Jawbone has unveiled two new wearable products for summer 2015, with a message that retailers need to understand the differences between products lumped in together under the ‘wearables’ banner.
Within the category it is important to distinguish between different products that you wear on your wrist, what they do and what you want them for, says Jorgen Nordin, Jawbone head of international partner & product development.
These wearables can be split into three categories: activity trackers worn for a specific activity ie during a run, Smartwatches which receive notifications and act as an extension of your smartphone and, activity trackers, small products designed to be worn 24/7 to monitor activities and sleep, with a longer battery life than the former two.
Retailers should qualify their customer based on what they want the product for.
“It’s a bit like horses for courses. There is room for all of these but it depends on what you actually want to do,” Nordin says.
Where Jawbone looks to distinguish itself from competitors is to provide more detailed insights and understanding of the data collected by the devices via its software platform to help people change their behaviours. The ethos is track, understand and act.
Jawbone has invested heavily in data science to turn the collected information into something useful for consumers to keep them engaged with the product Nordin says. “It has to do with retention because if you are just seeing numbers and they don’t mean anything to you could get tired of the whole system.”
The company has also been able to use this data collection on a wider scale. After a recent earthquake in California’s Napa Valley Jawbone could see when people woke up, how long they were awake for and how they slept during that time. A city is the smallest unit of measure Jawbone has, for example they can’t identify where an individual user is, what time they woke up and what they did during the day.
At the top of the new product line is the UP3, a multi-sensor activity tracker with a slim design to capture heart rate, detailed sleep stages and workouts. UP3 by Jawbone comes in two colours — Black Diamond and Silver Cross — and will be available for $229 for this summer.
It’s got an accelerometer, bioimpedance sensors, and skin and ambient temperature sensors. Using this technology, UP3 measures resting heart rate – a key indicator of your overall heart health – and will capture more health data through future firmware updates such as heart rate on demand. It has up to seven days battery life and is water resistance up to 10 metres.
“Our mission was to create the world’s most powerful activity tracker in the smallest possible design, and we believe we have done that with the UP3 band,” said Travis Bogard, vice president of product management and strategy at Jawbone.
“Our advanced, multi-sensor platform delivers a huge amount of new health data, backed by our smart algorithms and highly personalised Smart Coach system. And because UP3 is fully updateable, we’re able to unveil new features and experiences in the coming months.”
At the other end of the market is the new UP Move, which will be available in November 2014 for RRP $69.95. It is a simple entry level activity tracker which can be worn by discreetly clipping onto clothing or around the wrist on a separately sold band will be sold separately.
It comes with a replaceable battery that lasts up to six months, eliminating the need for regular recharging. The hidden LED display lights up to show you your progress toward your goals at a glance. Press once to display your step progress, twice to display the time, and three times to display your sleep from the prior night.
“UP Move is a fun, easy way to track activity and at just $69, it’s a great option for anyone at the beginning of a fitness or weight loss journey,” said Bogard. “Incorporating the same best-in-class lifestyle and activity-tracking features of our UP and UP24 bands, the UP Move tracker combines style, versatility and comfort with highly accurate tracking and personalised guidance.”
