Mio’s Slice shows fitness tracking isn’t only about counting steps

By Andy Boxall January 3, 2017

mio slice pai app news arm

A year after previewing the device, Mio is putting its Slice fitness and activity tracking wearable on sale, and pairing it with the impressive and very easy-to-understand PAI measurement app. We’re already fans of the PAI system, having used it with the Mio Fuse wearable, and expect great things from it on this more accessible tracker that is suited to everyday wear.

PAI — which stands for Personal Activity Intelligence — takes all your activity metrics, including but not limited to your step count, which is the way most other fitness trackers work, and then provides a single number to summarize your performance. The idea is to aim for a PAI score of 100. It’s simple to understand, removes the frustrating obsession with steps that doesn’t always work for everyone, and replaces it with an actual everyday target to effectively boost health and fitness.

The Slice has a built-in heart rate tracker, which is essential to calculating your PAI score, and it monitors that rate throughout the day. Additionally, it counts your steps, watches over your sleep, and estimates calorie burn. Just one button on the front of the Slice switches modes, and data is presented on a display hidden under the sleek front panel. You’ll pay $130 for the Slice and it comes in four colors — black, navy, stone, and sienna — and two different sizes. Mio will sell it directly through its website, or through Brookstone retail locations.

Mio has also tailored the PAI app for use on the Apple Watch, meaning you will be able to enjoy the benefits of the PAI score without actually buying the Slice or another PAI-compatible Mio wearable. It’s only being previewed at the moment, and will be released in the future. Mio’s also showing off Link 2, an optical heart rate monitor made for athletes that operates for 20 hours, syncs with the PAI app, and works using Bluetooth for distances up to 100 feet. The Link 2 will be coming in 2017.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Senior Mobile Writer

Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…

Mobile

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 vs. Fitbit Sense

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 smartwatch, worn on a person's wrist.

The Galaxy Watch 4 is Samsung's take on a modern, hi-tech wearable that doesn't imitate an old-school analog wristwatch. It eschews the classic design of its predecessors for a sleeker, more streamlined look, while also providing some excellent hardware and features. These include a Super AMOLED touchscreen, 16GB of internal storage, generous battery life, and some great health-tracking software.

It's certainly one of the best smartwatches out there, but in a market saturated by Apple Watches and various Android equivalents, it certainly isn't without competitors. One of these is the Fitbit Sense, which in 2020 emerged to offer a premium version of the core Fitbit experience, replete with an ECG sensor, a choice of virtual assistants, and a wealth of fitness features.

Mobile

This $4,000 titanium beauty is the ultimate square G-Shock

The G-Shock MRG-B5000B.

Do you want the very best Casio offers in manufacturing, design, and technology from your new G-Shock, all wrapped up in that highly recognizable square case? In other words, the ultimate version of a truly classic G-Shock watch? If so, the new MRG-B5000B is exactly the model you will want, provided cost is no object. We’ve been wearing it.
What makes MR-G so special?
Although Casio is best known for tough watches that won’t break the bank, Casio also has decades of watchmaking experience, and it showcases its talents most effectively in its highly exclusive MR-G family of watches. These models, its most luxurious, are assembled by hand on Casio’s Premium Production Line located in the Yamagata factory in Japan, where only the company’s most experienced, specially certified technicians work on the top MT-G and MR-G models.

The square G-Shock is one of the most popular models, having been around since the G-Shock brand first started in the early 1980s, and bringing it to the luxury MR-G range is going to see a lot of people reaching for their wallets. What makes it so special? It’s the first time the classic, beloved square G-Shock has been given the MR-G treatment, with most other MR-G models over the past few years featuring an analog dial. There's a huge section of an already large fan base waiting for this.

Mobile

Fitbit recalls Ionic smartwatch after several burn reports

best walmart deals on apple watch garmin and fitbit ionic smartwatch adidas edition ice gray silver

Fitbit Ionic smartwatch users need to stop using their devices right now. The company has recalled its Ionic wearable after over 150 reports of the watch’s lithium-ion battery overheating, and 78 reports of burn injuries to the users. It will offer a refund of $299 to the Fitbit Ionic smartwatch users who return the device.

Fitbit has received at least 115 reports in the United States and over 50 reports internationally about the Ionic smartwatch's battery overheating. It is recalling the device as there are two reports of third-degree burns and four reports of second-degree burns out of the 78 total burn injuries report.