Jawbone's Newest Fitness Tracker Is Dirt Cheap, But Doesn't Feel Like It

Lisa Eadicicco 

If you want to spend around $US50 on a fitness tracker, there really aren’t too many options to choose from.
Misfit’s Flash (which is now actually even cheaper at $US25) was the only other option until Jawbone released its new $US50 Move tracker.
The Move is ideal if you only really care about keeping track of basic health statistics, like your steps, how many calories you’ve burned, and how many hours you’ve spent in deep versus light sleep.
You won’t get sophisticated features like the UP 24′s vibration alarm, but at such a cheap price you wouldn’t expect to.
After spending some time with the UP Move, here are the impressions I came away with.

Wearing It

It’s clear that Jawbone tried to make its UP Move a bit more stylish than other rival fitness trackers.
The Move, like Misfit’s fitness trackers, can be worn in either a clip or wristband form factor. There are tons of different colour combinations available ranging from standard black and white to blue, purple, red, and yellow options among others.
You can mix and match different colours. Our review unit came in blue with a white clip and wristband.
The Move is ok-looking at best, but my biggest gripe had to do with its wristband’s clasp, which is rather difficult to fasten with one hand. In fact, I found myself struggling with it on multiple occasions, which is an annoyance.
The Move might not be the most attractive thing to wear on your wrist, but it’s more comfortable and discreet than other fitness trackers I’ve tried. It’s not bulky, and it didn’t leave an imprint on my arm after working out like the Fitbit Charge and Basis Peak did.

Jawbone UP Move (left) and Misfit Flash (right)

The Move also feels a bit more durable than Misfit’s tracker. The Misfit Flash looks a bit nicer, but I had a difficult time securing the sensors tightly in the wristband. The token-shaped Flash popped out of its housing on more than one occasion, which never happened with Jawbone’s Move.
The Move is more sturdy and comfortable too. Since it’s made of rubber, it’s more flexible than Misfit’s wristband, which is made of plastic.

Using It

To use the Move, you’ll need to connect it to your iPhone or Android phone using Bluetooth. Through Jawbone’s UP app, you’ll be able to see how many calories you’ve burned, how many steps you’ve taken, and set fitness goals for yourself.
Jawbone’s fitness app is one of, if not the best, fitness apps out there. When you open the app, you’ll see how close you are to your goal for the day alongside how much sleep you got last night.
The app’s home screen mostly functions as a social feed — you can see when team members reach their goals and leave “moods” on their accomplishments.
For example, if someone crushed their goal for the day, you might leave a smiley face. But, if a friend has been especially lazy, you might leave a frowny face instead.

But what really sets Jawbone’s app apart from Fitbit’s or any other rival app is its insights engine: Jawbone delivers tiny tidbits of health information that you can scroll through on the home screen, such as why you may feel hungrier for fatty foods during days after you only got a little bit of sleep.
There’s also an “Apps” section within the app that shows you all of the apps Jawbone’s app can connect with, such as RunKeeper and The Munchery.
If you only really care about keeping track of things like calories burned and steps taken, the Jawbone UP Move won’t seem to much different than other more expensive fitness trackers.
Where it does fall short, however, is in the sleep tracking department. Other devices that are much more expensive like the Basis Peak and Fitbit Charge can tell you how many times you tossed and turned or how much time you spent in REM sleep in addition to how long you slept.
With the Move, you can take a peek at how your progress is coming along by pressing the button on the front of the device. LED lights will flash that show you how close you are to reaching your goal.
One of the best benefits of the Move, however, is that you don’t ever need to charge it. The Move comes with a standard watch battery, so it should last for at least six months, just like Misfit’s tracker.

Should You Buy It?

If you’re looking for an inexpensive fitness tracker, the UP Move is definitely worth the $US50. It’s not the most feature-rich device, but it’s more than enough to at least get you thinking about your daily habits. Jawbone’s app offers helpful insights you won’t get with other apps that help you make more sense of your data.
At just $US25, the Misfit Flash is a tempting alternative. But, the hardware also feels a bit cheaper, so keep that in mind when you’re considering which tracker to buy.