Jawbone UP Review
The Jawbone UP24 was released in November 2013 to compete with the wildly-successful FitBit line of fitness trackers. Featuring a unique, lightweight design, the Jawbone UP24 has won over fitness fans around the world with its smart fitness tracking apps and intelligent sleep tracking.
Jawbone also released a new device called the Jawbone UP3, which aims to be the world’s most advanced fitness tracker.
Find out everything you need to know about Jawbone and their lineup of fitness trackers today in our Jawbone review.
What is Jawbone?
Jawbone is a fitness tracking equipment company based in San Francisco, California.
Jawbone was founded way back in December 1999 – although it was founded under the name Aliph.
Over the years, Jawbone has released a diverse range of electronics, including wearable fitness trackers, headsets, and speakers.
Today, the company is best known for the UP, UP24, and UP3 fitness trackers.
What is the Jawbone UP24?
The Jawbone UP24 is an upgrade on the original Jawbone UP fitness tracker. Jawbone describes it as “a revolutionary system that guides you every step of the way to a better, healthier you.”
It features a unique, twisting design which comfortably wraps around your wrist.
Jawbone UP24 Key Features
— Activity Tracking: Track your movement and distance traveled throughout the day and find out what those metrics mean.
— Sleep Tracking: Keep track of your sleep patterns to understand how the choices you make affect your health and wellbeing. The UP24 is smart enough to monitor your sleep cycles and wake you up at the optimal time so you feel refreshed.
— Smart Coach: Smart Coach aims to offer personalized advice to users, giving them the motivation and “personalized insights” they need to reach their fitness goals.
— Wireless Syncing: The Jawbone UP24 syncs via Bluetooth and you never have to log in or connect your device to upload your data.
— Splash-Proof: UP24 isn’t waterproof (most fitness trackers, including the FitBit, are not waterproof either). It is, however, splash-proof, which means you can safely wear it in the rain and when you’re sweating. You just can’t submerge it.
— Idle Alert: If you stay in one spot for too long, the Jawbone UP24 can deliver customized alerts encouraging you to get up and move throughout the day to achieve your fitness goals.
— Sleep Alarm: The UP24 will vibrate when you need to wake up. Since it’s attached to your wrist, this is a silent wakeup call that can be particularly useful if you sleep with a partner.
— LED Indicators: The front of the Jawbone UP24 doesn’t have a full LED display. What it does have, however, is a small LED indicator light which tells you your current mode status. There are two LED indicators in total.
— Achievements, Goals, and Milestones: Keep track of your daily milestones, lifetime records, and fitness achievements over the years.
— Connect with Friends & Family: The UP24, like the FitBit, lets you connect with friends and family – then compete against them for daily activity goals.
— Customizable Colors and Sizes: The UP24 comes in five different colors, including orange, pink, black, red, and green, as well as three different sizes: small, medium, and large.
Other key features of the device include a tri-axis accelerometer, Bluetooth 4.0 BTLE, a vibrating motor, hypoallergenic TPU rubber, and a 32mAh lithium-ion polymer battery.
The Jawbone UP24 lasted for an average of 7 days when it was first released. However, Jawbone recently released a software update which claims to double battery life from 7 days to 14 days.
When your UP24 dies, you can easily recharge it using the included cable.
Both the UP24 and other UP devices can fully synchronize with the UP mobile app, which is available for iOS and Android.
You can buy the Jawbone UP24 wristband for $129.99.
What is the Jawbone UP3?
Jawbone calls the UP3 “The world’s most advanced tracker.” It’s the newest member of the UP lineup.
The main difference between the Jawbone UP3 and the previous UP24 is the addition of a heart rate sensor. Here are all of the personal metrics you can track with the Jawbone UP3:
— Activity Tracking
— Sleep Tracking
— Smart Couch Diet and Exercise Tracking
— Heart Health
Jawbone aims to provide a detailed picture of your calorie burn no matter what you’re doing. In fact, Jawbone claims the device is smart enough to recognize whether you’re playing a pickup game of basketball or biking around your neighborhood. The end result is – or should be – a more detailed description of your calorie burning.
The Jawbone UP3 isn’t just smarter about fitness tracking: it’s smarter about sleep tracking. The UP3 can track REM cycles as well as light and deep sleep patterns. Ultimately, Jawbone wants to maximize your sleep and “improve the quality of your days.”
Finally, there’s the addition of a heart rate sensor. Jawbone has added “bio-impedance sensors” to the wristband, letting it automatically track your heart rate.
All of these metrics let Jawbone’s Smart Coach app learn more about you, which means it can recommend more personalized diet and exercise advice.
Jawbone UP3 Key Features
Here are some of the key features of the Jawbone UP3:
— Wireless Syncing: The UP3 syncs via Bluetooth, which means you never have to plug your UP3 in or upload your data.
— Auto Activity Classification: The UP3 aims to be smart enough to know what you’re doing – whether you’re running, biking, or playing sports.
— Water-Resistant: The original UP and UP24 were splash-resistant, which meant you could use them in the rain or when you’re sweating. The UP3, however, is water-resistant and can safely be used underwater up to 10m. Feel free to swim while using it.
— Idle Alert: Do you want the Jawbone UP3 to bug you every time you’re being lazy? The Idle Alert function will do just that motivating you to achieve your fitness goals.
— Smart Alarm: The UP3 will silently wake you up by vibrating on your wrist in the morning. This is also a Smart Alarm, which means the UP3 will wait for the precise moment in your sleep cycle to wake you up so you feel the most refreshed.
— Activity Tracking: Track your steps and physical movement throughout the day, whether you’re biking, running, or playing pickup basketball.
— Achievements, Goals, and Milestones: Keep track of your daily milestones, lifetime records, and fitness achievements over the years.
— Connect with Friends and Family: The Jawbone UP3 is socially-friendly, and you can connect with friends and family to motivate each other to workout.
— LED Indicators: View your mode status at a glance using LED indicator lights on the front of the Jawbone UP3.
— 7 Day Battery Life: The UP3 has a 38 mAh battery which promises to last for “up to 7 days”. You can also charge the Jawbone UP3 in about 100 minutes using the magnetic USB charging cable.
— Galvanic Skin Response: The Bio-impedance tracker monitors three things on the surface of your skin – your heart rate, respiration, and galvanic skin response. This gives the UP3 a more complete profile of your fitness and health.
The Jawbone UP3 is available in two different colors: silver and black. It’s only available in one size but that size is fully adjustable to fit wrists of all shapes and sizes.
The Jawbone UP3 retails at a price of $179.99.
How to Buy Jawbone Products
The Jawbone UP is available at dozens of retailers around the world, including most electronics retailers. In North America, the UP lineup is available at AT&T, Amazon, Apple, Best Buy, Future Shop, InMotion, Kohl’s, Mac Borneo, Radio Shack, SkyMall, Sprint, Superbalist, and Verizon.
You can also purchase UP from the official Jawbone online store.
Jawbone Versus FitBit
FitBit basically created the fitness tracking equipment market. As a result, every new product in the market must be compared against FitBit.
So how do the Jawbone UP24 and UP3 stack up against the FitBit? Here are some points of comparison to consider:
— Neither the Jawbone UP3 nor Jawbone UP24 have a full LED display. Like the FitBit Flex, they use LED indicator lights to keep users updated on daily progress. Other FitBit models, including the FitBit Charge HR and Surge, function more as smartwatches and have full LED displays. If a full screen is important to you, then Jawbone won’t have the fitness tracker you’re looking for.
— Better sleep monitoring. The Jawbone offers fantastic sleep tracking. It differentiates between deep, light, and REM sleep, which gives you more accurate information about your sleep patterns. It can also vibrate to wake you up at the perfect moment in your sleep cycle. The FitBit can vibrate to wake you up, but it won’t monitor your sleep cycle or pick the optimum time.
— Smart Alarm. One of the major advantages of Jawbone fitness trackers is their ability to wake you up at the best possible time. You set your alarm for a range of times, and Jawbone will vibrate to wake you up at the most efficient point in your sleep cycle. FitBit can’t do that.
— Automatic Sport Detection. FitBit measures all activity in pretty much the same way – steps taken and distance traveled. Jawbone, however, is actually smart enough to detect which activity you’re doing – including sport detection. If you’re the type of person who bikes in the morning and plays pick-up basketball or street hockey in the afternoon, then this can be a valuable feature.
— Jawbone is more expensive than most FitBit models. Basic FitBit models start at $60. The popular FitBit Flex and FitBit One both cost $100. The Jawbone UP24 starts at $150, with the UP3 priced at $180.
— The Jawbone UP3 is water-resistant. Jawbone can’t call its UP3 “waterproof” because it can’t safely go deeper than 10 meters. But in reality, the Jawbone UP3 will withstand any type of water you’re swimming in. FitBit does not have a water-resistant model. If you’re a swimmer, then this is a huge advantage for Jawbone. The Jawbone UP24, on the other hand, is simply splash-resistant, which means it can safely be taken in the rain and sweated on.
The fitness tracking equipment market is becoming more crowded every day. Jawbone aims to carve its own niche in the fitness market by offering a few key advantages. Water-resistance, intelligent apps, and better sleep cycle monitoring are the key advantages between the Jawbone UP3 and UP24 and other fitness trackers.
Other Jawbone Products
Jawbone has been around since 1999 and they’ve released a number of other products over the years. Other popular Jawbone products include:
JAMBOX
Jawbone offers two different “JAMBOX” products (yes, it’s written in all caps). There’s the MINIJAMBOX and BIGJAMBOX. The MINI is a portable speaker which can easily fit into a backpack or pocket, while the BIG is a standard-sized portable speaker. Both speakers claim to offer “stunning sound at any size.”
Headsets
Jawbone also offers a Bluetooth speaker called ERA which claims to offer crisp, clear, and coherent voice communication wherever you go. It’s also specially designed for in-ear comfort. You can use ERA to talk to other people or just listen to music wirelessly.
