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Jazz up your workout gear with these 11 awesome fitness wearables from CES 2016

If there’s one thing that can be said about CES 2016, it’s that fitness tracking wearables are reaching a point of oversaturation — but hey, that’s good for the consumer, isn’t it? But a lot of these trackers haven’t offered new features, and are purely cosmetic improvements over their previous iterations. Nonetheless, you couldn’t walk far at CES this year without running into something new, so here’s a look at a number of fitness tracking wearables.

fitbit blaze GPS fitness smartwatch ($200)

Fitbit-Blaze_
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Fitbit’s Blaze was one of the larger wearable announcements at this year’s CES. It’s not the prettiest looking fitness tracker, but it is the company’s first hexagonal design and a color touchscreen display. While the new device offers notification options and the ability to control music on your connected smartphone, it’s still very much a fitness watch — with the ability to track steps and calories burned, and to automatically recognize 15 different types of exercises. It will also automatically recognize activities like running, tennis, basketball, and soccer, without having to start an activity. It also has a heart rate monitor, and you have a small option of bands to choose from, with more most likely coming soon. It’ll be available later in the year for $200. Read more here.

 

Misfit Ray fitness and sleep monitor ($100)

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Image used with permission by copyright holder

Here’s a fitness tracking wearable that purely had a cosmetic change — the Misfit Ray. It can do what most Misfit products can do: Track your activity, sleep, and alert you via vibrations and different colors of notifications from your connected smartphone, including texts, calls and alarms. Misfit says that people want fitness trackers, but they don’t necessarily want to show it off to the world — and the Ray bracelet is another device in Misfit’s portfolio of making more subtler devices. The Ray has a six-month battery that you’ll need to replace. Eventually, you’ll be able to wear the cylindrical device like a necklace as well. It’s available for pre-order at $100. Read more here.

Withings Go with E Ink ($70)

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You can wear the latest device from Withings as a clip or as a watch. The Withings Go is a surprisingly affordable fitness tracker with an E Ink multi-screen display that’s always turned on. It tracks steps, distance, running, swimming, and your sleep, and like the Fitbit Blaze, it can distinguish among a variety of different activities so you never have to set them. The dial of the screen shows the progress of your activity level towards a daily goal. After you have completed that, it switches over to reward mode, showing you how much extra you have done for the day. It has a water-resistant shell so you can even go swimming with it. Withings Go will be available in the first quarter of 2016, and only costs $70. Read more here.

Ironova Iro smartband (€50+ / $65+)

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Image used with permission by copyright holder

Iro is a new wearable from a French company that gamifies getting active. It tracks your steps, calories burned, and distance traveled via the 3D accelerometer inside it, and the symbol on the device lights up to seven different colors. Each color represents a certain amount of kilocalories that you have burned while wearing the device. Red means you’ve burned 1 to 100 kcal, and it continues all the way to purple which is 5,001 kcal and above. The point of these colors is competitive, as the companion app pits you against your friends and others that wear and use Iro. The Iro measures all your activity within a 100-hour period. It has a seven-day battery life on normal mode, and infinite mode just keeps your Iro’s light on all the time. Users can even start challenges with people, and the app offers badges and grades to reward your wins and progress. The Iro is available starting from $60 in a range of colors.

Mio Slice ($100)

Mio-Slice
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Mio’s latest Slice wearable focuses on its new Personal Activity Intelligence index, which is based off the Norwegian Hunt Study. Basically, rather than focusing on hitting a certain step count like 10,000 steps, the PAI system takes your gender, age, weight, and heart rate into consideration and suggests the quantity and intensity of your workout. The goal is to hit the number 100. Doing so each day will help lengthen your lifespan about 10 years, and protect you from cardiovascular diseases. The app also counts your steps, calories burned, and distance traveled. What’s unique about the Slice is that it’s the first of Mio’s devices that lets you see your PAI score on the device, without having to open the app. The Slice costs $100, and will be available later in the year. Read more here.

Mira Vivid Wellness Bracelet and Pendant ($TBA)

Mira-Vivid-Wellness-Pendant
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Like the Misfit Ray, this Mira’s latest Vivid collection is a makeover for the fitness tracker. It’s aimed at providing a fitness wearable for women that offers a more subtle design, and apart from the hidden opal tracker, and stylish look, it still only tracks your steps, distance, elevation, and calories burned. It’s not just a bracelet though, the company will be offering a pendant version as well. The device pairs with a companion app that will have bring new features when the product launches later this year. The company wouldn’t comment on the price. Read more here.

Under Armour HealthBox fitness tracking system ($400)

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Image used with permission by copyright holder

Under Armour made a big splash at CES with its announcement of the Under Armour Healthbox, which it made in collaboration with HTC. The UA Band is a fairly generic fitness tracker in that it tracks daily activities, workouts, and sleep. It displays information on its LED display, and when it’s partnered with the UA Heart Rate, will also show your heart rate. The UA Heart Rate is a chest strap that, as you can guess, monitors your heart rate. It also tracks the amount of calories burned during training sessions. Both devices pair to Under Armour’s Record app, which offers detailed workout routines, health insights, and other relevant dietary and exercise information. The UA Band costs $180, and the company is selling a bundle of the Healthbox, which includes the two wearables and the UA Scale, for $400. Read more here.

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Belty Good Vibes smart belt ($395)

Belty-Good-Vibes_
Image used with permission by copyright holder

You won’t exactly go running with Belty, but it’s a device that will pester you via vibrations if you’re sitting at your desk all day. It will also vibrate if it thinks you haven’t had enough water. Belty Good Vibes is the company’s second version from the self-adjusting belt that was unveiled at CES 2015. This one doesn’t self-adjust, but it is hand-stitched leather, and designed by L’Aiglon with black and brown options. The wearable has a companion app where you can view more data, but it’s not necessary for the belt to function. It will be available either next year or in December of 2016, and it will also take a lump out of your wallet, costing $395.

OMSignal OMbra ($150)

OMsignal-OMbra_
Image used with permission by copyright holder

We’ve seen a lot of smart clothing, so it was inevitable that we also get a sports bra that’s smart. OMSignal’s OMbra is made of a stretchable fabric made of a blend of polyester, nylon, and elastane and it conforms to the body’s shape while moving. The front and back have mesh panels that are antimicrobial with sweat-wicking properties that keep you dry. It has adjustable straps, and removable padding to cater to different cup sizes. The bra includes OMrun, software that tracks distance, cadence, pace, heart rate, and calories, and offers greater detail via the connected smartphone app. It will cost around $150, and you’ll have to sign up to get early access. Read more here.

Lumo Run Smart Running Shorts + Run Sensor Bundle ($99)

Lumo-Run_
Image used with permission by copyright holder

These shorts can change the way you run. No, really — it features a small pod that slides into a pouch on the back that has a 9-axis IMU, accelerometer, magnetometer, barometer, gyroscope and a vibration motor. It connects to your phone via Bluetooth. What it does is tell you how you run, and compares your data to that of an Olympic runner. It tells you what you’re doing wrong and what you can do to improve your form. The shorts also come in the form of capris, to appease both genders. It costs $150 for the shorts, and $170 for the capris, and will ship at the end of march. Pre-ordering now will get you both for $100 each. Read more here.

Hexoskin Smart biometric shirt ($300)

Hexoskin-Smart_
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Announced at CES, Hexoskin’s new biometric smart shirt offers Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity, allowing it to work with fitness apps like Strava and RunKeeper, even though it also has its own companion app. It can also connect to smartwatches, GPS devices, and anything that connects via Bluetooth. The lightweight shirt offers data on daily activities, sleep, physical training, and has cardiac, breathing, and movement sensors that deliver your heart and breating rate, your tidal volume, and minute ventilation. Of course you can also check out your daily activity level, step count, and more. The shirt has a 14-hour battery life in recording mode, 400 hours in sleep mode, and it takes about 90 minutes to recharge. It’s set to be available in the spring, and will cost $300. Read more here.

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Julian Chokkattu
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Julian is the mobile and wearables editor at Digital Trends, covering smartphones, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and more…
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