Zepp Swing Analytics Partners with New Balance for In-App Gamification

The swing analytics of Zepp got a bit more playful as the system announces a new partnership with New Balance to add gamification inside the training experience.

Zepp, which uses a sensor on the end of a bat to send data to an iOS or Android app that converts the data into swing metrics, has partnered with New Balance for the NB HitClub update, allowing baseball and softball users to take swing challenges, earn achievements, compete on leaderboards and win prizes.

“Our focus has always been to bring users the most exciting training experience possible, whether you are in Little League or a professional baseball player. The launch of NB HitClub achieves exactly that,” Zepp CEO Robin Han said in a statement. “Adding gamification into the fold not only is the future of Zepp training devices, but it also illustrates the vision Zepp—along with New Balance—has to help elevate users’ performance.”

Specific in-app challenges include a power hitter challenge that measures bat speed at impact, a time to impact challenge and a max hand speed challenge. Greg Altin, general manager of digital sport for New Balance, said that “working with Zepp to add the excitement of competition to the hours spent in the cage highlights our commitment to help players who unrelentingly pursue their goals.”

Zepp, which also builds sensors for golf and tennis from its headquarters in San Jose, Calif., chose the three metrics out of its suite of analytics in an effort to up training competition.

Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.