My Week with the Jawbone UP3 and How it Compares to Fitbit Charge HR

I'm a data junkie. I've already mentioned how I have a "smart" house and like the ability to control everything from my phone. At the same time, being in healthcare for a career, I look to the tech industry to bring my industry into the 21st century. I've been using fitness bands/devices for a while, understanding that by analyzing the data captured, I will be increasingly motivated to improve my health. What I'd historically found with these devices is that initially they'd be great, I'd track things such as my steps, calories, foods eaten and other metrics but would lose interest over time. There wasn't an evolution of the device as my health improved.

I was excited when both Fitbit and Jawbone announced their latest fitness bands: the charge HR for Fitbit and the UP3 from Jawbone. I pre-ordered both and was disappointed when Jawbone delayed their launch. So I was wearing the Charge HR for a while before the UP3 was delivered. And even after it was delivered, I kept the Fitbit on for one primary reason: continuous heart rate monitoring (more on that later). But the last week, I decided to give the UP3 a chance and I've been very impressed and happy. Here's why.

I will review/assess three qualities of the band that i believe drive its value for me:

1. Looks/comfort and features

2. Battery life

3. Associated app

There are obviously other things to consider (e.g., price), but these are the three things that drive me to use a band. 

1. Looks/comfort: Both bands are comfortable to wear. The Charge HR is a bit bulkier and wider but it also goes on easy with a standard watch-like buckle. The UP3 tries to re-invent something that really didn't need re-inventing; their clasp mechanism is a bit cumbersome and not nearly as secure as the Charge HR. But I haven't had a problem with it except for the one time it got caught while I reached into my pocket and I didn't realize the hook at come undone for a few minutes. The band, however, stayed on my wrist.

The big feature of the band itself is the screen that the Charge HR provides. Not only does it provide the basic info (e.g., steps, calories, miles, etc), it has the ability to be a caller ID screen when paired to your iPhone. At first I didn't think much of this, but it's really convenient to know that someone is calling when the band vibrates and you can see the name/number of the person. Really convenient but more of a nice to have than necessary.

The UP3 doesn't have the screen and at first I thought this would be an issue, but not really. And this is primarily due to the app (more on this later) and how fast and easy to use it is. It would be nice to have the band vibrate when you get a call but again, a nice to have than a necessity. I will gladly trade the thinner form factor of the band to not have the screen.

The major reason I stayed away from the UP3 for a while was the lack of continuous heart rate monitoring. I really liked to see my heart rate after a run or other exercise. Did I find it valuable? Not really, but it was nice to see. However, I realized that the heart rate monitor was inaccurate. I noticed this during a spin class when I knew my heart rate was high but the band barely registered an elevated heart rate. This annoyed me greatly and pushed me to try using the UP3. While it doesn't have continuous heart rate monitoring, it does have two other heart rate readings: resting heart rate taken right as you wake from sleep and a recently added passive heart rate feature that measures your rate throughout the day following any form of motion/activity. This is useful because you can see how your heart responds to various situations like eating food, a stressful meeting, and other activities. I don't miss the continuous heart rate at all because I realize the resting and passive heart rates from UP3 are pretty damn accurate and motivating.

Overall, I really like the feel of the UP3, it's accuracy, and the way it's slim profile looks on my wrist. 

2. Battery Life: Very simple: I really like the 6-7 days easily obtained battery life on the UP3. It also charges very fast. This is much better than the 4-5 days max on the Charge HR and the rather long charging times. I'd often charge my Fitbit and forget it and then lose almost a day's worth of readings. The UP3 charges fast and lasts longer. This is a huge benefit, in my mind

3. Associated App: This is where the UP3 simply crushes the Charge HR. I've always liked the Jawbone app. The UI is nice, it's helpful, it evolves with you, and is visually appealing. While the Fitbit app is passable, it looks almost primitive compared to the Jawbone app. One example stuck out big time during my first week. My resting heart rate was 52, 54, and then spiked to 64 on the third night. I thought it was just an error in reading but the app suggested that it may be because I drank very little water the day before, which can impact resting heart rate. So I drank 16 glasses of water that day and the next night, my resting heart rate was 52. And so I've been drinking a ton of water and have enjoyed a low resting heart rate. 

The sleep tracking on the UP3 seems to be more accurate but the app takes the value of this to another level. It has challenged me to sleep a little earlier based on my schedule. Not the ridiculously impractical times that may get the full night of sleep in, but the time that makes sense for me.

The app easily syncs and updates quickly making the lack of screen on the band easily digestible. It syncs quickly with other apps (I use MyFitnessPal for food entires). The timeline feature for the day is nice because you can see where various things happened: when I went for a spin class, when I drank water, when I ate, etc. I've found the food score to be a bit off because it simply takes the nutrient readings from MyFitnessPal and calculates a score. It's not super accurate but good enough.

There are obviously other things to consider but they're pretty even across the bands (splash proof, but not water proof), timers, wake up alarms that are in a window to help you wake up easier. But the clear advantage of the Jawbone app and its ability to motivate me to change things in my life is the key. Getting data is nice, which both bands do, but making sense of the data in a way that improves my life will keep my Jawbone on my wrist for the foreseeable future.