Wearable tech isn’t new. Smart home tech isn’t new. Wearable tech that integrates with your smart home tech isn’t even that new, but the Misfit Shine 2 is new – just a few months old – and it functions as a smart home controller (though with some limitations).
If you’re looking into buying a new wearable, fitness tracking device, the Misfit Shine 2 is worth looking into. It’s a fitness and sleep tracker, and as mentioned, also works to control some smart home technology.
The device itself is a small, colored disc that fits into an array of holders – from wristbands to necklaces to magnetic clips. It’s a minimalist’s dream, and it’s meant to bring wearable tech into the fashion space. It does all the tricks that other devices do – tracks your fitness progress, prompts you to move if you’re still too long, compiles your information in an app. It’s also waterproof – allowing swimmers to track their laps.
This new device’s smart home connection feature, though, makes it a strong competitor to other fitness trackers you might be looking to purchase.
The device works with other, third-party connected devices through the Link app from Misfit. Once the app is installed to your smartphone, you can sync it your Shine 2 and to other connected devices, and use it to set up your wearable device to work as a remote control for other devices. The device, which uses a system of taps to display fitness progress and the time, uses that same a tap system for smart tech control.
Because the smart tech control portion of the Shine 2 relies so heavily on the touch responsiveness of the device, Misfit overhauled their sensor technology and the resulting update is more user-friendly for customers. The other complaint that users had about the previous version of the Shine, and other Misfit devices that use Link, was that the Bluetooth range was weak. Without a strong Bluetooth signal, devices would have to be pretty close to each other in order to sync. Misfit turned the Shine 2 itself into its own antenna, and it now has a range of more than 30 feet.
Once you are connected, you can do simple smart home tasks like controlling the power of lights, locking or unlocking a smart lock, or skipping a song on your playlist.
The upgrades for the Misfit Shine 2 are definitely a welcome innovation, but there are still some restrictions with the device when it comes to smart home controls. The biggest gripe is that you can only run one function at a time. So, if you have the Shine 2 set to control your music, you can’t also control your lights. Instead, you’d have to have the app open do that you can connect and control other devices. It’s not a perfect system, but the Shine 2 is, at its heart, a fitness tracker; the smart home controls are just an imperfect bonus that you get.
Photo by: Misfit
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