Who needs smart scales? TomTom’s Touch wearable measures your muscle
Body composition on your wrist means it can find your fat, too
Any old fitness tracker can count your steps or record your heart rate. TomTom’s Touch wearable goes a step further.
It’s the first in the world to come with built-in body composition measuring – meaning it can work out what percentage of your body is made up of muscle and fat. Or in other words, how closely your insides resemble pork scratching.
The slimline wristband has two electrodes – one underneath that’s always in contact with your wrist, and other on the front you have to press. They send a mild electric current through your body and the band works out if you’re more beef burger than beefcake.
It’s not a torture device; the current is mild enough you won’t even feel it, and it only kicks in when you want to take a recording. So hopefully it won’t turn you into a bigger magnet for static than a shag pile carpet.
The idea is to measure fitness over time, instead of bombarding you with things like steps walked, calories burned and heart rate zones – although TomTom has still squeezed all of those into the Touch as well.
A monochrome touchscreen shows smartphone notifications as well as your daily exercise, and you should get up to five days of battery life between charges.
If you’re not scared of sending electricity coursing through your body, you’ll be able to strap on a TomTom Touch later this month, when they go on sale for £129.