The Nokia Steel HR Hybrid Smartwatch will hit the market in time for the upcoming festive season, almost a year after it was originally scheduled to hit the shelves. The watch was initially announced in September 2016, but its planned launch in October never happened as Nokia started negotiating its takeover of Withings, the developer of the original watch, which was eventually completed in June.
Has Nokia fixed the problems?
Shortly after that takeover, Nokia relaunched a few Withings products under its brand, including its Nokia Steel Watches, the Nokia Go, and the Nokia Body+ and Nokia BPM+ connected gadgets. The company decided to re-brand the Withings Steel HR Hybrid Smartwatch, but the watch was held back from launch after failing to meet the quality test.
Apparently, Nokia has fixed the issues, and the Steel watch with Nokia branding is now available for pre-order via the company’s website. It will cost a fortune, but if you want to buy one this year, we recommend that you not get so excited. Nokia says pre-order stock is limited, without explaining how long it will last or which model is more plentiful than the others.
Nokia Steel HR Hybrid Smartwatch: a more capable device
The Nokia Steel HR Hybrid Smartwatch is a more technically-capable cousin of the Nokia Steel, a re-branded version of the Withings Activite Steel. The major difference is the addition of a heart rate monitor and a digital display on the watch’s surface. The heart rate tracker offers continuous feedback while working out, and at-a-glance information about your workout is displayed on the small screen. It also displays other fitness data, including distance traveled, calories burned, and certain information sent from the smartphone connected via Bluetooth.
All these features were previously only available in the Nokia Health Mate application, which has been upgraded for use with the smartwatch, showing complete exercise data based on your heart rate. The watch also tracks your sleep pattern if you wear it during the night and has an alarm to wake you up during a light sleep session. Its internal battery lasts for 25 days and is easy to recharge. Furthermore, the device is water resistant up to fifty meters, making it perfect for swimming.
How much does it cost?
Nokia provides a choice of black or white body color in either 40mm or 36mm watch sizes. These two case sizes cost $199.95 and 179.95, respectively, plus you have a choice between woven, silicone, or leather straps in different colors.
In short, the Nokia Steel HR Hybrid Smartwatch features a stylish and simple analog watch face with modest digital meters for tracking movement and heart rate over the course of the day. In addition, the device features learned and automatic activity tracking for over 10 activities and alerts for texts, calls, and events.
If you pre-order your device now and are lucky enough to receive one of the first models, you should get it by December.
