TheFlashand Shine are among ourfavourite fitness wearablesbecause they are affordable, stylish and fun. JUST LIKE US! Now, maker Misfit has improved the Flash further with support for If This Then That (IFTTT) and the numerous connected homewares that are compatible with Logitech Harmony Home Hub.
It's not the brand's first diversion into home-related devices - the Misfit Boltsmart bulb came out earlier this year in the US and is heading here soon. It's also dabbled with funky wristbands made out of recycled goods and peddled by no less a figure than Will.I.Am.
Flash's new IFTTT compatibility means you can now double or triple press it to access anything from emails to calendar entries to how many hours you've spent pumping iron - "literally thousands of options" (that can be controlled by double or triple presses of a button) in total.
Along similar lines, Flash can also now control the Logitech Harmony Home Hub. This is a Nest-compatible, infra-red/Wi-Fi controller for "over 225,000 smart home devices," from thermostats to home cinema receivers. Thanks to "Harmony activities," you can trigger multiple controller actions with a simple double or triple press of your increasingly-smart watch's screen.
There's also Apple HealthKit integration, with sleep and weight data now visible in the HealthKit app, and an updated look and feel for owners of iPhones 6 and 6+.
Oh, and, as this rather drab graphic makes clear, the update also includes a new desktop/laptop app so you can view and analyse trends in your stepping, calorie burning and distances travelled.
The Misfit Flash, in case you're not familiar, is waterproof to 30 meters, comes in seven colours "including funky Fuschia and minimalist Frost" and monitors steps, calories, distance and sleep quality, all for under 50 quid. We like it.
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And finally, here is Misfit's splendid Amy Puliafito to explain it all to you in videographic form.
Duncan is the former lifestyle editor of T3 and has been writing about tech for almost 15 years. He has covered everything from smartphones to headphones, TV to AC and air fryers to the movies of James Bond and obscure anime. His current brief is everything to do with the home and kitchen, which is good because he is an excellent cook, if he says so himself. He also covers cycling and ebikes – like over-using italics, this is another passion of his. In his long and varied lifestyle-tech career he is one of the few people to have been a fitness editor despite being unfit and a cars editor for not one but two websites, despite being unable to drive. He also has about 400 vacuum cleaners, and is possibly the UK's leading expert on cordless vacuum cleaners, despite being decidedly messy. A cricket fan for over 30 years, he also recently become T3's cricket editor, writing about how to stream obscure T20 tournaments, and turning out some typically no-nonsense opinions on the world's top teams and players.
Before T3, Duncan was a music and film reviewer, worked for a magazine about gambling that employed a surprisingly large number of convicted criminals, and then a magazine called Bizarre that was essentially like a cross between Reddit and DeviantArt, before the invention of the internet. There was also a lengthy period where he essentially wrote all of T3 magazine every month for about 3 years.
A broadcaster, raconteur and public speaker, Duncan used to be on telly loads, but an unfortunate incident put a stop to that, so he now largely contents himself with telling people, "I used to be on the TV, you know."