I know, I know, another fitness tracker launching at CES. This one's got something fairly interesting going for it, however. In fact, when Mio first announced it the other day, it didn't even lead with the device.
The company's a lot more focused on PAI (Personal Activity Intelligence), a new workout metric it claims will do more than just burn calories (insert local news music here) — it might actually help its wearers live a bit longer.
The metric is the result of a fairly intense study of 60,000 individuals over the course of 20 years. The idea here is to provide a way to actually get folks' workouts to work for them, since everyone responds to exercise differently. It's a bit complex — at least at first.
I got a spin through the app and couldn't really make heads or tails of it — it's certainly not as cut and dry as step and calorie counts, though it does offer some pretty straightforward feedback about how you're doing, letting you know how much time you need to spend doing moderate or high-intensity activities in order to hit your ideal number.
As for the wearable itself, the Slice isn't particularly remarkable, beyond the fact that it's the company's first to display the PAI score directly on the device. Mio's other wearables will be able to aggregate PAI scores, but for the time being, the Slice is the only one to display it on its face — the rest will have to rely on the app, which is due out later this month.
The Slice, meanwhile, arrives later this year and will cost $100. The wearable offers optical heart rate monitoring and has an easy-to-read screen that tracks steps, distance, calories burned, and sleep. It will also feature vibration alarms and be able to receive smartphone notifications.
