Review: Jawbone Up 24

The band is made from a hypoallergenic rubber, and can take a reasonable amount of bending, just not in the part that matters, which generally sits on top of your wrist.

There are three sizes of Jawbone Up 24 bands to choose from — small, medium, and large — but make sure to get the one that sits comfortably on your wrist and doesn’t dig in too much, otherwise you won’t want to wear it.

Only two colours are available, though, with “onyx” or black, and “persimmon” which is a slightly darker orange.

Aesthetics aside, some people like the look of the Up 24 band, and others don’t. We’ve had both comments and harsh criticism for this thing we’ve been wearing for a few weeks, but we don’t mind it at all.

Charging is easy, too, with a 2.5mm headset jack under a nylon and nickel cap being plugged into a 2.5mm to USB plug which comes with the fitness band.

There is very little that Jawbone gets wrong in the Up 24, and the product does manage to feel like a solid improvement on last year’s Up, which required syncing through the 3.5mm headset jack on your phone.

It still doesn’t intercept phone calls or messages, which is something other fitness gadgets are beginning to roll out in their respective equivalents, but Jawbone has made that whole fitness concept the raison d’être in this gadget, which will be perfect for people who want to watch how their fitness is going.

The Up 24 even manages to feel a touch more water-resistant than it has been in the past. We tried that with the first-generation Up only to have it break, but on this model — the Up 24 — it survived. Wearing it in the shower is a mostly pointless activity, because there aren’t many footsteps to track, but we’re a little more confident about the Up 24’s element resistance than the original Up.

Jawbone still says you shouldn’t immerse the Up in water, so we’re guessing it’s not suitable for a swim, but you can leave it on when you’re washing your hands. That’s fine.

Even the battery isn’t bad, with around six days of life in our tests. Up to seven is what Jawbone says is possible, and we suspect that’s likely, though we charged it around the end of its sixth day. It’s a little different from last year’s handset, which managed ten days, though this model lacked Bluetooth and required hardware physical syncing through that product’s 3.5mm headset jack.

Our one main quibble, however, comes from a complaint we had last year, and it’s still ticking around on this one, and that is the Jawbone Up 24 lacks a way of working out when you’re automatically sleeping.

It’s an odd omission, because there might be times when you’re just too tired to remember to switch the Up into sleeping mode, forgetting the procedure altogether.

Given that the Up has enough sensors and algorithmic programming to tell the difference between light sleep, deep sleep, and when you’re lying back and in bed to begin with, why it can’t tell when you’re lying in bed and obviously asleep to switch automatically to that mode astounds us.

Seriously, Jawbone has the know-how to work out the difference between rapid movement when you’re lying back and can talk to a phone about the times of the day you’re doing all these activities, but it still thinks you’re in daylight mode at three in the morning when you’re lying back and sleeping.

It’s a tad confusing that the app and accessory can’t split the difference and do you a favour in the process.

Conclusion

Last year’s version of the Up was a great concept, and this year’s improvement doesn’t seek to shake the formula too much, merely improving it for people who want their fitness tracked without needing to remember to plug in the device and let the information upload.

Basically, the Up 24 is a more seamless experience than its predecessor, and if you’re keen to try the whole fitness tracker thing out, the Jawbone Up 24 won’t try to do everything for your phone, but will try to show you a new path, not just for the world of wearables, but for your health, too. Recommended.

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Reader Rating0 Votes
Automatically sends updates to your phone and doesn't need to be synced using the 2.5mm headset jack; Battery lasts for a good week (around 6 days or so in our tests); Comfortable to wear; Activity coach actually helps you get moving more, inspiring you to take more steps and change your patterns;
Still can't automatically work out when you're sleeping, which given how much it can work out, still surprises us; Only two colours available for the band: onyx (black) and persimmon (orange); Requires a phone supporting Bluetooth LE to work; Water-resistant... ish; No app for Windows Phone;
4.4