Complete Review of the Mio Fuse smart health connected bracelet

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On the occasion of CES 2015, the Canadian Mio announced his last two products, the FUSE smart health connected bracelet and the ALPHA 2 watch. Renowned for its technology (it equips Adidas and TomTom devices in particular), Mio made heart rates its focal point for these innovations. I tested the Mio Fuse for several weeks, here is my verdict.

Update February 2017: this watch is far from being the best in terms of quality / price, we advise you to turn to the Fitbit Charge 2 instead.

Installation

At the time of purchase, you must first make sure you have chosen the right size for the Fuse. The version for small wrists (149 – 179mm) is blue, and the larger version (156 – 208mm) is red. For those who are on the edge, or who do not know their wrist size, Mio has put together a small paper guide that should help them.

Then, for having tested a large number of smart health connected bracelets, the Mio Fuse is certainly the easiest activity sensor to install. I had absolutely no concerns during the whole process, this is really a big positive.

First, place the Fuse on the USB dock that is provided in the box (connection with a computer). There is no difficulty in placing the back of the sensor on the dock since there is a magnet system that easily groups the two devices together. For a first charge, I didn't even have to wait 30 minutes to see the battery fully charged. Once it is full, a small light signal appears on the LED screen.

Once charged, the device immediately displays the default measurements. The guide explains clearly how each button works: On either side of the LED screen, there is a button that allows you to scroll through the information recorded by the activity sensor. By default, you can see the time, the number of steps, the calories burned, the distance traveled and the percentage of the daily goal reached (it is possible to modify them from the application). Another button at the top of the screen activates the training mode and shows the heart rate.

Once the device is operational, you must then download the Mio Go mobile application (iOS and Android) to view the recorded data. For those who do not yet have an account with Mio, you must first enter their profile (weight, age, gender) so that they can adapt the measures. Then the mobile app immediately detects the presence of the Fuse. No problem, the Bluetooth 4.0 connection is easy (be careful, you must therefore have an iPhone 4s minimum, or an Android 4.3+ smartphone).

Design and hardware

The design of the Fuse is clearly sport-oriented. Difficult to go unnoticed with the bracelet around the arm (although it is adjustable). It is significantly thicker and wider than its mainstream competitors like those in the Fitbit or Jawbone range. Obviously, the impact is also felt on the weight since it weighs 40 grams, against a market rather located between 20 and 30 grams. I took the red model (large wrist), so I couldn't see if the blue model (small wrist) would be more discreet on a woman's wrist.

If it is practical for a sport session, the Mio Fuse is much less when you want to go to work with a shirt (it does not go well under the shirt, because of its thickness because of the bump in the which hides the heart rate monitoring).

The bracelet is wide, and it easily collects dust. The images above speak for themselves. With the brightness, it tends to be seen even more.

As for the LED screen, it is much larger than that of a Nike Fuelband for example. The advantage is that it can be easily read indoors and outdoors. However, the buttons are not always responsive. You must always have the smart health connected bracelet tilted at least 45 degrees for the three buttons to work. So horizontally, they don't work. When worn on the wrist, it is usually tilted upwards, so there is no problem.

features

The Mio Fuse is a smart health connected bracelet primarily intended for athletes: it measures daily physical activity (number of steps, calories burned, distances traveled) when it is in classic mode, and adds the heart rate in real time in the "training" mode. Comparing it with the heart rate sensor in my gym equipment, the information seems extremely precise, the difference was almost zero.

The display for the heart rate is a bit special. Certainly there is the digital display (as well as the classic information – see Vine below), but there is also a small colored LED located on the right of the screen which flashes constantly and which allows the wearer to know in which zone his frequency is located (it is necessary to configure these zones from the mobile application (ex: 120 – 140 BPM) and assign a specific color to them). This LED is practical, especially when you choose to play sports by turning off the screen, to save battery.

In terms of autonomy, the training mode with the screen on is much more energy-consuming since the Fuse lasts just 8 hours (ten hours with the screen off). In normal mode, it can last up to two weeks.

Unfortunately, the big downside of Mio Fuse is that it doesn't measure sleep. In other words, no need to wear it at night. Very clearly, it is therefore rather a sensor intended for those who want to record their sports sessions rather than a sensor to be worn 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Especially considering the thickness of the bracelet, it cannot be easily forgotten when sleeping. However, great athletes will regret the absence of a GPS in the bracelet (which has its counterpart Alpha 2). For someone running in a gym, there will be no problem, but for those who want to view their route, it will always be necessary to take their smartphone to see this information (attention, the Mio application does not integrate no card, even if you take your phone…).

All recorded data is then transferred via Bluetooth 4.0 to a smartphone / tablet. The Mio Fuse application allows you to view the information and associate a training session with a given sport (running, cycling, walking, mountain biking, climbing, swimming, rowing, hiking). This further refines the data.

Mobile app

Mio’s mobile app is the same for all of its devices. You have to set up a whole series of information about yourself at the start, such as weight, height or even sex, to allow the bracelet to accurately measure the number of steps and calories burned. The user can also display the data in different units of measurement (metric, imperial, etc.), and can also choose what they want to appear on the LED screen of their wristbands.

Then choose the daily goal which can be either a number of steps, a distance, or calories. I took the default mode of 10,000 steps recommended by the WHO. I was however a little surprised to see that the Mio Fuse therefore calculated an equivalent of 10km to cover per day (1 meter for each step), which I find damn ambitious. For comparison, a Jawbone or Misfit asked me for 10,000 steps about 8km, the difference can be felt …

For my taste, data in general is not put forward enough in the mobile application. Although we can see the overall statistics for the week (and the one before), we do not have the possibility of having a history for the last months, to measure its evolution. The training sessions are all independent, and it is difficult to compare them from one to the other.

My opinion on the Mio Fuse

It’s still hard to understand who the Mio Fuse is for. It is intended for athletes with its style and real-time heart rate, but on the other hand it does not integrate GPS. Compared to what is currently on the market, I therefore have a hard time knowing whether to compare it with a classic "consumer" activity sensor, or whether it should be compared to GPS watches. For its price (150 euros), I think there is better to draw.

Another black spot, the lack of sleep measurement, a data which is taken into account today in most of the smart health connected bracelets and which therefore prevents wearing the Mio Fuse permanently. And with such an unattractive design, it's hard to put it back every morning. My verdict: little better.

Buy the Mio Fuse

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