Jawbone UP Move Review

The Jawbone UP Move fell a little short in our tests, but was by far the least expensive out of all the models that we tested. This model only has the most rudimentary of features, such as step counting and basic sleep tracking, While this model has an attractive price point, it can't really compete with the other models available, and is best suited for those that want to try out a tracker without investing too much, or for introducing a child to the concept of fitness tracking.

Performance Comparison

Fitness Impact

The Up Move didn't do exceptionally well in this metric, earning a below average 4 out of 10. We looked at how accurate the tracker was at counting steps, what other activities it could monitor, whether or it measured the flights of stairs climbed, and the community built around the device.

The most basic feature of these products, step counting, is the first aspect of these products that we looked at. This model doesn't register false steps very easily, as it is a clip-on style model. However, the UP Move didn't register steps accurately and consistently when we were actually walking, averaging about 13% of of our manually measured step count.

This model doesn't do anything specific to track other activities, simply allowing you to time them, and input the activity and intensity later in the app. This model doesn't calculate stairs climbed, and has a small online community to compare with. You can also challenge your friends to “Duels” to add a competitive aspect to your training.

Health Impact

The Jawbone UP continued it subpar performance in the health impact testing, meriting a poor score of 3 out of 10. This model does not track heart rate, and doesn't really have any specific tools to aid in dieting by tracking your calories consumed, Instead, you need to use a third-party app, MyFitnessPal, to track caloric intake. The UP Move also lacks an alarm to notify you when you should get up and move after long periods of inactivity. This model does have a progress bar to give you an indication of how far along you are on the way to your daily goal.

This tracker can monitor your sleep, activated by pushing a button. And produces a graph to show your sleep stages.

Ease of Use

The Up Move's performance did improve when we assessed its ease of use, earning an average 5 out of 10 in this category. One strong point of this model is its exceptional battery life, lasting for up to 6 months on a single coin cell watch battery. This model did seem to struggle when attempting to sync data with the app, where we received errors multiple times noting a connection problem. The app wasn't the most intuitive, with a lot of clutter for such a simple device. It provides a Facebook-style Feed of recent activities.

There aren't really any menus to navigate on the device, but you can press the button in specific sequences to see current time, and switch modes.

Ergonomics

The only one of our testing metrics that this product really excelled at was in ergonomics, earning a respectable 7 out of 10. We looked at how comfortable it was to wear on a daily basis, how noticeable it was, its visual aesthetic, and how likely it was to become snagged on objects when completing everyday tasks.

This model is tiny and discreet, easily forgettable when worn clipped into a pocket or on a shirt or waistband. This makes it almost impossible to snag when putting on a backpack or a light jacket. The UP Move comes in a variety of colors, and resembles a small pebble in terms of aesthetics, which wasn't the favorite of our testers. The UP comes with a separate wristband to be worn at night for sleep tracking.

Display

This model did alright in this metric, earning a surprising 5 out of 10 as it doesn't have a traditional screen to speak of. The time and date are conveyed through a set of lights, which are decently visible in lower light conditions. It is very responsive to button presses, but has no notifications for call or text.

Value

The Jawbone UP Move is the least expensive tracker we tested, but also the lowest performing. This doesn't make it a fantastic value, unless you are absolutely shopping on the tightest of budgets.

Conclusion