Tag: fitbit

As the fast food chain scrambles for a more healthful image, its wearable tech effort flops.

For a very short time, kids were finding McDonald’s fitness tracker devices in their Happy Meals. This wearable technology gadget was taking the place of the traditional toy the company ads to its kids’ meals.

Shortly after rolling out the Step It wearable technology, kids started complaining of skin irritations.

The McDonald’s fitness tracker made headlines and drummed up a lot of attention for the Happy Meals. However, shortly after its August 9 roll out in the United States and Canada, it was removed. The removal of the wearables was voluntary by the fast food chain. It was in response to several complaints of wrist irritation from wearing the Step It activity bands.

A spokesperson from the company released a statement. It said “We have taken this swift and voluntary step after receiving limited reports of potential skin irritations that may be associated from wearing the band.”

The McDonald’s fitness tracker is under investigation to determine the source of the skin issue.

The spokesperson underscored that the safety of their customers is of their highest priority. They are conducting a thorough investigation into the problem with the wearable technology band. In the meanwhile, an alternative Happy Meal toy is being distributed to children.

The Step It activity tracker was essentially a pedometer that was worn on a child’s wrist. It was a very basic device meant to promote activity. It provided blinking lights to encourage kids to keep up the good work when they were moving around.

The wearable tech device was designed with four buttons. The first was a power button. The other three let the child identify his or her activity. Activities included: walking, jumping rope and general sports. This allowed the device to more accurately track the type of motion it was sensing.

The McDonald’s fitness tracker isn’t the first wearable technology to have been taken down from skin irritations. The current ruler of the activity band market, Fitbit, once suffered similar struggles. Its own first wearable had to be recalled in 2014 and in 2015. The Fitbit Surge has also received some complaints regarding skin irritations.

The new Apple Watch activity app arrived with the latest updates to the WatchOS 3 operating system.

Shares of the company behind the Fitbit fitness tracker devices fell considerably this week. The drop in stock prices was the direct result of Apple’s new improvements to its wearable technology.

The Apple Watch plus has received several updates including a fitness app that presents notable competition.

The new Apple operating system, the WatchOS 3, was launched on Tuesday. That OS is meant to address the primary complaints customers have identified in the device. For instance, the new WatchOS 3 makes it possible for wearable technology apps to load more rapidly.

Customers were consistently complaining about slow load and launch times. The upgrade allows apps to load data in the device’s background. The Wall Street Journal reported that this makes the process notably faster. That said, it is now putting the pressure on the FitBit fitness tracker.

The Fitbit fitness tracker maintains a consistent leadership position in the wearable tech industry.

The company behind the Fitbit wearable technology devices is based in San Francisco. It offers a spectrum of different gadgets for monitoring daily activity levels, heart rates and even a wearer’s sleep patterns. In addition, users can employ the compatible app to record their tracked data and to share it.

That said, the new version of the Apple fitness app allows wearers to record and share their tracked data. When users share their tracked data, friends can then message them other through the app. Furthermore, Apple also launched an additional Breathe application on top of its fitness app for its wearables. The Breathe app is meant to provide fitness tracking for wearers in wheelchairs. It also has features geared toward relaxation.

Beyond that, the WatchOS 3 offers SOS. The SOS feature works when the wearer holds down the slide button for a certain length of time. That action automatically calls 911 and sends a notification to the wearer’s emergency contact list. It shares the wearer’s location, date of birth, medical information and allergies with emergency responders. These features go well beyond the offerings of the Fitbit fitness tracker.  This helps to explain the downward shift in the stock prices.