Jawbone UP3 Review

Previously, we reviewed the Jawbone UP24. This time we reviewed it’s upgraded version, the Jawbone UP3. The UP3 has more advanced features, including heart rate tracking, a new app and a different wristband design. While the sleep tracking capabilities are even more impressive than the UP24, the UP3 does have its ups and downs.

If you read the Jawbone UP3 reviews on Amazon, this fitness tracker will not impress you. You might even think you’re reading reviews for a different product. Maybe their competition put out a lot of fake reviews on their Amazon page – but don’t believe half of them. This is actually a solid product – and one of the most advanced wearables when it comes to sleep tracking.

The UP App

The UP App is one of the best apps associated with a fitness tracker on the market. It’s ease of use and clear, easy to read graphics are perfect for the casual user and the power user alike. When it comes to seeing how you slept, the chart breaks down your time spent awake, in REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, light sleep and deep sleep.

It’s important to note that this tracker is one of the only sleep trackers that calculates your REM Sleep. Why is this important? Seeing your light, deep and REM sleep gives you an entire look at your sleep cycle – which is a great starting point for anyone trying to improve their sleep.

Benefits of Sleep Tracking with the UP3

Sleep tracking with the UP3 is super simple – you don’t need to put the tracker into sleep mode – just go to bed and it will start tracking.

Napping with the UP3

Power naps are awesome. Having a nice silent alarm that wakes you from a power nap is even nicer. You’ll need your phone to activate the power nap feature, but it’s a great way to wake up from a 20 minute siesta.

How Does it Track Your REM Sleep?

Jawbone’s technology makes REM tracking easier than how they used to do it. Here is how Jawbone describes their technology:

During REM sleep, the body usually does not move (strangely enough, it becomes paralyzed so we don’t act out our dreams) but the heart rate is fairly irregular. Deep sleep has slightly more physical movement but a very steady heart rate. Light sleep is associated with more movement plus a couple other identifiers. By coupling the signals from our new bioimpedance sensors with smart algorithms, UP3 can accurately identify sleep stages.

Things We Like About this Tracker

1. The ability for the UP3 to monitor your resting heart rate while you sleep and factor that into your quality of sleep.
2. The silent alarm that wakes you up – it’s gentle enough to get you out of bed and very easy to set up from within the app.
3. The breakdown of light, deep, and REM sleep.
4. The smart coach gives some great advice on how to improve your sleep and your overall health.

Things We DON’T Like About This Tracker

1. It’s not incredibly comfortable – the wrist band is a bit hard to adjust and takes some time getting used to. If it’s hot, then you might get uncomfortable with the rubber band on your wrist.
2. This is a good and bad thing – you don’t have to put it into sleep mode anymore – it automatically tracks your sleep. If you’re really trying to be exact on the amount of sleep you got, then you can’t trust this trackers to perfectly predict the time you laid down in bed (NO tracker is THAT good). However, you can adjust this time manually and edit it yourself. So for the power user – you’re all set.
3. There are no smartphone notifications like incoming calls or texts. This is a nice feature with some other wrist worn trackers.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a wonderful sleep tracker. It’s not the most comfortable tracker, but it isn’t terrible. The sleep tracking is on point and it’s terrific for fitness tracking too. If you’re really trying to improve your sleep and you’re serious about doing so, this is the tracker you want.