Moov Now Is Another Cheap Wearable That "Does What Apple Watch Can't"
Moov Now is a $100 fitness wearable that does what Apple Watch and Fitbit cannot
That thing it does, apparently, is “look ridiculous” (Trypophobia trigger warning):
As a cheap fitness-oriented wearable, the $100 Moov Now, which launches this fall, is getting praise from Macworld for things it will ostensibly do that — for whatever reason — the outlet believes Apple Watch, once opened up to developers with watchOS 2, won’t.
Here’s all that untouchable awesomeness:
Naturally, the Moov Now does step tracking. And it even does sleep tracking—a trick that wasn’t available in the original Moov. But the truly novel feature is real-time coaching feedback in a wide variety of exercise programs. …
Let’s start with table stakes: simple forward movement. Strap the Moov Now on your ankle. Choose the Run & Walk program, and the smartphone app will push real-time coaching feedback directly into your earbuds as you jog. …
The Cardio Boxing workout will simulate the call-and-response shadow-boxing routines of a gym coach: Much like how Guitar Hero displays visual cues for playing specific chords, the Moov app displays icons for specific punches: jab, jab, uppercut, hook, jab. …The Cardio Boxing workout also supports two Moov Nows, one on each wrist, for a more complete workout experience.
There are also exercise programs for cycling and bodyweight training, but the really interesting program is for swimming. The Moov Now is waterproof down to three meters, so you can wear it in the pool. …And by the time Moov Now ships this fall, the Swim program should have support for tracking two Moov wearables at the same time for ever deeper swimming data.
That last point is especially silly, as Apple Watch has been repeatedly demonstrated to be adept at performing flawlessly under water.
And you dont need to wear two of them. Or four. (Boxing and swimming require practiced footwork, after all, so it’s easy to see the Moov Now aiming for “one for each limb,” making it a $400 proposition.)
The simple reality is that the very second third-party developers are able to get their code-wrangling fingers around the whole of Apple Watch’s on-board abilities with the launch of watchOS 2, Cupertino’s wearable is going to blow ultra-niche stuff like Moov Now (the specificity of which reminds me of Swatch’s absurd volleyball trainer) out of the water. However, if Moov is smart, they’ll integrate their product’s unique abilities with Apple Watch, allowing users to strap the Now around their lower legs for more precise footfall tracking while Apple Watch handles — and actually displays — everything else.