Introduction, display, design and comfort
As wearables continue to become more commonplace, they’re continuing to push forward in more spaces, including the fashion industry.
Misfit was one of the first companies that ‘got it’ with the Misfit Shine. Although far from perfect, it’s simple, sleek and above all, disguised as a simple fashion accessory; you wouldn’t know the tech was inside unless someone told you.
Now, Misfit has released a sportier and more affordable version known as the Misfit Flash, but it doesn’t sacrifice the familiar design.
At just $50 or £50 (about AU$55), Misfit is giving people a quaint little fitness tracker that gets the job done. But if you want a more feature-rich device, it’s best to look elsewhere.
Display and design
The display on the Flash is anything but flashy. There’s no OLED screen – or any screens at all. Rather, it’s a plain, solid colored button. Instead of opting for the Shine’s tapping input, the Flash requires a solid push to get the LED indicator lights twinkling.
The LEDs tell you the time and your progress on daily goals. This can get confusing, but you can customize which lights pop up first in the Misfit app on your phone. I still had a hard time discerning what was what, though.
While the Shine has an anodized aluminum finish, the Flash is made from a thermoplastic polyurethane/polycarbonate combo. In short, it feels like a rubbery plastic. It’s also actually made of the same plastic as the Misfit Shine’s wristband and has flat sides.
It doesn’t have a premium quality look, but since it’s aimed towards the wallet-conscious, sporty crowd, this can be excused. Still, on first glance it’s not much to look at, and I’m wondering where the “fashion” angle is. I suppose the fact that it comes in a variety of colors – seven, to be exact – is a perk, but it generally felt like I was wearing a cheap child’s toy.
There is however, a practical benefit to the Flash design. One complaint of the Shine was that it would often break free of the wristband. The Flash’s pod can only be inserted from underneath, meaning it’ll stay snug inside the wristband as long as you’re wearing it.
Even though it looks like a kid’s bracelet, the Flash has been a durable tracker and definitely won’t break if you drop it. My wearable hasn’t even shown signs of wear and tear despite my constant usage. It’s even waterproof up to 30 meters, meaning showers and dishwashing are all OK activities for leaving the Flash on.
Comfort
The band is easily one of the most comfortable fitness tracker straps I’ve used. It doesn’t get in the way of any jackets and most of the time, I hardly notice I’m wearing it.
While hiking during a particularly hot day, the Flash didn’t feel super gross from sweat even after four hours trekking up and down hills.
It also fits nicely on my small wrist, which is a huge plus from me because I have such a hard time finding perfectly-sized wearables.
The band’s clasp is a little difficult to fasten if you’re aiming for the very last opening. Still, it still doesn’t hold a candle to the Fibit’s array of nightmarish clasps.
Performance, compatibility, app and battery life
The Misfit Flash has a 3-axis accelerometer and can measure steps, calories burned, and distance along with sleep quality and duration.
However, I found that the Flash is far less precise than other fitness trackers I’ve used.
The end of my four-hour hike yielded about 17,000 steps from the Flash. But my Microsoft Band and the HealthKit app on the iPhone 5S both tallied up around 20,000 steps. It’s worth mentioning that I put both wearables on and the phone in my pocket at the same time. I also subtracted the amount of steps I took in the morning before my hike from those numbers.
Sleep tracking was also sketchy at best. I used the Flash in conjunction with the Microsoft Band to see how the two stacked up against each other and got vastly different results. Unless I’m reading them wrong, the Misfit app doesn’t do a very good job displaying my sleeping habits.
The Misfit wearable tracks sleep through your movements automatically, while the Band requires a button push to begin its movement tracking. The latter also uses a heart rate monitor to check on your resting heart rate. The Flash is left at a disadvantage compared to Microsoft’s sensor beast, so it’s understandable that the numbers it collected weren’t the most accurate.
Automatic tracking is nice though, since I’m the type of person who would forget to push a button every night and every morning. That said, perhaps an automated solution is not the most exact science to track sleep.
Compatibility
Like a lot of other fitness trackers, the Flash can be used with almost all mobile devices including the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus all the way down to the iPhone 4S, if its running iOS 7 and later.
Most Android handsets work with the Flash – notably the Samsung Galaxy S5, S4, Note 3, Google Nexus 5 and 4 with Android 4.3 JellyBean and later.
Though available to use with the Shine, Windows Phone compatibility is still “coming soon” for the Flash.
Battery life
Perhaps the most appealing feature of the Flash? The tracker’s super long battery life and the fact that it requires no charging.
Lack of cords alone has helped it stay on my wrist longer than most other wearables simply because there’s no need to take it off since I don’t have to worry about juicing it up.
There’s also hardly anything to charge in the first place, since the Flash utilizes Bluetooth 4.1 or BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), to sync up with your smartphone.
When the six months of battery life is finally up, all you have to do is replace the coin cell battery, just like you would with an analogue watch.
The app and interface
The Flash app has a straightforward user interface that is easy to read but scrolling through the different days or weeks can be tedious.
There are different tabs where you can view your weekly and daily step output, check your sleep patterns and monitor your weight. Similar to Jawbone’s app, you can also connect with friends to share and compete to “celebrate activity.”
Like other fitness tracking apps, this one also has graphs depicting metrics. I like the goal chart in particular, which you can swipe up to view, because it lets me know how many goals I’ve hit and gives me percentages for each day.
The sleep charts are less clear, unfortunately. The app simply doesn’t do much to really tell me what the different colored bars mean.
Verdict
Discrete with no cords, the Misfit Flash is a decent fitness tracker that has drawn a lot of attention. That said, this is not for people who want something with more detailed metrics.
We liked
The long battery life and price tag are the real winners here. Even if it turns out not to be a fit for you, you’re not losing much plunking down 50 bucks on this thing.
Paired with its rugged durability and comfort, the Misfit Flash can hang out on your wrist just about anywhere, including underwater activities. This is one of the few wearables that you can actually wear wherever you go and for as long as you want.
We disliked
Just because it claims it can do everything, doesn’t mean it can do it well. The Flash just didn’t seem to cut it in the accuracy department. So, if you’re worried about a device accurately tracking every step and every minute of REM sleep, look elsewhere.
Misfit also wants its line to be the best looking fitness trackers out there but the Flash isn’t much to look at.
Final verdict
The Flash is a forgettable device. It doesn’t do enough to warrant applause, but it’s not outright awful, either. At best, it’s an affordable, entry-level fitness tracker. At worst, it’s a fancy pedometer.
It’s also not much to look at, and I can’t help feeling like I’m wearing costume jewelry. It seems Misfit knows this, which is why the Swarovski Shine was launched. That tracker appeals to the more fashion-conscious types who want a little more glitz and glam from their accessories.
But since I’m not willing to break the bank paying for a mediocre fitness tracker just because it “matches my outfit,” I’ll settle for the Misfit Flash. You can’t really expect more with a price tag of $50, but you do get what you pay for.
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