Engadget
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Engadget Review
Jawbone Up24 review: wireless syncing makes this Jawbone's best fitness tracker yet
Summary
The Up24 is Jawbone's best wearable to date thanks to wireless syncing. It's definitely worth buying over the older, less expensive Up band.
Pros
- Bluetooth syncing
- Simple design
- Integration with home automation apps
- App can now estimate how long you slept
Cons
- Sleep tracking still hit or miss
- Battery life took a hit
Late last year, Jawbone faced a herculean task: regaining consumers' trust after widespread reports of brickage on the original Up fitness tracker. The outfit was able to right many of the wrongs that plagued the first edition, but there was still room for improvement. You still had to plug the Up into a smartphone to sync your collected data; sleep tracking left a lot to be desired; and the iOS app needed more usable functionality beyond tallying steps and monitoring dietary habits. However, the 2012 model did offer more than seven days of battery life and, you know, kept working even after a week of use.
This time around, the company has finally opted to go wireless. Thanks to a Bluetooth Low Energy radio, the new Up24 can sync wirelessly and only needs to be plugged in when it's time to recharge. The convenience of wireless comes at a cost, however. The 2013 version got a $20 price increase to $150. So is the ability to sync wirelessly worth the extra coin? Are the software improvements impressive enough to make folks trust Jawbone above rival companies? I spent a few weeks tracking my every move to determine just that.
