Nokia-owned Withings has launched a new model of its Steel HR hybrid smartwatch. It’s called the Steel HR Sapphire Edition, and isn’t all that dissimilar to the standard Steel HR — with the main difference being that the Sapphire Edition is armed with a sapphire screen, which should make it a bit more durable.
The Steel HR Sapphire Edition is available in three different style options: The 36mm version can be had in either white with rose gold or blue with silver, while the larger 40mm variant comes exclusively in black with slate grey. All three are equipped with a leather strap, however, and have an aluminum case.
There isn’t much else to note about the Steel HR Sapphire Edition; it has all the same features as the original Steel HR, including a heart-rate monitor, step tracking, notification mirroring (though it’s restricted, functioning as a notifier rather than a smartwatch), and can last for around a month on a single charge.
The Steel HR and Steel HR Sapphire Edition also have an integrated sleep tracker, which records all sorts of information — like whether you woke up during the night, and how long it took you to fall back to sleep. It also monitors the length of time you spent in a deep sleep, marking the transition to a lighter slumber. That information is then fed into the HR’s Smart Wake-Up algorithm, which calculates the most effective time to wake you during a time frame you designate — if you want to wake up at 6:30, you can tell it that it can bring you back to consciousness a maximum of either a quarter of, or half, an hour before that.
Both the 36mm and 40mm Steel HR Sapphire Edition are set at $299.95 in the United States. That’s $120 more than the basic Steel HR and $70 more than the Steel HR Limited Edition. Customers interested can reserve one from today, with shipping scheduled to commence in the next three to five days.
A busy first half of the year
Withings showcased a couple of new wearables at CES 2019 back in January, namely the Move and Move ECG, with the former being a budget range of conventional smartwatches and the latter encompassing analog timepieces infused with support for medical-grade electrocardiogram readings.
The Move ECG is the most top-end variant in the Move range. Outside of the on-demand electrocardiogram, which utilizes three electrodes for consistent accuracy and takes less than a minute to do its thing, it offers day-long activity tracking with automatic recognition for a number of workouts.
Like the Steel HR, Steel HR Limited Edition and Steel HR Sapphire Edition, the Move and Move ECG can be submerged in a body of water up to 50 meters deep for around an hour — though you shouldn’t really need to seeing as neither of the five devices offer tracking options for swimmers.
So, what’s the best value? Well, at $129.95, the Move ECG provides the most bang for your buck… But there’s no denying the fact the Steel HR Sapphire Edition is arguably the most attractive option.