Jawbone UP3 or Fitbit Charge?

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In recent weeks, the two giants of Quantified Self, Jawbone and Fitbit, have successively announced their latest finds. On the one hand, we have Fitbit who formalized the release of the Fitbit Charge, Charge HR and Surge, while on the other hand we have Jawbone which announced the Jawbone UP3 as well as the UP Move.

For the Christmas holidays, we can clearly expect a match between the Jawbone UP3 and the Fitbit Charge (the other Fitbit products being scheduled for early 2015), so we decided to make a full comparison between these two products. There is no "best" bracelet, each has its advantages and disadvantages. Everything is relative, since the two companies are largely leaders in the Quantified Self market.

Obviously, I will not fail to give you my personal opinion at the end of the article …

# 1 The design

Difficult to choose which of the Jawbone UP3 or Fitbit Charge is the most successful in terms of aesthetics. At Fitbit, we decided to keep the same style as the previous versions, with a bracelet very similar to that of the Force (which was withdrawn from the market earlier in the year).

Unlike its competitor Jawbone, the Charge has an OLED screen that directly displays activity information. Jawbone continues to refuse the screen, but it still incorporates small LEDs to display various information: orange for activity, blue for sleep and white for notifications. We can blame the lack of screen at Jawbone, but on the other hand we cannot deny the originality of the bracelet which largely distances its shots from the sports tracker.

Made by designer Yves Béhar, there are several colors and a fairly successful metallic finish (aluminum and stainless steel), and much more noble than the Fitbit elastomer (plastic). Small advantage of the Jawbone, it is adjustable, while the Charge is sold in three different sizes. At first, the Jawbone UP3 will be available only in silver and black. The Fitbit Charge is also available in black, and will be sold in purple and blue early next year.

Jawbone UP3
Fitbit Charge

# 2 Features and measures

In terms of functionality, it must be recognized that the Jawbone UP3 is far ahead of the number of measurements recorded. If Fitbit is content for the moment to resume the classics (number of steps, calories, distance, sleep and altitude), Jawbone offers a new version of smart health connected bracelet with much more advanced sensors. In addition to conventional measurements, the user can also take advantage of a thermometer to measure skin temperature, external temperature and a bio-impedance sensor (heart rate and respiration). At Fitbit, you will have to wait for the “Charge HR” version to see the heart rate monitoring arrive.

On sleep, the Jawbone UP3 has also passed a stage since it is now able to measure REM sleep. The Charge is content with light and deep sleep phases. However, you will still need to manually activate night mode at Jawbone, while Fitbit automatically detects the wearer's state.

Another interesting point, the Jawbone algorithm is now able to determine the sport practiced by the user of the UP3. The latter must at the start during a "trial period" give some information on his activities so that the bracelet can then automatically recognize the sport he practices. This will further refine the count of calories burned. If you expected the Jawbone UP3 to be waterproof, it would ultimately only be splash resistant like the Charge.

The only point where the Fitbit really stands out is on notifications: it is able to display the ID of an incoming call on the smartphone directly on the screen (if the phone is nearby …), while the Jawbone UP3 only emits a small white light. This is the advantage of having a screen. But Jawbone justified the absence of a screen by simply explaining that it was a gadget, whereas measuring physical activity must be seen as a long-term objective and therefore does not require a real-time performance. Everyone has their own vision…

ehealth presentation of the Jawbone UP3:

(Embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRVrgQrkWWQ (/ embed)

Fitbit Charge ehealth presentation:

(Embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCJ-cDHMPnc (/ embed)

# 3 Autonomy

On the autonomy side, Fitbit announces that its smart health bracelet can last between 7 and 10 days in normal use. If the Jawbone UP24 lasted up to 15 days, the new version will have to be recharged every 7 days. We can largely understand it given the new sensors which are added to the bracelet, and which shorten its autonomy. However, the two smart health connected bracelets are equipped with Bluetooth 4.0, which allows them to extend their autonomy as much as possible. The two bracelets are charged using a USB cable. Fitbit announces "one to two hours of loading", while Jawbone says "100 minutes". It’s generally quite similar.

# 4 Mobile application

As with its previous versions, Fitbit will offer its classic application to read data from the smart health connected bracelet (practical since it can also accumulate data from its smart health connected balance, the Fitbit Aria). It is available on iOS, Android and Windows Phone. With a bunch of new measures taken into account by the UP3, Jawbone was forced to launch a new application. We can also appreciate the new “Smart Coach” functionality of the application, which will provide real personalized advice to the user (unlike previous versions, and to the Fitbit application). It is available for iOS, and will be available in early 2015 for Android. As with previous versions, there is no Windows Phone adaptation planned. However, we can appreciate the fact that Jawbone is now compatible with HealthKit, iPhone users will be able to see their performance directly on the Apple Health application.

# 5 The price

On the price side, the Fitbit Charge is sold for € 79.62 on Cdiscount. This is exactly the same price as the Fitbit Force which was withdrawn from the market in February and the same price as the Jawbone UP24, the previous version of Jawbone. The UP3 is in a more premium niche since it is sold for. The Fitbit Charge is currently only for € 149.99 on ehealth.

The best price for the Fitbit Charge

The best price for the Jawbone UP3

Jawbone UP3 or Fitbit Charge? Our opinion

The new Jawbone smart health bracelet is really impressive in terms of functionality. It is widely distinguished from its competitor the Fitbit Charge, and the price difference seems largely justified. In itself, the Fitbit Charge is not revolutionary, it is closer to the UP24 than the new Jawbone UP3. We really appreciate the waterproof side of the UP3 – which will certainly be essential in the long term for an activity sensor, and the new Smart Coach is very promising.

The Fitbit Charge appears more like an intermediate smart health connected bracelet, before the release of the Charge HR and the Fitbit Surge (its next flagship?). But its price remains reasonable, its quality too, fans of the Fitbit brand will not be disappointed. For this price, it makes a nice Christmas present…

And you, what do you think of these two bracelets? Rather Jawbone? Rather Fitbit? Give us your opinion below!

Here you can find our Fitbit Charge file, and there that of the Jawbone UP3.

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