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The new $199 Basis Peak smartwatch has been announced by Intel’s wearable device division, six months after Intel bought Basis for an undisclosed price back in March. The new smartwatch will be the first product release by Basis since Intel acquired the company.
The Basis Peak is a smartwatch with myriad fitness and health monitoring features, according to a Sept. 30 announcement by Basis. The latest device features a new touch-screen design and improved sensor technology for heart rate and other personal health monitoring, as well as battery life of up to four days and water resistance of up to five atmospheres for swimming, according to Basis.
The new Peak also includes capabilities that will eventually allow the device to display smartwatch notifications, such as incoming calls and texts from an iOS or Android phone, but that feature is not yet ready and will be unveiled in the future, according to the company.
“Since our first product, Basis has continued to set a high standard of rich data and insights for both fitness and sleep,” Jef Holove, general manager of Basis, said in a statement. “Now with Peak, we’ve achieved an even higher level of performance and extended functionality, delivering an all-in-one device to help people live healthier day and night, at work or working out.”
The new device includes a forged aluminum body with a Gorilla Glass 3TM touch screen and soft breathable silicone straps. The watch will be available in matte black with black and
red-accented straps or in brushed silver with white and gray-accented straps. Key features from earlier models of Basis smartwatches will also be included, such as BodyIQ technology, which allows for automatic tracking of sleep, walking, running, biking and other activities, as well as Advanced Sleep Analysis capabilities, according to the company.
Peak will be sold through Amazon, Best Buy and REI, as well as through the Basis Website when it goes on sale in the United States sometime in November.
Intel acquired Basis to expand its presence in the nascent wearable device market, which Intel sees as a key growth area, according to an earlier eWEEK report. An earlier Basis product, the B1 health tracker, is a Bluetooth-enabled smartwatch device that tracks a user’s heart rate throughout the day, detects body movements, tracks workout intensity by showing changes in sweat patterns and monitors body temperature.