, it'll cost you another $180.
Finally, because there are those out there who want a more accurate heart rate reading, Under Armour and HTC have developed a heart rate monitor that straps around your chest and provides live feedback to the UA Record app. This one is the cheapest to get by the piecemeal method at just $80 alone.
The brains of the operation
As mentioned earlier, the recently updated UA Record app acts as the brains of the connected operation. The app's home screen displays four quadrants (Activity, Nutrition, Sleep and Fitness) and upon clicking into each, you'll see a thorough breakdown of each to get a better sense of which areas you need to invest a little more effort into.
At the heart of the new UA Record experience is the "How do you feel?" meter. Once a day, you tell the app how you're feeling and will learn over time just how much sleep you need, how many steps you should take, or how many calories you usually eat in a day to be feeling good. The more time you spend with UA Record, the more it gets to know you and what sort of behavior tends to make you feel good.
We'll be diving deeper into the UA Band and seeing how it stacks up against the tough competition in the wearables space. If you're interested picking up the Healthbox to get all of the goodies mentioned above, it'll set you back $400. Pre-orders are open now leading up to its January 22nd release in the US. We've reached out for global pricing and availability.
