Misfit Introduces Bluetooth Headphones for Running and More

Misfit, the same company that produces the Shine fitness tracker, unveiled a curious product at CES 2016: wireless in-ear headphones that go the extra mile and track your activity too—no wristband required. The Specter made its debut yesterday at CES 2016, the big electronics show.

Designed as Bluetooth headphones for running or biking, they go "beyond tracking," says Ryan Geraghty, an industrial designer for Misfit who worked on the Specter. They'll tell you how far you've run and how much you've slept, like a lot of fitness trackers do. But these also come with a built-in filter so that you'll hear that car behind you, for example, even though you've got your motivational tunes cranked as you're pounding the pavement.

What It Features

The Bluetooth headphones use an embedded accelerometer at the end of their cord that you clip to your clothing to keep track of your movements, which you can check by looking at the app on your smart phone.

Consumer Reports hasn't had a chance yet to test out the audio on these headphones. But the company says Specter has dual drivers for "clean, rich sound."

Geraghty says that one of his favorite features is the ergonomic in-ear design that "make it more comfortable than wearing regular headphones, especially if you use them when sleeping" and press your ear against them.

Specter also works with an app on the Misfit Link, another activity monitor the company makes, to allow you to control things remotely, such as turning off the lights at home. Who knew a pair of headphones could come in so handy?

Misfit says these Bluetooth headphones for running use rechargeable batteries that last for 10 hours. Specter isn't available in stores just yet but will be later this year, the company says.