Under Armour is working hard on bringing tracking tech to their range of shoes. Indeed, all of the footwear in Under Armour’s 2020 run suite, including the newly announced UA HOVR Machina, come digitally connected, allowing runners to not only to track and analyse their runs, but also to gain insight into their running form.

The UA HOVR Machina is for the first time introducing real-time Form Coaching. According to Under Armour, this personalised feature helps runners ensure that their form doesn’t break down in the middle of a run by providing real-time, personalised guidance.

The shoes connect to the via Bluetooth to the MapMyRun app, which then starts tracking your stride length and cadence. Runners can also measure their foot strike angle and ground contact time, offered in a post-run analysis, to give them deeper insights into their form, helping runners better manage their risk of injury and improving their performance.

Back to the shoe itself, Under Armour believes that the HOVR Machina hits the sweet spot between a high-cushion running shoe for longer distance races and a lightweight racing shoe for faster running.

Indeed, weighing in at 294 g, the HOVR Machina is far from heavy, while also providing an offset of a low 8 mm. HOVR refers to UA’s proprietary energy return tech, much like Adidas’ Ultraboost and Puma’s Hybrid, which the company believes provides 'zero gravity feel' to maintain energy return and helps eliminate impact.

Also included is a sprint spike-inspired Pebax propultion plate for increased return and more powerful push-offs, while the outsole contains carbon rubber pods under the heel for greater traction and durability at high-impact strike zones.

As far as style is concerned, this is one of the better-looking runners in the UA line-up, with a number of colourways to choose from. As we’ve seen with other shoes from UA, they don’t come cheap, and the HOVR Machina clocks in at just under R3k and are available in Under Armour Brand Houses around South Africa.