Smartwatch startup Pebble and connected wristband maker Misfit have teamed up for an app to track the Pebble wearer's activity through a smartphone.
Launching soon for iOS, the Misfit app will be compatible with Pebble watches, monitoring activity including total distance and calories burned, TechCrunch reported. Misfit, which makes the sleep-tracking wristband Shine, has a unique algorithm that makes it stand out.
"Misfit has a phenomenal experience in taking motion data in finding useful and meaningful analysis in it," said company spokeswoman Myriam Joire.
The two companies may be preparing for the upcoming Apple smartwatch, which is rumored to be released later this year, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"If you buy one of these [Apple] devices you're not going to buy an activity tracker," said Sonny Vu, Misfit's chief executive, as quoted by WSJ.
Vu expects that Android-powered watches will take over, seriously undermining the market for fitness bracelets. "Why should we cling on to a dying a business?" he asked.
The Misfit CEO, who wouldn't disclose the financial terms of the agreement with Pebble, said his young company is focusing on collecting activity and lifestyle data as research for developing new products.
Making the standalone activity app for its collaboration with Pebble won't hurt Misfit, he said. The company will continue to sell its Shine activity-tracking device, which has sold more than 300,000 units so far.
"What we are after is data," said Vu, as quoted by WSJ. "Where we get the data from--our tracker or another--we don't care."
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