This hearable could be one hell of a fitness device
Bragi’s The Dash biometric headphones are on course to ship to nearly 16,000 Kickstarter backers this December. That’s the latest from Bragi’s Kickstarter campaign page which says that The Dash has received all the necessary FFC, CE and Bluetooth certifications and production is ramping up.
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It’s a big, bold project so it’s no wonder we’ve seen delays. When Bragi raised $3,390,551 on Kickstarter, backers were initially expecting early bird devices by late 2014 then in the summer the company began aiming for September 2015. In mid October, Bragi started shipping non waterproof developer units and now the current timeline suggests that a quarter of all final, consumer units will be ready to ship by 30 November with the rest to follow throughout December.
The update reads: “We will stop production for a day or two to implement some modifications to the waterproofing process. If the modifications are proving efficient, our team will aim at building 1000 units until the 24th of November, 4000 units by November 30th, the rest of Kickstarter units in the first week of December. Remember there will be 5-11 days shipping time after the build has finished.”
The completely wireless earbuds track pace, distance and heart rate. They are also gesture controlled and can store and play music – around 1000 tracks. In other words, if the biometric tracking is accurate enough, these could be the ultimate running earbuds. At $299, the hearable is also every bit as pricey as that list of features suggests and it’s available to order now, in black and white models and for a vague “from late 2015 on” shipping date.
This year, Bragi raised a further $22 million in investment so it looks like this Kickstarter hearable is heading for big things. Back in August, Bragi took to social media to ask fans which music and sports partnerships they would be interested in. That doesn’t mean these partnerships will see the light of day, of course, but Bragi seems to be taking a platform agnostic approach which is good to see. We should hear more about apps and services when The Dash lands in December.
