Undoubtedly still the champions of the wearables market, fitness trackers knew which market they were targeting and did it extremely well ““ something the smartwatch market still don‘t have down to a tee. Jawbone is one of the most successful companies in this sector, and alongside Fitbit, have brought the most wearable technology to people around the world.
In the technology sector, putting upgraded innards into a new package is nothing new. Almost every smartphone manufacturer does it, and this trend has also more recently flowed over into the wearable sector.
In the Up2 fitness and activity tracker, Jawbone has done exactly the same ““ upgrading the Up24 with a minor design tweak and upgraded sensors. The Jawbone Up2 is looking to appeal to customers looking to get the fashionable fitness band, but not willing to spend the cash on the premium model.
Design and Comfort
From the top down, it’s really hard to actually recognise that there’s a difference between the UP2 and UP3, being almost identical in size and shape, and features the same touch sensitive interface.
The only discerning difference between the two can be found when turning the device upside down ““ the Up2 doesn‘t have a heart rate monitor like the Up3 does.
The design is still typically Jawbone, from the contoured touch face to the sometimes awkward clasp. We were using the silver version, and it does feel more like wearing a shiny silver bracelet than your standard step tracker.
The design isn‘t without its flaws, though. The previously mentioned side-clasp does take some time to get used to. It uses a sliding mechanism for a “œone-size-fits-all“ approached, but getting it to fit perfectly does take some time.
None of the Jawbone‘s activity trackers include a display, which might put some people off. But with the brilliant Up app (more on this later) we don‘t have any qualms with not having one. It functions as an activity and fitness tracker before anything else, and it does is extremely well.
Battery Life
The Jawbone Up2 charges with a proprietary cable that clips magnetically at the back. It then charges by the USB on your laptop or PC. It’s an adequate system, but we would have preferred a longer cable.
The battery will last an impressive seven days between charges ““ which outstrips the Fitbit ““ and depending on how active you are, it can even last up to two weeks.
Activity and Sleep Tracking
As a step tracker, the Jawbone Up2 is remarkably accurate. It is in line with the best in the business, including the Apple Watch and the Fitbit Charge HR. As it relies on an accelerometer to guess your steps, it’s never going to be spot on, but these devices are designed to be general guides to your activity levels, and we have no problem with the results.
It also keeps track of your calorie burn, active time, time spent idle and of course, distance travelled during the day. It is a great mix of data to have at your disposal, as good as anything else on the market.
Another nice touch is that any burst of activity can be tagged with a number of exercises, from hiking to Zumba. While as a sports device the Jawbone can’t touch any device with heart rate tracking and GPS ““ it means that you can build up a more complete record of your fitness.
You can also start a stopwatch from the app when you know you will be embarking on a physical activity. It works well, but it has one downside ““ if you stop exercising, the session will stop. So if you take a break from you hike or bike ride, the rest of the session will be lost.
Something you don‘t hear very often with these types of wearables is that the sleep tracking is accurate. In the case of the Jawbone Up2, however, it is particularly accurate. The sleep recording was the correct length, and accurate in terms of times woken up and activity between sleep, which was great to see. This is more than we can say for its rivals.
So if you get up in the middle of the night to go to the loo or get something to drink, you will start seeing trends as to when that usually is.
There is a downside however: you have to activate sleep mode manually when you get into bed which feels a little archaic. You do that by double tapping the touch face, and then holding down to switch to sleep mode. However, a nice touch is that should you forget, the UP app will nudge you to set the wake and sleep times manually the next day, and recover the data in between.
Overall, the Jawbone UP2 is a highly competent fitness tracker, which will suit part time fitness fans. Runners and cyclists will want for more detail, but those who want to hit their daily step goals and take fitness classes will find the Jawbone UP2 suits them well.
Jawbone App
The companion app used with the Jawbone Up2 is still the best way to interact with a fitness tracker you‘ll find anywhere. While the likes of Fitbit’s app give you the hard, raw stats and not much else, Jawbone’s offering works hard to help you understand the data.
It includes the Smart Coach, which will analyse your data and compare it to your ongoing performance. What is really interesting is that it compares your performance to that of other users of the app as well. The insight that you’re in the top 20% of UP users on any given day, or the knowledge that you’re getting more sleep than most people your age, is much more useful than simply counting the number of steps you’ve taken or how many hours of sleep you managed overnight.
It also keeps you motivated with challenges from time to time ““ from getting you to be more active or staying active, to getting to bed at a certain time to help your energy levels the following day. It does is it in such a way that you can‘t help feel positive about the challenges at hand and you do get a sense of achievement when completed.
While this has always been interesting ““ allowing your friends to send messages of encouragement when you hit your goals ““ the introduction of Duels has added a much-needed competitive element to the app. You are constantly updated on the status of the dual, whether it is over a one or three days, or a week.
Overall, this is the most complete fitness app you‘ll find around. It also has food tracking, but that database isn‘t very complete. Instead, you can integrate it with the MyFitnessPal app, app for example. The API is what makes this such a strong proposition, it also integrates with Runkeeper, Strava, or even the Nest thermostat.
Conclusion
All-in-all, the Up2 is hard to beat for a general fitness band, and that’s because of the attractive price point and superior software. If you absolutely have to have a screen or a heart-rate monitor, look elsewhere, but for the everyman‘s device, you
can‘t go wrong with the Jawbone Up2.
Not only does Jawbone’s software provide in-depth information on your sleep and daily activities, but it also offers smart coaching and daily insights to help you live a healthier life. This software is what propels the Up2 ahead of the competition.
The Up2 is the band-based tracker I would buy, and I have no problem recommending it to others.
Follow Theunis on Twitter: @Theunis_BWB
