LAS VEGAS—The new Mio Slice looks like many other fitness trackers at CES this year. But it has what the others do not: A simplified way of looking at your fitness stats. It still counts calories, distance, steps, and the like, but a new metric score narrows it all down so you can better tailor your workouts.
The new metric is called PAI. It stands for Personal Activity Intelligence, and it's based on the Norwegian Hunt Study, which ran from 1984 to 2008 and found a correlation between activity and longevity, as well as resting heart rate and cardiovascular health. Instead of focusing on the typical "10,000 steps" goal, Mio Slice and PAI consolidate your age, gender, and maximum and resting heart rates into one simple number—your PAI Score. Keep it above 100 and you could extend your lifespan by 10 years and keep cardiovascular-related diseases at bay.
It sounds like common sense, but streamlining health and fitness stats down to one number is a great idea. For casual users, paying attention to one stat, rather than several, is always going to be preferable to flipping through pages of bar graphs and parameters. If you want a sense for a health platform that also eschews step goals, check out the Pebble TimeSee it at Amazon UK, which gained a new health app late last year.
The design of the Mio Slice itself is sleeker and smaller than previous Mio devices, which I found a little too bulky for my tastes. However, I had some trouble slipping the Slice band on. The spokesperson on hand helped pull the band through the awkwardly designed clasp and snapped it shut around my wrist. Hopefully, the final design will have a band that's easier to use.
Once I had the Slice on, however, it felt completely natural. I couldn't actually do anything with it—it was just a prototype with a static screen—but I did get a look at Mio's new PAI app. The best thing about it was the clean and attractive design, and the advice it gave. For example, based on your PAI score, it could tell you whether you need to do an hour of light activity or just 10 minutes of intense activity. Potentially, you could schedule your time and workouts better with the PAI app.
The PAI score and app aren't exclusive to the Mio Slice. The rest of the Mio lineup, including the Fuse and the LinkSee it at Amazon UK will get to take advantage of the new metric. However, the Slice will be the only one to dispay the score on its screen.
The Mio Slice is also compatible with Android and iOS. Its battery life and water resistance rating, like the design, are not finalized, though it will feature push notifications and a vibrating alarm. The Mio Slice will sell for $99 later this year.
For more, check out PCMag's hands on with the Fitbit Blaze and Misfit Ray.