Misfit, maker of the Shine and Flash activity trackers, has partnered with swimwear manufacturer Speedo and announced a new activity tracking device focused on monitoring swimming, called Speedo Shine.

Speedo Shine, which was tested at Speedo's development facility, tracks a swimmer’s lap count for all stroke types. The device syncs with the Misfit app, available on iOS and Android devices, and shows the user how many laps they did as well as their swim distance, calories burned, and points earned. Misfit is also working on integrated the device with Speedo’s personalized swim tracking app, called Speedo Fit. Speedo Shine can also track walking, running, cycling, as well as light and deep sleep.

The swim-focused tracker has the same hardware as Misfit Shine, but the firmware is different, Misfit Director of Communications Amy Puliafito told MobiHealthNews. She added that for this reason, the company is considering adding these advanced swimming features to the regular Misfit Shine in the future.

HIMSS20 Digital Learn on-demand, earn credit, find products and solutions. Get Started >>

Puliafito explained that one of the company's key differentiators has always been that their device is waterproof. That, combined with the fact that the Misfit devices are popular with swimmers, led the company to develop Speedo Shine.

"One of the most difficult parts of swimming for fitness is keeping track of laps and the Speedo Shine eliminates that challenge,” Olympic gold medalist swimmer Missy Franklin, who endorses Speedo Shine, said in a statement. “With the Speedo Shine, you can focus on getting the most out of your water workout and it’s also a great looking accessory to wear."

The device will cost $79.99, $10 more than the company's Misfit Shine activity tracker, and will initially be available exclusively at Apple brick and mortar stores, the Apple online store, Misfit.com, and SpeedoUSA.com on September 1st.

Just last month, Misfit unveiled a new inexpensive tracker, called Misfit Flash Link, which is a small circular device. Flash Link is priced at $19.99 and syncs data to a new app the Misfit is also launching, called Misfit Link.

Recently, another company that sells fitness tracking devices, Withings, added automatic swim detection to its wristworn activity trackers, Activite and Activite Pop. The watches, which are water-resistant to 50 meters, will now automatically detect when a user starts their swim workout and will display calories burned as well as total time of the swim once they finish.

A number of other companies have also released swim tracking offerings in the last few years. In July 2014, ecommerce website, SwimOutlet.com, launched a public beta for its swim tracking platform. The website helps swimmers track, share and compare the workouts they monitor with waterproof activity trackers. Another, a Lebanon-based startup called Instabeat announced a swim-focused activity tracker in the form of an eyepiece that clips on to a pair of swimming goggles. Interestingly, although the original promised ship date for the device was October 2013, just 1,000 pre-orders have been filled due to numerous manufacturing problems.