Sony lets slip SmartBand 2 with heart rate monitor

Sony has accidentally unveiled the SmartBand 2, its new fitness tracker.
The Japanese tech company published details on the follow-up to the Sony SmartBand over on the Google Play Store in the form of the accompanying official app.
Simply title SmartBand 2, the app reveals plenty about the new device it’s named after. Or at least, it did before Sony pulled it.
It turns out that the Sony SmartBand 2 will have a heart rate monitor positioned on the underside of the band. One of the screenshots found in the app listing reads: “The SmartBand measures your pulse at an even rate through out the day.”
As spotted by Android Police, there’s also a smart wakeup feature to get you going smoothly in the morning. The app’s launch screen, meanwhile, mentions pulse training and following your recovery after a workout, hinting at more uses for that heart rate sensor.
The SmartBand 2 also has a dedicated button that can capture a snapshot of all your data for that moment. Whether that turns out to be a bright idea or a gimmick, only time will tell.
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Naturally, the app is optimised for Sony’s Xperia devices, but it appears to install just fine on other Android phones.
The first Sony SmartBand launched last year, and felt like a project that was still very much in the works, with inaccurate tracking and some half-baked software. Hopefully the Sony SmartBand 2 will see the company following through on its brighter ideas.