Fossil's newest fitness band goes for fashion, hits the US this summer
The Q Motion tracks sleep, has smart-button functions...and seems a lot like Misfit's Ray.
- Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
The Misfit Ray...I mean, Fossil Q Motion.
Suddenly, all fitness trackers seem like they're trying to be jewelry. Fitbit, Misfit and others are trying to make that thing on your wrist counting steps more attractive. Fossil's Q Motion has a similar fashion-esque metal-banded look. It joins a ton of other Fossil wearables that launched last year: other Q activity trackers, fitness-embedded watches and a Q Founder Android Wear smartwatch.
But the Q Motion is a bit different. And...it looks like it's a very close cousin of Misfit's newest wearable, the Ray.
The Q Motion tracks steps and vibrates for notifications, but also does sleep tracking. It also has "smart tap," which lets you set the band to do quick one-tap smart button functions, like change music tracks on your phone, or act as a selfie remote for its camera.
The Q Motion, unlike Misfit Ray, can't be worn as a pendant (design sketches shared with CNET suggested it could, but those were early designs). But the battery lasts 6 months, and is water resistant to 50 meters (164 feet).
The similarity is probably not an accident. Fossil acquired Misfit, a wearable and connected tech company, last year. This is the Misfit-ification of Fossil in progress. The Q Motion costs $95 -- within spitting distance of the Misfit Ray's price -- and comes out in the US this summer. (UK and Australian availability are yet to be announced, but that converts to about £65 or AU$125.)