Oh, fitness band, how do I love you? I know it’s a little corny but I do love a good fitness band. I have had a Nike FuelBand, tested other fitness bands and now use a Misfit Shine. So I was very excited when I saw that Misfit has released a new fitness band called the Misfit Ray. As you can see, unlike their other round coin sized fitness trackers the Ray is has a cylindrical long shape. The Ray has the following features:
- Replaceable button cell batteries
- Water resistant to 50 meters
- Aircraft-grade anodized aluminum body
- Hidden 8mm spring bars for custom accessories
- Bluetooth smart wireless syncing
- 3-axis accelerometer
- Piezoelectric vibration
The Ray measures: steps, calories burned, distance, activity types, sleep quality and sleep duration. The Misfit app used with the Ray is compatible with iOS 7 and higher, and Android devices running Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) and above. Available in carbon black or rose gold starting at $99.99 from Misfit and Amazon.
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I have just purchased the Misfit Ray, and have had it up and running for just over a day so far. So, somewhat early to give my detailed impressions. But here’s some preliminary early thoughts.
The strap on my Jawbone UP3 just snapped after 4 months. So while waiting for a warranty replacement I decided to look for a replacement. I chose the Misfit Ray for the following reasons:
1. It is cylindrical in shape, not round. My wife kindly mentioned that I would look like a dork if I wore a watch like tracker on my left wrist, and my Moto 360 watch on my right. I would get away with something oblong / cylindrical like the Ray, or my UP3. My Moto 360 does about 16 hours on a single charge and so does not fit the bill for a sleep tracker. The Pebble would, but too small a face. So, I prefer to have the Moto 360, plus a dedicated tracker.
2. The Ray has a claimed battery life of 4 to 6 months, versus the 5 days of the UP3. The UP3 also took about 80 minutes to charge. So the Ray will be more convenient for me, though of course there will be the price of batteries.
3. The UP3 has a much better application with it. The Ray’s is pretty sparse. For example, UP3 sends me periodic messages to tell me my step progress – and inspirational messages. I have had only one so far from Ray. The UP3 can set silent alarms for week days and the weekend. For Ray, it is one alarm for the whole week. I am not wanting to wake up at 5:38am on a Saturday and Sunday. Some of the Ray’s app deficiencies can be partially overcome by using the IFTTT program (it is on the Android and Apple app stores). It can create notifications to your phone for some of the tracking/sleep results.
4. The Ray’s strap is removable and replaceable. The UP3 is not (as I just found out).
5. The UP3 has heart monitoring, the Ray does not.
6. Neither the UP3 or the Ray’s looks are too pretentious. They are minimal and don’t stand out – no “dork alert” here to bother my wife.
7. Sleep tracking for me (start and stop) was very accurate. The step tracking is looking reasonable so far.
In conclusion, I think that I will keep the Ray (though I will need a few more days to decide), mostly because of the battery life, and secondly for the replaceable straps. But then again, I just heard that Jawbone are bringing out a replacement for the UP3 – so who knows.
Thanks for the input, I have a Misfit Shine and find the battery life does not live up to the 6-month mark, maybe 4.