The Microsoft Band 2 Review
by Brett Howse on November 30, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Wearables
- Microsoft
- Microsoft Health
- Microsoft Band
Final Words
I think Microsoft has done a great job on improving the Band over the first generation. The styling and comfort levels have gone way up from the black plastic first generation model. The new curved screen is exactly what the Band needed to fit a wrist more easily, and Microsoft took note that many people wore the Band with the screen on the inside, and modified the Band to work better that way. Moving the batteries from the straps to the clasp has also made the strap a lot more comfortable, and the new material is great.
Where the Band excels is in fitness tracking. Fitbit and others have a strong hold on this market, but they don’t have the cloud infrastructure like Microsoft to be able to integrate with other vendors, and to store and manage data as easily. As a fitness band, the Microsoft Band 2 is at the top tier of devices available, with enough sensors to track many metrics. The built-in GPS makes it a great companion for runners, hikers, or bikers, and the generic exercise function is a nice catch-all for pretty much any other fitness activity you want to track. It will estimate your VO2 Max while running, and if you are serious about fitness this is a great device.
It also doubles as a pseudo-smartwatch, with obvious things like a clock included, but it will run apps right on the Band as well. Eventually this is going to be merged into Windows IoT, but for now it’s a custom firmware with custom apps. If this fit into the Universal Windows Platform you could see even more potential, but for now the limited processing power of the Cortex M4 is put to good use with built-in functions that fit well into the idea of the Band, plus third party apps which can expand the capabilities. You can do Smartwatch-style tasks like read and respond to messages, get notifications right on your wrist, and even pay for Starbucks.
It's a pretty limited smartwatch though, with truncated messages and no real sense of a symbiotic relationship with the Smartphone. It’s instead another device, which syncs through the phone but is otherwise standalone. That’s great for running, but it would be great to be able to control music playback on your phone, or to be able to clear notifications on the Band which then clears the same ones on the phone. At the moment it’s further from a smartwatch than I would like.
This kind of speaks to the target audience as well. Really, the Band is targeted to people who are into fitness, and those who want to track their activities. Fitness and I have a love/hate relationship, and wearing the Band becomes a lot less useful when you don’t want to use most of its functions. For those looking for a Smartwatch, they would likely be better suited somewhere else.
The clasp after some use and abuse on my arm
At $249, the Band has gone up in price since the first genration’s $199 price, but the redesigned styling and addition of a barometer likely make it worth it, at least for those not already invested in the ecosystem. It’s in the same ballpark of pricing as similar devices that are targeted towards just fitness, so it’s nice to get the extra functionality of the Band as a bonus on top. Microsoft was pretty smart to make this a cross-platform device as well, since their own foray into the mobile world has not been as successful as they would have liked. The Microsoft Band 2 would make a great companion to anyone into fitness or golf, which is really what it is targeted at. Those who are looking for a smartwatch that works with Windows Phone also only have this option, and the capabilities of it are mostly directed towards fitness, where it excels.
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xthetenth - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
It does automatically track when you sleep even if not prompted to, although of course it isn't necessarily as reliable for tracking how long it takes to start sleeping, and it does note that it was detected rather than manually demarcated.Eagle1848 - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
I have one of these and you are right, xthetenth, it does automatically detect sleep, but the parameters are looser to prevent accidentally entering sleep mode. I think it's something like 2 hours of not moving along with a couple other indicators, so if you toss and turn a lot (as I do) it won't detect sleep accurately very often. I tried it a few nights when I first got it and I think it detected sleep accurately about 1 night in three or four. Best bet is to manually activate it like you said as it detects everything really well such as time to fall asleep. Automatically detects sleep spot on with near 100% accuracy though if I am somewhere I won't move a lot such as taking a nap on the couch.xthetenth - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Yeah, I've had mine detect me going to sleep when I forgot, but I bought it to track sleep, so I've only forgotten once and don't have a decent amount of info on how reliable it is for me. The data when manually activated are quite good though, and match up quite well to what happened as far as I can tell.phoenix_rizzen - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Does it allow you to track more than 1 sleep cycle in a day? For example, can you track a 2-hour nap in the middle of the day? Or sleeping for 3-4 hours at night, getting up and doing stuff for an hour or two, and then sleeping for 3-4 hours again? Or is it a binary "sleep on/sleep off" once per day?I've tried several sleep tracking apps on my phone, and so far, none of them support multiple sleep cycles in a day. :( Meaning they don't accurately track the real numbers of hours of sleep I get in a week. Having 2 kids under 5 (one just barely over a year old) makes "sleep" a very fluid concept. :)
pavlindrom - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Yes, the band can track as many sessions as you want, and they'll show up on your phone. I got it recently, and have taken naps here and there that I tracked. Now, for naps, it may or may not catch it automatically, if you intend to go to sleep, just let it know, and it'll track it. You can go through all the history on your phone whenever you please. The band will only display basic stats for the last one. I hope this helps.Devo2007 - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
While the band was the first wearable sold by Microsoft, it technically wasn't Microsoft's first foray into wearable technology. That (dubious?) honor goes to the SPOT watches.Klug4Pres - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
"Fitness and I have a love/hate relationship"If you have posted real data, it looks as though you are pushing yourself quite hard! To average 159 bpm during 54 and a half minutes is pretty intense.
tipoo - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Or strapped it to a dog to look good for the review :Panactoraaron - Monday, November 30, 2015 - link
Any chance you will review the m3 and i7 versions of the surface pro 4? I think many folks are intrigued with the 'reports' of the m3 getting much better battery life than the i5 and the i7 getting much better performance with the Iris graphics. It would make a great read coming from you guys.simard57 - Tuesday, December 1, 2015 - link
And when will the Lumia 950 be reviewed?