Samsung smartwatch for tracking fanatics

[Kaido]

New "Gear S" smart watch from Samsung: (watch the video for a quick demo)

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/03/samsung-gear-s-hands-on/

Another article with more discussion of the H&F features:

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/samsung-gear-s,news-19426.html

It's running a watch version Samsung's "S Health" app:

http://content.samsung.com/us/contents/aboutn/sHealthIntro.do

Features:

* 3G connectivity (lets you get GPS for things like running, even without your phone)
* Heart rate monitor on the back of the watch (BPM)
* Pedometer to measure steps
* Specialized "S Health" app from Samsung
* Nike+ app to help you track your runs
* IP67-rated waterproof chassis (1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes)
* Should last a couple days on the battery charge

So it's sweat-proof, has an all-day battery life, plenty of tracking sensors (GPS, pedometer, heartrate monitor, etc.), and great software to track your running, hiking, biking, sleeping, eating, the weather, etc. Basically an advanced version of the FitBit. I think my only complaint is that the size looks ridiculous large, but it's probably better than strapping my smartphone to my bicep.

Interesting device.

 

[Kaido]

Wow, LOTS of wearables coming out. Sony has both bracelets & watches:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/03/sony-smartband-talk/

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/03/sony-announces-smartwatch-3/

There's a discussion over on Engadget about the impact of fitness trackers:

http://www.engadget.com/discuss/have-fitness-trackers-and-wearables-improved-your-health-1soh/

And a nice little writeup of some of the trackers currently available:

http://thefusejoplin.com/2014/08/nike-fuelband-garmin-vivofit-jawbone-fitbit-flex-comparison/

 

[smackababy]

The fitness sector is huge business these days, and wearables are coming into the picture. I've pondered getting a FitBit, but since 99.9% of my workouts are heavy lifting (I can't say 100% due to those bouts of 30 second love making >_>) so I don't know just how well it would track fitness. I wouldn't mind knowing the sleep stuff and the alarm sounds like a nifty feature.

 

[Kaido]

The fitness sector is huge business these days, and wearables are coming into the picture. I've pondered getting a FitBit, but since 99.9% of my workouts are heavy lifting (I can't say 100% due to those bouts of 30 second love making >_>) so I don't know just how well it would track fitness. I wouldn't mind knowing the sleep stuff and the alarm sounds like a nifty feature.

Yeah, I've been on the fence about getting one. I like the UP24, but at $130+, that's pretty pricey for something that would be more of a toy for me (plus I hate wearing jewelry of any kind, even watches) - but I do like data & tracking, the more automated the better, so it would be neat to see everything mapped out over time. Plus Withings integrated their scale into the Jawbone ecosystem, so you can track weight too:

http://blog.withings.com/2013/04/30/withings-now-integrates-with-up-by-jawbone-2/

Withings also has a connected blood pressure monitor, which is pretty neat:

http://www.withings.com/us/blood-pressure-monitor.html

Lots of neat stuff available. The one from iHealth measures & tracks your systolic/diastolic numbers, heart rate, pulse wave and measurement time:

http://www.amazon.com/iHealth-Pressu.../dp/B004KS5UDA

There's even blood sugar tracking:

http://www.ibgstar.us/

I'm holding off buying anything for now, since Apple's news event is next Tuesday & they've built a huge 3-story structure, which probably isn't something they'd do just to announce a bigger phone haha. They've also been laying out the groundrules for how health data is to be managed:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/03/apple-ios-rejection-expansion/

I'm also anxious for Scanadu to come out with the Scout & Scanaflo equipment: (temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, oximetry, ECG, HRV, stress, urine analysis)

https://www.scanadu.com/

So many cool things available to track your progress & keep an eye on your health, versus simply doing an annual physical at the doctor's office. But, the more automatic the better - the Jawbone UP24 & Withings scale are pretty good for stuff you can do fairly seamlessly throughout the day.

 

[smackababy]

Apple's wearable might end up being really good. Especially, if you can put apps on it.

 

[Kaido]

Jawbone just added a bunch of integration:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/08/jawbone-up-android-wear-healthkit-windows-phone/

Talks to Pebble, Android Wear, HealthKit, Windows Phones, Nest thermostats (can change the house temp when you wake up or go to sleep), etc.

 

[Kaido]

Some more info on the Apple Watch's fitness capabilities:

http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/9/6127839/apple-watch-healthkit-digital-health-fitness

The Apple Watch will track your heart rate and measure three separate categories of movement. The first is the "Move" ring, which measures the calories you've burned and tells you when you've hit your personal goal for the day. The "Exercise" ring captures more brisk movement, and closes when you've put in 30 minutes total each day. The "Stand" ring measures how often you break from the sedentary reality of parking your butt in an office chair all day, and closes when you've gotten up for at least one minute in twelve different hours during the day. It pairs with the barometer in the newest iPhones to track your climbs and claims it will be able to distinguish the intensity of your activity to better track the calories you're burning.

Another article:

http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/9/6127523/fitness-and-workout-apps-apple-watch

I think if you're into outdoor running, climbing, and biking, this will be a great device (although you'll still have to lug your phone around). For me, I think the Jawbone UP24 is a better device (just wish it had an e-ink screen to tell the time!), plus it now has a 14-day battery life, and since the iWatch won't be out for at least another 4 months, I've decided to go with that for now (nerd!). I'll report back once I get it & try it out for a bit.

 

[Kaido]

Ahah, now THIS is what I've been looking for - one fitness app to rule them all!

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/19/mapmyfitness-for-iphone-ios8/

Works with multiple devices like fitness tracker bands, wireless blood pressure monitors, etc. and ties them all into one central location to track.

 

[blackdogdeek]

How good are they at tracking workouts that don't involve movement across a distance, ie - lifting?

 

[Kaido]

How good are they at tracking workouts that don't involve movement across a distance, ie - lifting?

I think you have to put that stuff in manually. Found a thread on it:

Edit: So apparently Jawbone's forums are...blocked? Do a search for "jawbone Up at the gym?" on google

For stationary cardio (treadmill, bike, stairmaster, etc.), people strap it to their ankle to get more accurate readings. For lifting & that type of stuff, people manually enter their routine & sometimes track it further by using a heartrate monitor. I think that's where the Apple Watch will come in handy. Polar has one that does it already:

http://www.polar.com/us-en/products/improve_fitness/fitness_crosstraining/FT80

 

[Kaido]

So Jawbone released a hardware-free version of the UP app:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/29/jawbone-up-app-apple-health/

the new version is more of a fitness catchall app that works with Apple's Health and over a hundred other apps (and their trackers), like RunKeeper and IFTTT. Interestingly, it even works with Nest's thermostat to "create an ideal sleep environment." In fact, the new Up wants to manage all aspects of your health by tracking your sleep, nutrition and workouts. Once it learns your habits, the "Insight Engine" will then give you personalized health tips and other info. There are also social functions, including team tracking and the ability to boast about fitness milestones. Apple had pulled HealthKit apps a few days ago due to bugs, but after some scrambling they're now back -- you can grab Jawbone's UP for iOS here.

So basically they're trying to control all of the data since the writing is on the wall hardware-wise with the Apple Watch; I'm not sure how much that overlaps with Apple's HealthKit, but so far it sounds better because you can tie in Nest, IFTTT, RunKeeper, and a hundred other apps to get a better picture of all of your health & fitness data. Definitely getting a jump on the competition this way, and offering a lot more usability over what exists now.

I went ahead & ordered a Jawbone UP24. The price dropped to $119:

http://www.amazon.com/UP-24-Jawbone-...dp/B00GQB1JES/

I'd much rather have this right now than a $350 watch that I have to charge up every day next year. It's more of a toy than a tool, but it will be interesting to see how easily I can track everything (weight, BMI, steps, food, etc.). If it's useful, maybe I'll post a dedicated thread on it. Although I'm sure there are plenty of Fitbit/Jawbone/etc. users here already!

 

[Kaido]

As a guy with small wrists...the current crop of Android smart watches don't look at all that appealing to me:

http://a4.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fit,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIxNDI3Mjk0MDY5OTQ5OTY1.jpg

 

[Kaido]

Fitbit's new wrist trackers leaked out:

http://gizmodo.com/exclusive-fitbit-charge-and-charge-hr-images-and-full-1646208023

* Tracks steps
* Tracks distance
* Tracks calories burned
* Tracks floors climbed
* Tracks active minutes
* Monitors sleep quality

* Displays stats
* Displays time
* Displays caller ID
* Silent, vibrating alarm
* Water resistant

It looks like there are several models, including one that does 24/7 heart rate monitoring. Having a display on the device is definitely nice. Engadget has a nice blurb:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/14/fitbit-charge-chargehr/

The wearables passed through the FCC revealing the moniker and designation as a "wireless activity tracker." Thanks to a USPTO filing, we can glean that it'll carry the usual waterproofing alongside pedometer and altimeter for tracking steps, sleep and calories burned. On top of those expected features, the paperwork also indicates that a heart rate sensor, navigation info, weather forecast, call notifications and volume control will also be lumped in for syncing up with your phone.

 

[Kaido]

"Jaybird" wearable:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/13/jaybird-reign-arrives-october-26th/

The key to the Reign is its "Go-Score," which estimates your readiness for activity based on your heart rate variability -- the higher the score, the better-suited you are to going for a run or bike ride. It's also one of the few trackers that can handle swimming alongside exercise and sleep, so this may be your wearable of choice if you regularly hit the pool.

I REALLY like the score concept & the glowing green dot visualizer on the wristband, plus the fact that you can wear it in the pool. I think it would be awesome to translate that sort of gaming performance tracking into real life - how much energy you available have based on your sleep, diet, and exercise history displayed as an LED health bar, vs. your friends, etc. That would be really cool! Wearable sensors are popping up all over the place now, including this COPD model from Philips:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/13/philips-copd-sensor/

I'm curious to see how far all of these trackers go with things like Apple's Healthkit integrating all of the data together. They had an article last year about a breathalyzer for diabetics so you don't have to use the needle anymore:

http://consumer.healthday.com/diabe...est-for-blood-sugar-shows-promise-682095.html

It'd be cool to have a waterproof 24/7 wearable that you can breathe into to track your blood sugar (& vibrates to remind you to do so), tracks your sleep, displays your health points for a little competitive motivation, etc.

 

[Kaido]

Pretty cool...the Prep Pad is a smart food scale:

http://theorangechef.com/

 

[SP33Demon]

Let me know when a wearable can do bloodwork or check saliva for blood sugar levels. Those would be useful. I do like the sleep tracking though.

 

[Kaido]

Let me know when a wearable can do bloodwork or check saliva for blood sugar levels. Those would be useful. I do like the sleep tracking though.

Scanadu's gear looks the most promising for that type of stuff. Although I don't think anyone has solved the blood sugar level thing yet - the off-the-shelf diabetes test strips have a pretty wild accuracy range, so they're not so reliable right now as it is.

Fitbit just released a new band:

http://gizmodo.com/fitbit-charge-tracker-is-finally-here-charge-hr-and-su-1650995353

1. New model: Fitbit Charge
2. $130
3. Watch-style adjustable strap
4. Sleep tracking (automatic, no button-push required)
5. Screen (caller ID, text notifications, control music)
6. 7-day battery life
7. No Apple HealthKit support

The heartrate monitor version isn't available until next year. There will also be another version with a built-in GPS so you don't have to lug your phone with you on a run. The technology is definitely fast-moving right now...will be cool to see more tricorder-like stuff released in the coming years!

 

[seepy83]

The heartrate monitor version isn't available until next year. There will also be another version with a built-in GPS so you don't have to lug your phone with you on a run. The technology is definitely fast-moving right now...will be cool to see more tricorder-like stuff released in the coming years!

I wish they were releasing the HR monitor version immediately. The charge is basically the same as the Force. I have been looking at Fitbits and other trackers for almost a year now, and I really want something that uses HR because I spend a lot of my time on an elliptical, not running (bad knees), and also a kind of weight training/cardio circuit. I don't think the fitbits without HR accurately track those kinds of workouts.

 

[smackababy]

I was looking at a FitBit, but with Apple removing them from their stores and not fully supporting it (no FitBit in the Health app, for instance), I feel like they are going to come with a real competing product beyond the iWatch and have held off buying one.

 

[Kaido]

I wish they were releasing the HR monitor version immediately. The charge is basically the same as the Force. I have been looking at Fitbits and other trackers for almost a year now, and I really want something that uses HR because I spend a lot of my time on an elliptical, not running (bad knees), and also a kind of weight training/cardio circuit. I don't think the fitbits without HR accurately track those kinds of workouts.

I agree. I recently picked up a Jawbone UP24, but it would be awesome to have a HRM built-in, especially if it had a basic e-ink watch attached to it. I'm also curious to see if they're going to compete with the barometer stuff in the iPhone 6.

I would actually like to see one with a camera built-in, like for taking pictures of your food (visual diet logging) or snapping pics if you're say hiking & can do kind of a Google Earth photo album view of where you've been, without having to whip out your phone or sync anything...aim, take picture, done.

One thing I would like them to figure out is how to track your workout for things other than cardio...calisthenics, weight-training, kettleball, etc. If they could do like a combined barometer-accelormeter function that could tell where you were in relative 3D space, it might be able to match it up loosely to a routine, sort of Shazam-style, for automatic tracking. They've already done that for sleep (automatic sleep tracking & REM cycle tracking, no need to push a button on the newer models to enable sleep mode tracking).

Ideally, I'd like a camera with an image processing sensor that can 3D-scan your food and provide an automatic estimate of the calories in it, but I think we're many years away from that.

 

[Kaido]

Wow, Microsoft just released their own fitness band. $199 with HRM & GPS. Works with Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone. Available now. Discussion over in Mobile Devices:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2406101

48 hour battery life without GPS usage (1.5-hour charge time), which I guess isn't terrible for something with a color touchscreen on it. They said the 48-hour life includes 1 hour of exercise and 8 hours of sleep each day: (full charge in 90 minutes, 80% charge in 30 minutes)

http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-band/en-us/support/hardware/battery-and-charging

Microsoft has their own platform out called Microsoft Health, so it looks like they won't be doing Google Fit or Apple's HealthKit:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/29/microsoft-band-leak/

This actually looks awesome...has all the features, has a reasonable price, has a better-than-one-day battery life. You can also pay for Starbucks with the band: (they give you a free $5 gift card for buying the band)

http://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-band/en-us/partners/starbucks

Sizing chart (small, medium, large) is here: (PDF)

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=517060&clcid=0x409

Sensors:

1. Optical heart rate sensor
2. 3-axis accelerometer
3. Gyrometer
4. GPS
5. Ambient light sensor
6. Skin temperature sensor
7. UV sensor
8. Capacitive sensor
9. Galvanic skin response

It also has 2 physical buttons, a vibration motor, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, and a microphone. It is sweat & splash-resistant.

 

[seepy83]

I just ordered a MS Band. I'm not thrilled about the battery life, and wasn't really looking for color touchscreen and all of the features. But the other features and the timing of the release and price worked for me. Hope I'm happy with it.

 

[Kaido]

I just ordered a MS Band. I'm not thrilled about the battery life, and wasn't really looking for color touchscreen and all of the features. But the other features and the timing of the release and price worked for me. Hope I'm happy with it.

Yeah, I'm super-tempted to get the MS Band, but the battery life is a bit of a killer (I recently picked up a Jawbone UP24, which I haven't been home to setup yet, but it has a 14-day battery life, which is awesome!). It also sounds like it may be closed off to Microsoft Health only, so we'll have to see how all of these competing standards play out.

It will be neat to see how these develop as the technology progresses, especially for things like a built-in blood pressure monitor, prickless & more accurate blood sugar level testing, and things like at-home blood/saliva/skin/urine tests for health monitoring (food allergy diagnoses, vitamin levels, and so on). It'd be cool to have something like a monthly triple kit for saliva, finger-prick blood sample, and a urine strip, and be able to have it tell you "your Vitamin D levels are low, either take a 500mg supplement daily for a week or spend 30 minutes outside for the next 2 weeks" - specific instructions like that to keep you on-track with your health, rather than just doing an annual physical, you know?

 

[Kaido]

OK, some more info the on MS Band:

http://gizmodo.com/never-mind-the-microsoft-band-is-official-1652596120

1. UV sensor to keep track of your sun exposure (target market...lol)
2. Galvanic skin response sensor to measure stress
3. Partnered with Gold's Gym, MyFitnessPal, RunKeeper, MapMyFitness, and Jawbone

Full list of features:

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/rnxnzipkdc0s90yz4umt.png

What I think v2 could use:

1. Barometer (iPhone 6-style for elevation & pressure)
2. Way longer battery life (a week would be ideal)
3. RFID chip (Apple Pay-style)

 

[smackababy]

So, I wonder if there is going to be an API available for the MS band? I'd really like to try get one, but if I can't get it to work with the app I'm developing, it serves me little purpose.