If you’re going to wear a fitness tracker on your wrist, it might as well also show you notifications from your phone… or maybe if you’re going to have a smartwatch, it might as well count how many steps you take.
At least that seems to be thinking behind the LG Lifeband, a new device you wear on your wrist and which combines smartwatch and activity tracker elements.
The LG Lifeband has an OLED touchscreen display on the front that can display details about your daily step count, altitude climbed and an estimate of how many calories you’ve burned. You can also pair it with an Android or iOS device to sync your data via Bluetooth — but the data transfer goes both ways, because you can also receive details about incoming messages on the Lifeband’s display without pulling your phone out of your pocket.
You can also use the wearable device as a remote control for music playback on your phone. It has a 5-day battery and a splash-proof case that you won’t want to take into the swimming pool, but which might be able to survive a light hand washing.
The Lifeband should launch in the second quarter of 2014 for about $180.
LG is also offering an optional accessory: Heart Rate Monitor earphones. Not only will they pipe music into your ears, but they’ll also monitor your pulse from within your ear. They’ll also cost about $180, feature a built-in mic, accelerometer, and Bluetooth.