HTC, Under Armor Team Up Again, This Time For A Smart Scale
You can say a lot of things about HTC, but one thing you won't be able to accuse it of is a quitter. Going against all odds, expectations, and sometimes even against rationality, the Taiwanese OEM seems hellbent in staying on its own course. Or die trying. Despite the major setbacks it faced in the health and fitness department, it is once again starting a venture with Under Armor for another fitness product, but this time for something as simple and mundane as a connected weighing scale.
At the beginning of the year, HTC and Under Armor inked a partnership that was both unexpected yet unsurprising. Equally unsurprising was the fact that the first product to come out of that relationship would be a fitness tracker. After all, everyone has one these days. Or at least would have been its first product if not for repeated delays.
Although we did get our hands, or wrists rather, on a sample HTC Grip back in March, an actual retail version won't be making it to the market this year. As early as July, HTC was already showing signs that it wanted to rethink the whole wearable business. Then in October, it finally admitted that it is really pushing back the release of the Grip. Way back to early 2016. By then, the HTC Grip we knew might be a very different beast.
Perhaps HTC thought it bit off more than it could chew and is now settling for something more manageable but also somewhat less exciting. In a Bluetooth SIG filing, which has since been removed from public eyes, a certain "UA Scale" came to light, described as a Bluetooth scale to measure weight and body fat, made by HTC and Under Armor. Other than that, however, the device is completely shrouded in mystery.
A connected weighing scale is hardly the most sophisticated fitness device, nor is it always trusted by all fitness buffs (weighing versus measuring waistlines and related body parts). It's hardly an ambitious project to start with as far as partnership with Under Armor is concerned. But given the almost indefinite delay of the HTC Grip, they might as well start somewhere.
VIA: Phone Scoop