Josh Banko, a former senior engineering manager at Apple, who led the team which created the iPad as its vice president of hardware, has joined Misfit Wearables, and is currently focusing on building up the company’s engineering team, VentureBeat reports. At Apple, Banko also managed the development of the new Mac Pro, which sports an iconic cylindrical design.
So far, Misfit has released two products i.e the Shine health tracker, which debuted last year and has shipped over 400,000 units, and the recently launched Beddit sleep monitor. “I think Misfit is kind of taking a radical approach by not charging with the Shine” Banko said in an interview. “There’s a need to miniaturize the technology, to make it seamless in someone’s life”, he added.
While he couldn’t say much about what the company has cooking, Banko hinted that there will “definitely be some big news by the end of the year.” Misfit is certainly overdue for a new Shine model, but the company isn’t afraid to explore new sorts of gadgets. Its Beddit sleep monitor, for example, is a device that sits underneath your sheets for accurate sleep tracking. “One thing I learned from Apple was to push the limits of things, we didn’t constrain people,” Banko said. “We want to have that same mindset [at Misfit]. We’ll do anything that we feel is compelling to consumers, and we’ll execute so it’s the most delightful product they know.”
Misfit has raised over $23 million from investors including Horizon Ventures, Founders Fund, and Khosla Ventures.
