If you’d like the functions of a smartwatch but prefer the classic look of an analog timepiece, Misfit’s new Phase may have your number. The Phase hybrid smartwatch balances fashion with functionality, with a bias toward appearance.
A 3-axis accelerometer in the Misfit Phase tracks steps, distance, and sleep quality and duration, reporting the data via an app on a paired iOS or Android smartphone connected by Bluetooth. The watch works as an intelligent alert and the smartphone app displays anything you choose to look up or read.
As a result, you can receive alerts and notifications without the whole world seeing your watch face morph. Unlike most smartwatches, the Phase’s watch face never changes in appearance. You always see a classic watch face with hour and minute hands.
There are two buttons on the right side of the watch. The top button, at the 2 o’clock position on the side of the watch case, switches between time, activity, and alert dismissal modes. A second button at the 4 o’clock position links to trigger a preconfigured smart home device or internet service via supported IF This Then That (IFTTT) recipes.
At the 6 o’clock position on the watch face itself, a tiny color window shows one of nine possible colors. By configuring combinations of the Phase’s color indicator, hour, and minute hand positions, and the vibration settings on you smartphone, you can be alerted to calls, text messages, activity reminders, and an alarm.
For example, if you receive a call on your smartphone from someone about whose calls you want to be notified, the color window changes to green, the watch vibrates in a selected pattern, and the minute and hour hand both move to a numeric position you assigned to that person. You don’t answer with the watch, but you are alerted to the call. The same combination is used for incoming text messages, but the color window changes to blue.
“We’re thrilled to launch Misfit Phase, which employs Misfit’s energy efficient, miniaturized Bluetooth-enabled technology in a traditional watch form factor,” said Misfit General Manager Preston Moxcey. “Watches are the fashion-credible predecessor of wearable technology, and Misfit Phase showcases both the evolution of the wearable technology space and its convergence with the world of fashion accessories.”
The unisex style Phase’s 41mm diameter watch case fits any 20mm watch band. It’s water resistant to 50 meters and holds a replaceable battery rated for up to 6 months.
The Misfit Phase will be available for pre-order November 7 on the Misfit site and will ship later in November.
