Details
Brand
Under Armour
Model
UA Activity Band
Battery Life
4 days
Use
Tracking
Latest Version
Yes
Key Features
• Pairs with UA Heart Rate to track workout intensity and active heart rate• Tracks steps taken towards daily goal• Tracks sleep duration and quality using resting heart rate• Alerts you when you’ve been inactive or are close to your daily step goal• Syncs data with UA Record and can track data for up to 7 days without a phone• Workout Log for customized tracking• Control smartphone’s music from the band• Vibration alarm for mornings or appointment reminders• Calendar, text, and call notifications from smartphone
Comfort
Testers found that the Activity Band feels lightweight and comfortable to wear. It is curved, so it does not collect sweat, so your skin doesn’t get sweaty or smelly. It is thin and has a soft exterior and textured interior. There are holes in the strap to adjust to a comfortable fit and two different sizes to choose from to make sure it fits just right. Some testers with small wrists said that it took them some time to get used to the watch.
Size
s Available;The UA Activity Band comes with two adjustable wrist straps. The long strap is 244.1mm (9.61 inches) long and the short strap is 204.1mm (8.04 inches) long. Although intended to fit most wrist sizes, some testers with small wrists had their band fall off, and one person even lost their device in the process. New users should be careful to make sure the band is adjusted to be snug enough to not fall off.
Accessories
The main accessory for the UA Activity Band is the UA Heart Rate ($80), which is a chest strap heart rate monitor that connects to the activity band via Bluetooth. It is used to accurately track heart rate to detect workout intensity, calories burned, and sleep patterns. It works by detecting the wearer’s electrical impulse from their heartbeat. Other commonly used Bluetooth-connected accessories are wireless earbuds with a microphone, a digital scale, and a digital measuring tape. Also for sale by Under Armour is the UA Health Box, which comes with the band, scale, heart rate monitor, and a free one-year membership to MapMyFitness MVP and MyFitnessPal Premium.
Style
The Under Armour Activity Band has a simple but nice look to it. It is thin and has a soft, black, textured exterior and a red textured interior that looks sporty and prevents sweating. The clasp is simpler than earlier fitness bands. On the underside are the gold charging pins and the optical heart rate sensor. The black bezel surrounding the screen is large compared to the size of the screen. The screen is small and simple with white, digital-looking text over a black background, and it looks like a plain black wristband when turned off. The Under Armour logo is indented on the left side of the strap. Reviewers aren’t thoroughly pleased with the style of the band, as many feel it is too plain, but the quality of the software makes up for this for many users.
Activities
The UA Activity Band is great for running, walking, jogging, and sleeping. In fitness mode, the wearer can log their runs, gym workouts, cycling sessions, and long walks. It was intended to be worn all day, so it is water resistant enough to wear in the shower, but needs to be taken off for swimming and therefore cannot track swimming.
Basic Features
The UA Activity Band is great for running, walking, jogging, and sleeping. In fitness mode, the wearer can log their runs, gym workouts, cycling sessions, and long walks. It was intended to be worn all day, so it is water resistant enough to wear in the shower, but needs to be taken off for swimming and therefore cannot track swimming.
Advanced Features
The advanced features allow wearers to track even more data about their fitness level. The pedometer tracks the number of steps taken, and the vibration alerts will let the wearer know if they have been inactive for too long or if they are near their step goal for the day. The heart rate monitor tracks resting heart rate while sleeping, which is used to help measure sleep quality. Navigation is tracked through the GPS and apps of a connected smartphone. The Activity Band is 2ATM water resistant, so it can get splashed on but it is not waterproof enough for submersion.
Connectivity
The UA Activity Band uses Bluetooth Smart to quickly connect to and automatically sync data with the UA Record Smartphone app on iOS and Android. It is compatible with Android 4.4 or later and iOS 8.4 or later. The Manage Apps and Devices page on the UA Record app is used to connect Bluetooth devices (such as the UA Heart monitor), apps, and services for fitness tracking.
Ease of Use
The Activity Band has a touch screen for navigation that is easy to use. It starts with the clock, and users can tap the arrow on the right to view the Activity Band settings: checking battery life, setting a timer, stopwatch, setting an alarm and viewing the calendar. The wheel (settings) icon is for brightness, phone connectivity, airplane mode, and power. Swipe to view different stats for the day, such as distance traveled, calories burned, steps taken, and sleep. Under sleep, the play button logs sleep and the stop button lets the watch know that you woke up. Some reviewers had trouble reading the small font on the face. The three brightness settings help a little, but it is still difficult to read quickly in the bright sun or at night. The clasp is easier to open and close compared to earlier fitness bands. The charging cable is intuitive to use, but the magnet is weak so users should make sure it is connected before leaving it to charge.
Power Source
The UA Activity Band is powered by an embedded 110 mAh lithium ion battery. It can last for up to five days, but some testers found that it only lasted for around two to three days when used heavily and all features turned on. It comes with a charger, although the charging cable is slightly short and the charging magnet is not very strong, so people should be careful that the cord does not pull too much when charging and make sure everything is lined up so it will actually charge. It takes about 30 minutes to charge the UA Activity Band.
Accuracy
Testers got mixed results when it came to accuracy. The Activity Band’s heart rate monitor reads 20-30 bpm higher than it should during workouts, but the active heart rate is very accurate when it is paired with UA Heart Rate. It measures resting heart rate accurately as long as it is worn about a finger’s width under the wrist. The GPS comes from the smartphone, so there are different levels of accuracy based on the phone used. The accelerometer used to measure distance without a smartphone has just OK accuracy. Steps taken is based on arm movement, so some people reported 100% accuracy, while others found that the band thought they took “steps” while driving or sitting.
Face
The face has a smooth 1.3” OLED touchscreen display with white writing over a black background, surrounded by a large black bezel. Some of the information displayed on the face include a series of icons to choose a setting or type of workout, the duration of the current workout, the current time, calories burned, number of steps taken today, and a preview of a text message that was just received on the connected smartphone.
Band
The band is comfortable and has holes for adjustability. The outside is black, the inside is red, and it is soft for comfort, but textured to prevent sweating. Two bands of different lengths come with the Activity Band so that it can fit on large and small wrists.
Apps
The apps used with the Activity Band are UA Record, MapMyFitness, and MyFitnessPal. UA Record is used for tracking the data taken in by the band as well as what was entered on MyFitnessPal. It tracks 24/7 in order to help the user set goals, track sleep quality, measure workouts, monitor; nutrition, and connect with their friends. It displays the number of steps taken, calories eaten, hours of sleep, calories burned, and duration of the workout. MapMyFitness is used for creating maps of runs, although some people said that particular app did not work as well with this watch. MyFitnessPal syncs with UA Record and is used for logging meals, workouts and measurements to track weight loss and fitness goals. There are also options to sync other apps to UA Record. A three-month membership to MyFitnessPal Premium and MapMyFitness comes with the purchase of the band.
Sizes Available
The UA Activity Band comes with two adjustable wrist straps. The long strap is 244.1mm (9.61 inches) long and the short strap is 204.1mm (8.04 inches) long. Although intended to fit most wrist sizes, some testers with small wrists had their band fall off, and one person even lost their device in the process. New users should be careful to make sure the band is adjusted to be snug enough to not fall off.
Durability
The Activity Band has good durability. Most people were able to continue wearing it for at least a year or two, but some testers experienced the red interior cracking after about six months of everyday use. It is water resistant for up to two meters but was not designed to swim in, so going underwater might damage the watch and cause it not to last as long as it could. Very high elevations, as well as extremely hot or extremely cold temperatures, could cause the Activity Band to malfunction.
Price
The Activity Band started out as an average-priced fitness band, but currently costs about half as much as its original price. It keeps the cost low by using the smartphone from a GPS instead of having it built in, and using an external heart rate monitor sold separately for measuring activities other than sleeping. It also uses the excellent UA Record smartphone app for logging and tracking data, rather than using a more expensive operating system that can install apps directly onto the band. The Activity Band has a nice set of features, such as tracking steps, sleep duration, inactivity and close-to-goal alerts, up to 7 days of data storage, a workout log, music control, and smartphone notifications, that make it a good deal for its price.
Bottom Line
The Under Armour Activity Band is a great fitness and activity tracker. It has a simple but nice looking design, is easy to use, and is very comfortable to wear. It has fairly good accuracy, good durability, long battery life, and comes at a great price now that it has been discounted. It can also connect to a smartphone in order to play music, receive notifications, and use apps. The band itself works very well for tracking daily stats and keeping on track for the day’s goals. The UA Record app is very user friendly and helpful for tracking data over time reaching long term goals. Potential areas to improve include adding an ambient light sensor, a longer and stronger charging cable, a larger screen or larger font so it is easier to read, better detection for telling when the wearer is not walking, and a better fit on smaller wrists. Overall, the UA Activity Band is a good investment for runners who want to track and set goals for their fitness and nutrition.
