This morning, Speedo and Misfit, a company that produces wearables and other smart gear, announced their partnering on a new swim tracker—Speedo Shine.
While the wearable, which fits like a wristwatch, is generally useful for all fitness, it is specially designed for swimming. The software within the Speedo Shine uses unique algorithms to count the number of laps a swim
mer has covered. Number of laps, swim distance, calories burned and points earned all sync up with the Misfit app to provide the user a platform to analyze their workout.
Olympic gold medalist and celebrity endorser Missy Franklin noted that lap counting as one of the defining features of the Speedo Shine.
“One of the most difficult parts of swimming for fitness is keeping track of laps and the Speedo Shine eliminates that challenge,” Franklin said in a statement.
The wearable also tracks all of the activities in a day, along with the amount of light and deep sleep a user has.
The Speedo Shine will be available on Sept. 1 for a price of $79.99, and interestingly, the only retail store selling it will be the Apple Store, excluding the Misfit and Speedo websites.
This comes as a curious arrangement, since Apple recently released their own smart watch that doubles as a wearable, the Apple Watch. But the one shortcoming of the new Apple Watch is that it is not waterproof. It is water resistant, so it can take a shower or the rain, but it would not last in the world of competitive swimming.
Overall, this looks to be a good move for all parties involved with the Speedo Shine. Misfit gains the name recognition of the biggest brand in swimming, and Speedo has their very own wearable to add to the ever-competitive market.