HTC and Under Armour are getting into the connected fitness arena in a big way.
After a weak (and ultimately canceled) attempt at entering the fitness wearable space last year with the Grip, HTC and Under Armour are making a more serious attempt with a full slate of connected fitness products launching together. The official branding for the new line of products is under the Under Amour name, but with prominent “designed by HTC” branding and HTC logos found on each of the products, which shows the strong partnership here. UnderArmour is also partnering with JBL for new audio products.
More: Hands-on with the UA Band, Scale and Heart Rate
The main event here is the UA Band, a wearable fitness tracker set to take on the likes of Jawbone and Fitbit. You get a sleek band with a simple interface that tracks your steps, sleep cycle and basic workouts like walks, runs, bike rides and gym time. It’s water resistant, light and easy to wear every day for regular activity tracking. It connects to your phone via Bluetooth, and relays all of its information to the UA Record app where you can follow trends, set goals and talk with friends about your progress.
Going a step higher on the tracking front is the UA Scale, a Wi-Fi-connected floor scale that brings wonderful design and real functionality. This slab of plastic and glass looks beautiful and can fit whatever decor you have, but is ready to track your weight (and several people with distinct profiles) and body fat in just a few seconds, syncing back to your phone via your home network.
The highest level product and the one with probably the smallest addressable market is the UA Heart Rate monitor. This Bluetooth-connected chest strap monitors your heart activity during workouts, linking up the heart statistics with other workout data from your UA Band and any other devices you have. It offers more accurate readings than any other device you can have on you, and helps fill the gap when doing workouts that traditional fitness bands alone wouldn’t be able to accurately track.
Though the three products will be sold individually, you’ll get the best experience (and a discount) for buying them all together in the HealthBox kit. Under Armour plans to market the HealthBox bundle primarily, which really shows the company’s plans for getting you to buy into a full system. The HealthBox will retail for $400, or if you choose to buy pieces individually you can get the UA Band for $180, Scale for $180 and Heart Rate for $80.
Going further into the portfolio, UnderArmour and JBL have partnered for a new set of activity-focused Bluetooth headphones, called the UA Headphones Wireless. They’re built for wearing during your runs and workouts with extra durability while keeping great sound. You’ll be able to pick up a standard pair for $180, or a more advanced model later in the year for $250 that can read your heart rate through the earbuds.
Last and certainly not least, Under Armour is releasing a connected version of some of its popular running shoes, called the SpeedForm Gemini 2 Record Equipped (denoting UA Record compatibility). These shoes can track every aspect of your run, including time and date, duration, distance, and splits — all without having your phone actively connected, as the shoes can report back to UA Record when you return from the run. They offer the best possible run tracking, even more accurate than GPS on your phone.
The entire set of connected fitness products will be available for pre-order from UA.com and HTC.com starting today, with the exception of the SpeedForm Gemini 2 shoes, which are available in February, and the JBL Heart Rate headphones, which will be out in March. Expect to see more coverage of the entire portfolio on Android Central as we spend more time with the products!
Press release:
UNDER ARMOUR LAUNCHES A SUITE OF CONNECTED FITNESS PRODUCTS, CHANGING THE WAY ATHLETES LIVE
Revolutionary Ecosystem Includes the World’s First Connected Fitness System, UA HealthBox powered by UA Record, and First Smart Footwear
Las Vegas, NV (January 5, 2016) – Today, Under Armour (NYSE:UA) unveiled the brand’s first-ever Connected Fitness product portfolio and launched a new UA Record™ app experience, designed to make athletes better, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The state-of-the-art line of devices includes UA HealthBox™, the world’s first Connected Fitness system, UA SpeedForm® Gemini 2 Record Equipped, the brand’s first smart shoe, and two models of wireless headphones. The entire line of Connected Fitness products is powered exclusively by UA Record™, the definitive health and fitness platform. The new UA Record is available for download on the App Store and the Google Play™ store.
“For 20 years, Under Armour has changed the way athletes dress and now we will change the way athletes live,” said Kevin Plank, Founder and CEO, Under Armour.
“Combining the world’s largest health and fitness community with the game-changing connectivity of UA HealthBox and UA Record, we are taking Connected Fitness to another level. With the HealthBox suite of products being introduced, athletes will be empowered with the information to make better decisions and ultimately enrich their lives in a way that’s never been done before.”
Under Armour is also announcing strategic partnerships with two leading global brands:
HTC and HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated (NYSE:HAR). As a pioneer in mobile technology, manufacturing and design, HTC collaborated with Under Armour on
UA HealthBox to engineer and deploy a fully integrated system to transform the health and fitness category. HARMAN, the premier connected technologies company for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, partnered with Under Armour to provide first-class sport headphones to athletes who want the ultimate in fit and sound.
The Under Armour Connected Products portfolio includes:
UA HealthBox™: The world’s first Connected Fitness system made by athletes for athletes. The complete system includes UA Band, UA Scale, UA Heart Rate and retails for $400. It is available now for preorder on UA.com and HTC.com.
UA Band™: A sleek sport band packed with advanced technologies in a uniquely adaptive form-fitting design. UA Band automatically tracks steps, distance, resting heart rate and sleep. It retails for $180 and is available for preorder now on UA.com and HTC.com.
UA Heart Rate™: A compact heart rate monitor that features an innovative micro snap technology designed to provide comfort during workouts. UA Heart Rate retails for $80 and is available for preorder now on UA.com and HTC.com.
UA Scale™: A Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled scale with an iconic circular design that measures weight and body fat percentage, and recognizes up to eight individuals. UA Scale retails for $180 and is available for preorder now on UA.com and HTC.com.
UA SpeedForm® Gemini 2 Record Equipped: Under Armour’s first smart shoe tracks and stores data including time and date, duration, distance, and splits. This cutting-edge footwear provides an untethered running experience and allows the athlete to run device-free. The Gemini 2 RE retails for $150 and will be available for purchase on February 29, 2016 on UA.com and in select specialty run stores nationwide.
UA Headphones Wireless: UA Headphones Wireless Heart Rate and UA Headphones Wireless, both engineered by JBL®, are built for durability and guaranteed to never fall out. Available for pre-order now at JBL.com/under-armour and UA.com, the UA Headphones Wireless retail for $180 and the UA Headphones Wireless Heart Rate will hit shelves late spring 2016 and can be purchased for $250.
UA Record exclusively powers the UA HealthBox experience and will serve as the hub for Under Armour’s health and fitness data. UA Record now provides a holistic view of your health based on four quadrants – SLEEP, FITNESS, ACTIVITY and NUTRITION – through an intuitive single-view dashboard. This snapshot view of your daily progress is set towards individual goals and calculates insights based on your performance, including a brand new metric, “How do you feel?”
“We know through our family of world-class athletes, trainers, and more than 160 million community members that what can be accomplished during your workouts can easily be undone in everyday life. The future of health and fitness is a holistic view of data from these four core health and fitness pillars,” said Robin Thurston, Chief Digital Officer, Under Armour. “Under Armour is now actively and seamlessly capturing this essential information with our new Connected Fitness System and applications to improve the way you live.”
The Connected Products line is on display at the Consumer Electronics Show located in the Under Armour booth (#74316). A complete schedule of programming, including appearances from our world-class athletes such as Michael Phelps, Tony Romo, Deion Sanders, Cal Ripken, Jr., Buster Posey and members from the U.S.A. Gymnastics Team, can be found at http://blog.underarmour.com/devices/ces-las-vegas.
The entire line of products is available for pre-order now on UA.com and HTC.com. To get connected, download the UA Record app from the App Store or the Google Play™ store. UA Record is powered by the Under Armour Connected Fitness™ API/SDK platform (developer.underarmour.com), an open platform with more than 400 partner apps and devices.
About Under Armour, Inc.
Under Armour (NYSE: UA), the originator of performance footwear, apparel and equipment, revolutionized how athletes across the world dress. Designed to make all athletes better, the brand’s innovative products are sold worldwide to athletes at all levels. The Under Armour Connected Fitness™ platform powers the world’s largest digital health and fitness community through a suite of applications: UA Record, MapMyFitness, Endomondo and MyFitnessPal. The Under Armour global headquarters is in Baltimore, Maryland. For further information, please visit the Company’s website at www.uabiz.com.