Misfit Phase

Misfit may be an established name in the activity tracking space, the new Misfit Phase is the company's first watch, having previously dealt in basic, jewelry-inspired activity trackers such as the Misfit Shine 2 and Misfit Ray.

Even compared to other fitness-focused smartwatches, however, the Phase is something different. Instead of a straight Apple Watch 2 or Fitbit Charge 2 rival, it's a hybrid device, a smartwatch for those who prefer traditional timepiece styling.

Building around standard run, swim and cycle tracking skills, it sacrifices an integrated heart rate sensor and GPS for a clean, uncluttered design. It's smarter than it looks though, with activity tracking joined by an array of smartphone-syncing notification alerts and wrist-based phone controls.

Misfit Phase price

Despite its basic tracking skills, the Misfit Phase isn't particularly cheap. It's out now and can be picked up from £165 ($175, AU$246).

That puts it in similar territory to the Withings Steel HR and Fitbit Blaze, devices that offer better fitness tracking and more advanced smart skills.

What none of its rivals have, however, is the look of the Phase. But is that enough to make you buy it?

Design

Waterproof to 50 meters
Looks like a normal, stylish watch
Not easy to use in the dark

Most fitness-focused smartwatches are either bland or overly brash, just look at the Garmin Forerunner 35 and Fitbit Blaze. The Misfit Phase, however, is all sorts of stylish, and features a design where subtlety is key.

For the outside world looking in, this is just a traditional watch, and a damn fine looking one at that. A brushed metal body is paired with a supple leather strap, with just two side-mounted buttons the only thing detracting from its smooth, clean finish.

If you don't want people to know you're trying to get fit, they won't. You'll be able to dodge all the endless questions of how your new fitness push is going and simply enjoy the anonymity. There's no LCD display or touchscreen panel here either. Instead, a 41mm traditional watch face provides a clean, classic look that disguises hidden smarts.

Press the top button on the watch's right edge, and the time-telling arms will move to indicate your progress toward your daily step goal. The watch's face becomes a 0-100% dial, with the 6 o'clock marker indicating 50% of your target activity.

Further upping the Phase's design game, there are six different color and strap combinations to choose from. Covering white, black, blue and gold combos, three come with luxury leather straps and three come bundled with a hardwearing silicone rubber band.

While the rubber strap options will set you back £165 ($175, AU$246), plump for a leather band and you'll end up paying £185 ($195, AU$274). That's not cheap for what's essentially a glorified step counter.

Although a stunning bit of kit, the gray-bodied, deep blue-faced model we tested did have a design downfall - it's not the easiest to read at night. Although the watch's hands are silver and bright, the hour markings are dull and dark, making getting an accurate time reading in the hours of darkness tricky.

That's the only design-based grumble we had though. The Phase is also waterproof to 50 meters, although you wouldn't want to take it for a dip without a sports strap.

The same can be said for running. We wore the Misfit Phase on a 5K run and although comfortable, found the combination of soft, supple leather and mounting levels of sweat wasn't the best mix.

If you want this as a run or swim-friendly wearable, you might want to invest in an additional silicone strap available at $25/£25/AU$35 a pop. It won't look as nice, but it will definitely serve you better in the long run.

Specs, performance and fitness

Only offers basic tracking features
Displays smartphone notifications
Lets you control phone functions from your wrist

This isn't a watch for the hardened fitness enthusiast. Yes, it can track your step count, calorie burn, distance covered and sleep, as well as your cycle and swim sessions, but it's more of an activity guide than a fitness coach.

A 3-axis accelerometer at the heart of the watch automatically tracks your activity and sleep levels. There's no need to tell it you're going for a run or heading off to bed, its algorithms can deduce what you're up to based on your movements.

The base level of fitness tracking is a step count, and here the Phase is a little bit stingy. Nothing dramatic, but compared with an Apple Watch Nike+ and Polar M200, we found its daily step tracking came up just a little bit short of the competition.

Carry shopping in your watch-adorned hand or walk around with your hand shoved deep inside a pocket and your true step count will be even further out. This isn't unusual though.

Like any activity tracker that uses motion sensors alone to calculate distances, it's not going to be as on-point as one that pack GPS-enhanced tracking.

And although slightly off, the Phase has one of the more accurate motion sensors we've used. We saw around 5% variance compared with more advanced trackers. Its main issue is that when it comes to activity tracking, it doesn't offer anything different from the rest.

This isn't just a fitness tracker though. Unlike most analogue hybrid smartwatches that hit a stumbling block when it comes to wrist-based notifications, the Phase plays nice with your synced smartphone (iOS, Android and Windows 10).

Receive a text, email or message and the watch will vibrate and the hands spin around. The small pinhole window at the base of the watch's face will also display different colors to alert you to the type of notification you've received. Yellow could mean text, red email, and so on.

Using the accompanying app, you can also set the hands to point to different hours on the watch face to indicate different contacts.

Yes, it takes a little while to get used to, and you're still going to have to remember what color is assigned to what type of notification and which contact you set up to be shown at the 3 o'clock marking, but after a while it all starts dropping into place.

It's still not as accessible as a true smartwatch, though. Want to know what any of these messages say and you'll still need to pull your phone from your pocket. What's more, like telling the time, with the lack of a backlight, spotting those small color marks at night is anything but easy.

You're not going to miss a message though. The watch's vibrations - which can also be set as an alarm and to indicate when you've hit your daily fitness goal - are a full-on vigorous buzz that can be startling at times.

What really gives the Phase an edge, though, is Misfit's 'Link' features. This isn't a passive device only feeding data back to the paired smartphone when syncing. Instead, pressing the Phase's bottom button lets you interact with your phone. If you're a music fan, a single press will play or pause what you're listening to.

That's not all though, a double tap will skip tracks forward and a triple tap skip tracks back. Hold the button down and you can increase the volume.

It's got uses for those not into music, too. Want it to control your phone's camera? A single press will capture a single shot while holding it down will enable burst mode. You can also use it as a presentation clicker or assign your own tasks, such as finding your phone. It's a nice touch that helps the Phase stand out in a sea of similar devices.

Compatibility and app

Works with Android, iOS and Windows 10
Easy to sync and well laid out data
Doesn't coach you on how to improve

Like any activity tracker or smartwatch, the Misfit Phase's captured data comes into its own when relayed on the free accompanying Misfit app.

Compatible with iPhones and Android handsets running iOS 7.1 or Android 4.3 and later, it'll also play nice with your Windows 10 device. BlackBerry owners, however, might want to look for a different wearable.

Unlike some smart accessories - we're looking at the Huawei Fit and Withings Activité here - there was no trouble syncing with the Phase. Simply open the app and the watch's Bluetooth connection kicks in, relaying all recently recorded data in a matter of seconds.

Your data is well laid out too. You can deep dive on a day's activity, seeing when you were most active, how long each active session lasted, the distances you covered and the calories you burned. You can also reset your goals if you find you're hitting your targets too easily or struggling to get near them.

Despite a number of graphs and graphics showing how you've performed on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, disappointingly, the Phase does little to show you how to improve. Short of just walk more or be more active, there's no guidance on how to improve your fitness, bring down that 5K time or increase your calorie burn.

The same can be said for its sleep tracking. While you'll get a lovely graph of the hours you slept and areas of light and deep sleep, if you had a bad night's sleep you'll feel it, you won't need to check the app.

Further coaching and tips are needed to make this a must-use for anything more than general goal-based motivation.

Fortunately, the Misfit app has cross-compatibility in its favor. Its data can be synced up with a number of third-party apps, including Apple's Health app, to transform this data into something deeper. If you're a Nest owner, you can even sync it with your thermostat so you always wake up at the right temperature.

Battery life

Up to 6 months of life
Battery is cheap to replace

Whatever sort of wearable you're after, be it an Apple Watch rival or item of smart clothing, battery life is key. Fortunately, the Misfit Phase doesn't just look like a traditional watch, it has a comparable battery life too.

Thanks in large part to having shunned a battery-sapping touchscreen display, it'll last up to 6 months at a time.

There's no fiddly dock for recharging, either. Instead, the Phase is powered by a traditional CR2430 coin cell battery. When it eventually runs flat, just nip down to your local shop and pick up a replacement for the price of a coffee. You can switch out the battery yourself using the boxed tool that removes the rear of the watch.

Given we've only been using the Phase for a week, we can't fully vouch for these six-month battery life claims.

Based on our experience of past Misfit trackers and rival hybrid watches such as the Withings Activité Pop, however, we'd anticipate 6 months to be at the very upper end of expectations. Still, four or five months between battery changes is nothing to be sniffed at.

The other benefit of such longevity is you can enjoy a lazy weekend or just abandon the watch in your gym bag for a couple of days, knowing that when you pick it up again it will still be powered up and ready to go.

The Misfit Phase is a great entry-level activity tracker with a few impressive smart features thrown in. The trouble is it's got anything but an entry-level price tag.

It's a watch that will motivate you to be a little more active rather than train you to improve your fitness. It will do this while looking great though, the watch's design really is its big draw.

For some, that's enough, and if you're after an activity tracker that's easy on the eye, this is arguably the best looking one out there.

Who's this for?

The Misfit Phase is for those who want to keep tabs on their daily activity without feeling pressured into becoming a full-on fitness fanatic.

It's a device that will help get you moving, but won't provide the incentive to do any more than that. No, it probably won't appeal to hardened runners or cycling enthusiasts, but it'll please those looking to become more active while looking good at the same time.

Proving that wearable tech can be fashionable, its stunning, if slightly plump design will make it appeal to most, with a range of color options ensuring there's a style to suit all.

Should you buy it?

This will depend on exactly what you need from a fitness tracker. If you're after basic step counting with the occasional run thrown in, it will do the trick just fine. The trouble is, so will a number of devices at half the price.

Looking good costs, and in the case of the Phase, costs big. It's not just about style and step counts, though.

Its smartphone-synced notifications might be a little clunky and hard to follow, but being able to control your music and camera shutter from your wrist is a bonus.

There's an upside to its design, too. Unlike a lot of activity trackers and fitness watches, you're not going to want to take this off. Whether you're at work, at the gym or enjoying a night out, the Phase looks good enough to keep on tracking all day and night.

It's a 24-hour tracker that'll actually be given the time to do its thing and monitor your movements, all of them. The Phase looks great, but delve a little deeper and it's more than just eye-candy.

First reviewed: January 2017

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Misfit Phase

Misfit Phase price

Design

Specs, performance and fitness

Compatibility and app

Battery life

Who's this for?

Should you buy it?

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