Misfit has taken the fitness tracking world by storm with its new line of wearables. The original Misfit Shine was an Indigogo funded device that re defined the budget fitness tracking wearable. To top it off, the device was highly portable and could be attached to your necklace as easily as it could be to your wrist. I dove into the successor the Misfit Shine to see what new features Misfit has decided to include in their new offering. Read on to find out my thoughts on the Misfit Shine activity monitor.
Design
The Shine 2 is somewhat bigger than the previous version, id say around 1 inch larger in diameter. It makes up for that by being much thinner – coming in at around 3 qarters of an inch thick. The internals have been updated to include more memory and a faster processor. The outside is now straddled with LED lights, which will give you different light patterns depending on the notifications you are receiving ( blue for text, green for call, etc.) and there is now an internal motor that is used solely for notifications like silent alarms or what I like to call "movement encouragement", which means the device will give you nudges throughout the day if you have been sedentary for too long.
The device comes in 2 different varieties: rose gold or carbon black. It can also be customized with a number of different accessories, such as different clasps or sport bands. I personally like the idea of using it as a necklace so that’s how I tend to wear it.
I originally had a lot of trouble with the first Shine being to loose in its holder. It would fall out often if I jostled it too much during my activities. I was happy to see that Misfit has fixed a lot of these issues with this iteration.
Features
Misfit has opted to include a magnetometer with this upgrade. What this means is that fitness trackers with a magnetometer are able to better orient themselves to earth’s gravitational field. Supposedly this helps improve the accuracy of motion tracking.
Misfit has also claimed that they have improved they tap function algorithm. I had a lot of trouble with this with the misfit 1 and it’s good to see they have taken to time to fix these issues with this new iteration. During my tests, for the most part, I felt this to be true. I have noticed an accuracy/touch improvement when I compare this device to the first Misfit Shine.
Misfit Shine Activity And Sleep monitor
I was highly impressed with the first shines tracking abilities, and this version is roughly the same, which is a good thing. I did a few swimming tests and the device was able to log each lap and the distance flawlessly. When I tested it against my almighty 920XT, they both reported 6 laps and .5 miles distance. Pretty impressive considering the device is basically just a stand alone accelerometer.
The device lets you choose a few basic sports and the standard running/cycling/swimming options. You can also utilize the Shine to track sleep although by itself I found it to be a little lacking. If you are looking to track your sleep with the shine it is probably better to pair it with a heart rate monitor.
Sync
I have also noticed that the sync issues I experienced with the original Misfit is not present with this updated version. The device is also much faster to sync and has a much larger Bluetooth range. Misfit has opted to include its support this time around. IFTTT is a new type of wireless protocol that will let you sync your device to appliances or smart scales. This could be useful for those who are looking to utilize their device alongside other fitness tracking equipment.
Battery
Misfit claims the battery will last around 6 months to a year, which is standard for low power trackers like these.
The Shine 2 is waterproof up to 5 ATM, which is ideal for swimmers. Indeed, the whole device seems geared towards swimming in general.
App
The Misfit Shine2 shares the Misfit Link app, which is will pair will most other Misfit products. It is compatible with Android and iOS. The home area has daily activity, steps, distance calories, and sleep metrics. The Misfit app uses a point system to give you a better idea of how well you are achieving your fitness goals. As is standard for these types of apps, you can break down all of your data into monthly or weekly overviews to see details on your progress.
There is also a social section which will let you connect to others that use Misfit products to track their fitness activities. You can browse their profile to see how well they stack up to your own records. A neat feature but it depends on how populated your local area is.
The only way to set up things like alarms or smart notifications is through the app, as the Shine 2 doesn’t have a heads up display. For basic notifications the Shine will suffice, but i tend to prefer a smart watch since they are able to receive texts/call logs from my smart phone.
Conclusion
Misfit has created an interesting device with their shine activity monitor. On one hand, it’s one of the few wearables that you can use in necklace form, and on the other hand, it tends to slide out of its holder a little too easy. The new version has fixed a lot of the previous issues. The device stays put, it has better notifications and fitness tracking, and the price is just about right. I would recommend this device for someone who who is looking for a basic fitness tracker that is highly conceivable and doesn't require a lot of bells and whistles. At around $50, you would be hard pressed to find an activity tracker than offers more value per dollar.
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