Dialog Semiconductor has announced its latest design win in a consumer wearable device. The Misfit Shine 2 fitness and sleep monitor uses the Dialog DA14581 SmartBond Bluetooth Smart System-on-Chip (SoC) to connect to smartphones and other Bluetooth-enabled devices. Misfit merged with Fossil Group, a global design, marketing, and distribution company specializing in consumer lifestyle and fashion accessories, in December 2015.
Shine 2 is a powerful new wearable device in Misfit’s fitness tracking offering. It has an elegant, slim profile and includes new features, functions and capabilities without sacrificing the market-leading 6-month battery life of its predecessor. A tiny coin cell battery powers the device. Shine 2 accurately tracks fitness activity and sleep patterns. It has a built-in accelerometer complemented by a newly-added 3-axis magnetometer. The tracker displays progress and time using a multitude of rainbow-colored lights and motivates users with Misfit Move, a feature that encourages them to be active with a vibrational nudge. A prominent feature of Shine 2 is call and text notifications in the form of vibration and unique light patterns. Compared with the original version, the new tracker offers improved touch responsiveness using capacitive sensing, as well faster syncing and extended Bluetooth range.
Dialog’s Wearable-on-Chip Bluetooth Smart SoC technology is designed to minimise time to market and reduce the size and costs of wearable computing devices while maximising battery life. According to analyst IHS, the market for wearables will be worth $32 billion by 2019 (IHS Technology) when 230 million of them will be sold.