Withings CEO Cedric Hutchings has suggested the company could produce an even cheaper Activité fitness tracker despite having already introduced a cut-priced option.
While the original Activité watch grabbed consumers’ attentions when unveiled late last year, the luxurious timepiece’s £320 price tag caused many to stem their enthusiasm.
At CES 2015 last week, however, the French manufacturer unveiled the Withings Activité Pop, a £120 wearable that has ditched leather and Sapphire glass in favour of more traditional – and affordable – materials.
The manufacturer isn’t fully satisfied yet, however, telling TrustedReviews it is already looking at plans bring the techy timepiece further down the price range.
“Of course cheaper models is what we are looking at,” Hutchings told us.
Although not yet ready to introduce a sub-£100 Activité, the Withings CEO has hinted the company is already looking at ditching the Pop’s metal frame for a cheaper plastic option.
“It is a bit too early to comment on a plastic Activité but for sure we are looking at these options,” he said. “We see this very much as the first-generation of a product we are looking to develop so we are looking at this.”
Although a move to plastic would bring the Activité’s price down further, the company head has suggested it would come at the cost of the device’s premium styling.
“Today we did not want to make any trade off with a move to plastic for example – we feel the Activité’s metal body really sets us apart from the basic activity tracker.”
He added: “There would be a lot of constraints and require a new type of manufacturing, but for sure we are working on price reduction moving forward.”
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Despite lining up £200 cheaper than its predecessor, the Withings Activité Pop has retained all of the original watch’s fitness tracking credentials.
Brimmed with all manner of sensors, the traditionally styled watch is able to record user’s step count, calorie burn, distances covered and sleep patterns.
While a secondary dial on the watch’s face show’s user’s progression on a pre-set daily goal, more in-depth data can be viewed via the Bluetooth 4.0 connected app.
