There was a time when the term “wearable” meant nothing to technology enthusiasts, but with fitness trackers and smart watches taking up more and more real estate on the CES floor with each passing year it’s become a trendy buzzword. How do wearable manufacturers differentiate their product from one another in a market so saturated? The InBody Band tries to stand out with its ability to measure your body composition.
The sleek Band isn’t eye-catching, but it comes through in functionality. The Southern Korean company with which the Band shares its name adorned the snap-on device with a simple touchscreen display and four sensors located on the front and back of the device. It uses a series of electronic pulses to measure metrics such as your muscle mass and body fat percentage while simultaneously clocking your heart rate and tracking movement with the aid of a 3D accelerometer.
Though a bit buky, the Band is lightweight, and offers functionality for monitoring how well you sleep and setting specific goals for which to strive. Call and text notifications are also said to play into the device, with an option to set vibration notifications and sync your data with the InBody mobile app for Android and iOS devices. It’s water-resistant enough to withstand a quick bout in the shower, though not the pool, and supposedly lasts eight hours on a single charge.
The InBody Band is expected to arrive in March for $180. Although we didn’t have a chance to test the band’s accuracy at CES 2015, specifically when it comes to measuring body mass, it looked — and felt — promising. We’ll see in a couple months.
