Wearables are popping up left and right, but they aren’t setting the world on fire. One problem might be too many options, and too few useful ones. The other might be the fact that most of them are pretty ugly. Couple that with the fact that most people don’t want their wrists buzzing all day with messages and emails, and there isn’t a whole lot to get excited about.
Runtastic hopes to solve all of those issues with the Moment, a beautifully crafted watch that has just the right amount of smarts.
Recently acquired by the Adidas Group, Runtastic is better known for its fitness apps, but the company has already delved into the world of wearables with its earlier Orbit and learned a thing or two. Runtastic found that most people who bought the Orbit and other “me too” fitness bands usually stopped using it after a few months. It always came down to the look and feel or how often it needed to be charged.
So Runtastic set out to change the game for fitness wearables. Runtastic VP of marketing and strategic communications Stephanie Peterson said the goal was simple: “How do we take tracking capabilities and build it into our lives in a way that people actually enjoy using, and don’t have to think about using?”
The company already figured out the fitness tracking part of it with the Orbit, so Runtastic CEO and co-founder, Florian Gschwandtner, said the plan became transplanting that technology into the timless look of an analog watch. The result of this effort is the Runtastic Moment, which was announced today at IFA 2015.
A fashionable watch
Designing a traditional watch is no easy task for a fitness-oriented company, and Runtastic wanted to do it right. So the company worked with Georg Krippl, a watchmaker with 25 years of experience, to create a design that could incorporate fitness tracking aspects along with an extended battery life into a fashionable timepiece.
A lofty goal indeed, but there was one more piece of the puzzle. Along the way, Runtastic realized there was no one-size-fits-all approach, so the company created the Runtastic Moment in ten unique designs and organized them into four collections.
Each collection sports a stainless steel case, scratch-resistant glass, the ability to withstand 300 feet in water, and six months of battery life. Each watch can be fitted with any 22mm watch band, but Runtastic offers a unique spring mechanism underneath the band makes them easier to remove, whereas traditional bands need a special tool.
Perhaps the best part is that you’ll never have to charge your wearable every night before bed. The standard watch battery lasts six months and a notification will let you know when it’s running low. You can easily change it by opening the back cover with the included screwdriver.
Four collections, 10 designs
Here’s a breakdown of the different collections and designs:
Moment Fun – Designed for playful active types, it’s the smallest of the group with its 37mm diameter face. That’s about the same size as the smaller Apple Watch, which is 38mm. The Moment Fun comes with a silicone strap and is available in four colors: raspberry, plum, sand, and indigo. It’s affordably priced at $130.
Moment Basic – This one is similar to the Moment Fun, except it has a larger 42mm diameter, and it’s only offered in black and sand colors. It’s the same size as the larger Apple Watch. The Moment Basic will also sell for $130.
Moment Classic – This one has a minimal and “classic” look with its 46mm diameter. It boasts a genuine leather strap, and it’s available in silver, gold, and rose gold. The Moment Classic sells for $180.
Moment Elite – For those who like a little sophistication, the Moment Elite comes with a genuine leather strap and is only offered in black. It has a 46mm diameter, and it sells for $180.
The functionality of a modern fitness tracker
The Runtastic Moment is as functional as it is good looking. It can track your steps, distance, calories burned, active minutes, sleep cycles, and goals in conjunction with the Runtastic Me app. The Moment is meant to be worn at all times, whether you’re exercising, working, or sleeping. Its waterproof covering means the shower or swimming pool shouldn’t hurt the watch either.
The Moment isn’t the type of watch to constantly annoy you with notifications.
The distance tracking is tied to steps, and the calories burned are calculated based on your step count and active minutes. While most people will track their steps, the active minutes feature can be used to track cycling and swimming, too. Gschwandtner did say that counting strokes while swimming is currently being tested, and could be enabled in a future update to the Moment.
Sleeping is one area that most people don’t think about when it comes to fitness, however, a good night’s sleep is just as important as a daily exercise routine. Just touch the button on the watch when you’re going to sleep and press it again when you awake. The watch will be able to track how many hours you were in light and deep sleep.
The Runtastic Me app is available on both Android and iOS and will connect to the Moment via Bluetooth. Syncing will take place regularly, but the watch can hold seven days of stats. Peterson notes that this is perfect for people who like to get away and leave their phones behind. The Moment will track all your activities until it can sync again with your phone.
While the app will be able to show a slew of graphs and statistics for each of the tracked categories, you don’t always want to open it on your phone just to find out how you’re doing today. The Moment watch face features a progress meter that tells you how close you are to reaching your daily goal from 0 to 100 percent. You can set this daily goal to be whatever you want, whether it be a certain amount of steps, calories burned, or active minutes.
A streaks feature pushes you even further to inspire you to achieve your goal every day. The more days in a row you succeed, the longer your streak, and you can share it through social media.
Runtastic also incorporated alarms, whether it be to wake you up or to remind you of a task that needs completion. Using the app, you can set up to three alarms that will trigger a gentle vibration. The Moment will also trigger an alarm when you haven’t moved in while to encourage you to get up and walk around.
The Moment isn’t the type of watch to constantly annoy you with notifications of emails, calls, or whether it’s your turn in Words with Friends. However, it’s possible that a future update could enable simple notifications using a LED light that sits behind the “9.” It’s still being tested, but we presume that you will be able to pick what type of notifications you want. New features like this come in the form of app updates through either the App Store or Google Play.
The wearable market is full of devices that either try to do too much or are just too ugly for everyday life. The Runtastic Moment solves this problem by being the perfect balance of minimal and functional, yet it comes in a stylish and elegant package. It’s not about reinventing the watch, it’s about improving it. That’s exactly what Runtastic did with the Moment.
