Sony’s SmartBand 2 sports heart rate monitor, new notifications

Sony has announced the next generation of its SmartBand fitness tracker in the SmartBand 2, which adds a heart rate monitor and some new types of notifications.

The heart rate monitor, Sony says, can yield valuable insights about the wearer’s fitness, stress levels, and overall well-being.

The wearable uses LED lights and haptic feedback to notify the wearer of new calls, messages, emails, or social media updates.

The new SmartBand is compatible with any phone running Android 4.4 (KitKat) onwards, or iOS 8.2 onwards.

Sony’s Lifelog app collects and manages the data gathered by the band, and provides “inspiring motivational prompts based on your activity.”

Sony also says the SmartBand 2 provides sleep insights, with automatic sleep detection. A smart alarm clock function gently vibrates the wearer awake at the best time, based on their sleep cycle.

SmartBand 2 charges to full battery capacity in around one hour, Sony says, and will last for up to two days on a single charge.

The bands become available in 60 countries next month for around 119 Euro ($132). They’re made out of silicon rubber and come in black, white, pink, and indigo.

Last year’s SmartBand can now be had for around $45 at Amazon and other marketplaces.