In line with my report from earlier this month, Nike has taken the wraps off of its brand-new Fuel Band. The FuelBand is Nike’s fitness tracking device that is worn around the wrist, and it has been popular (including within Apple’s upper ranks). The new version, officially called Nike FuelBand SE, makes improvements to the design that focus on color, durability, and connectivity. As I reported, the new FuelBand is more durable, more water-resistant, and connects to devices via Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy (LE) technology:
In addition to the classic black color, the new wrist-worn device will come in Volt, Pink Foil or Total Crimson. While new external hardware is present, much of the upgrade this year revolves around accuracy and software. The company has analyzed data in order to make tracking more efficient and more accurate:
The new device launches with a new app and several new pieces of functionality:
In addition to the new software features, accessing the time is easier: just double click the button on the band. A new milestones feature is also present:
“3.2.1. GO! Sessions” are a way to track specific activities throughout the day. Going out for a run? That’s a session. Hitting the gym? That’s a session. This new feature lets users start and mark sessions right on the Nike+ FuelBand or from the app, allowing a user to track exactly how much NikeFuel they earned in that specific session of activity.
Win the Hour
“Win the Hour” is your motivation partner. It uses the Nike+ FuelBand SE to track how much movement is accumulated at each hour throughout the day and encourages people to move more often by prompting users to move if they’re missing their goal. It also recognizes when goals are hit and lets users know they’ve ‘won the hour.’ Move reminders are set in-app and on-band and motivate the user to move more and move often throughout the day.
Fuel Rate
“Fuel Rate” is a new feature that tracks the rate at which NikeFuel is being earned. The Fuel Rate is measured as NikeFuel earned per minute and is a great way to see the intensity of your movement to get the right information needed to move better toward your goals. The Fuel Rate is viewed as a numerical readout in real time on the Nike+ FuelBand App and uses colors from red to green to simply indicate how you’re doing. Knowing how intensely you move is also valuable information to help optimize activities throughout the day.
Groups
People like to work out and share accomplishments and competition with friends. To help this process, Groups functionality and improved social sharing tools have been added to Nike+ FuelBand SE and new App. With Groups, Nike+ FuelBand SE users can join their friends in a group and share their latest achievements, cheer each other on and even work together towards one common group goal.
Nike has also announced a pair of new iPhone apps: a more social version of its Nike+ Running app and the Nike Move app for the iPhone 5s (which Apple debuted at its September 10 event).
All of the new apps and the new FuelBand SE will be available on November 6th. The new hardware will cost $149, and it is going to be available in the U.S., U.K, Canada, France, Germany, and Japan for the first time. Pre-orders start today in the US, UK, France and Germany.
