CES 2015: Withings makes a smartwatch for the masses

In summer 2014, the company launched the Activité. Although beautiful, at £300 (€380, $450) it remained a luxury product, and the leather strap was ill suited to strenuous athletics.

The new Activité Pop, in contrast, is priced at £99 (€125, $149.95) and comes in pop chic colours, making it accessible and appealing to the Swatch-buying public. Water-resistant to a depth of 30m, the device has two dials that indicate time and how far the wearer has progressed towards a daily activity goal. It recognises when wearers are swimming or running, and moves its hands automatically when crossing time zones.

The watch also has an eight-month battery life, ‘which helps us overcome the abandonment issues that a lot of other activity trackers have,’ Arielle Carpenter, senior marketing manager North America at Withings, tells LS:N Global.

Visit LS:N Global throughout the week for more stories from 2015 International CES.