Jawbone UP Move Review

by Steve · Published March 18, 2015 , 8:50 pm · Updated January 4, 2020 , 3:59 pm

The Jawbone UP Move Wireless Activity Tracker.

Human innovation tends to reduce the physical labor needed for a desired result. When we think of the history of invention, we contemplate those things that make our lives easier while yielding more or better outputs: things like the wheel, robotics, and Internet shopping. Alas, with “easier” often comes “sedentary.” Millennia of technological advances have led to a modern society that faces health threats stemming from not moving around that much.

Part of this lethargy hazard is unavoidable. We have to drive or sit in airline seats; we have to log hours at the computer; we do well to avoid reading novels and crossing intersections at the same time. So there’s little choice but to remain seated for good chunks of time. But part of our inactivity can be remedied with minor tweaks to our habits.

According to the folks behind the Jawbone UP Move wireless activity tracker, we should aim for physical activity equivalent to around 10,000 steps per day. Meeting or exceeding that threshold is believed to enhance health outcomes. And the UP Move promises to make keeping track of our movements a little, well, easier and less physically intensive. In other words, the UP Move accepts our laziness for what it is and encourages us to shed that inactivity bit by digitally monitored bit.

Jawbone UP Move Wireless Activity Tracker

The UP Move is an entry-level activity/fitness tracker that logs steps, inactivity, sleep and nutrition, all to help users understand their habits and modify them for improved health.

Jawbone UP Move box contents include the device, clip, battery, and battery installation tool, along with brief instructions for downloading the companion app. The onyx wristband or “strap” is sold separately.

I’ve been wearing my “Slate Rose” UP Move in both the standard clip (Yellow color) and optional wrist strap (Onyx color; Standard size) virtually without interruption since it arrived. In general, I have been impressed with what the UP Move can do. For its price, this is a fantastic fitness tracker that recommends itself to most of us lazy humans.

Nonetheless, the UP Move is an entry-level device that does not offer some of the technological features, data-capture capabilities, or style of its (much) more expensive competitors.

The UP Move is most appealing for users seeking an improved understanding of their daily activity levels in an easy-to-use and intuitively designed package. For users desiring more detailed tracking, advanced analytics, or biometrics readings, the UP Move may not fully satisfy.

Jawbone UP Move Components

The UP Move is a disc-shaped wireless activity tracker a little over an inch in diameter and a third of an inch thick.

Most of the interior dimension of the device is consumed by a replaceable battery with an estimated “4+ month” life. The internal battery is the reason my use of the UP Move has been “virtually” nonstop: the device can get sprinkled with water but shouldn’t be submerged, so I’ve removed mine for showering.

For monitoring of land-based pursuits, the UFO-like disc can be mounted in a clip that comes along with the device or into a wristband that is sold separately.

The Jawbone UP Move “Slate Rose” tracker and onyx wrist strap.

Jawbone UP Move Operation

The disc contains an accelerometer to keep track of movement. It translates that movement into steps taken, distance traveled, idle time and (when coupled with the wristband) “sound” or “light” sleep.

The device’s interface is a master class in simple sophistication. The disc’s face can be pressed with a finger once to display progress toward the 10,000 daily step threshold. Two quick presses bring up a clock display. A quick press followed by a long press calls up the stopwatch function (more on that later). And a single long press toggles the device between daytime mode (when steps are tracked) and nighttime mode (when sleep is tracked).

I found the simplicity and ease-of-use of the device to be very appealing.

Jawbone UP Move App

The device logs all this data and ports it via Bluetooth to any iOS or Android smartphone running the companion UP app. My phone is an Android with Bluetooth 4.0, and the app loading, Bluetooth pairing, and behind-the-scenes syncing have all been seamless and easy.

The Jawbone UP Move companion app is colorful and wonderfully intuitive. There is virtually no work needed to understand and make use of the device/app right away.

Data are displayed within the app in colorful graphs, trends are tabulated and helpful “coaching” and health tips are offered. For instance, I’ve been coached on limiting my bouts of inactivity to 45 minutes or less. I’ve exhibited trends of meeting my 10,000 daily steps threshold and getting my recommended 8 hours of sleep.

The Jawbone UP Move catalogs trends to help keep users on track to meet activity and sleeping goals.

Jawbone UP Move Function

Both the pedometer/activity function and sleep tracking are essentially passive to the user. The UP Move logs of steps and snoozing on its own. These functions work exceptionally well. For most users, the ease of use and accuracy of these functions provide reason to purchase the UP Move.

The Jawbone UP Move app features an uncluttered interface that makes using the app very easy.

Nutrition input and logs of activities like weightlifting, biking or yoga require manual attention, however.

To keep track of calories and the like, the UP Move requires the wearer to input, via the app, foods that have been eaten, when they were eaten, and in what quantity. I found the food input to be too manual for my levels of laziness and abandoned tracking my food after a couple of days.

Tracking of steps and sleep are performed passively by the Jawbone UP Move device. However, food and exercise activities like weightlifting and yoga must be input manually.

Keeping track of workouts like weight training, biking and yoga is also manual. To log activities like weightlifting, the user has to run the stopwatch function on the device, which monitors the activity’s duration. Then, once the stopwatch is turned off, the user self-reports in the app what the activity was and its intensity level. Those inputs help UP translate the workout to an equivalent number of steps that are added to the user’s daily total.

Exercise activities like weightlifting are input by the user and then translated by the Jawbone UP Move into an equivalent number of steps.

For me, the food tracking and exercise tracking capabilities on the UP Move are rudimentary and too manual. They distinguish the UP Move from more advanced/more expensive fitness tracking alternatives.

My favorite part of the UP Move is the sleep tracking (available only with the wristband), which I find truly fascinating. Based upon the level of movement recorded during sleep hours, the UP Move determines whether periods of sleep are “sound” or “light.” Times when the wearer completely wakes are also tracked.

The UP Move’s ability to accurately record sleep is outstanding. On nights when I woke mid-slumber, the UP Move accurately recorded the movement. On mornings I rose feeling like I hadn’t slept, the UP Move confirmed I’d only slept lightly. And particularly restful-seeming nights logged high levels of “sound” sleep. These readings have been useful as I’ve tweaked nighttime habits to improve my slumber.

One compelling feature of the colorful and graphics-intensive, user-friendly UP app is the informational tidbits that can be found by clicking on links within the app. It’s been interesting to learn about how the app ranks food quality, for example. My only complaint about this feature as that, rather than house information within the app itself, clicking links causes my phone’s browser to open and takes me the Jawbone website. This modality interrupts the in-app experience, which is a shame because the app functions beautifully otherwise. The simple interface and attractive layout are big successes for the UP Move.

The Jawbone UP Move ranks the quality of food consumed (and reported) by the user.

Jawbone UP Move Style

From a style perspective the UP Move wears its entry-level status on its sleeve. Although I find the device interface of the UP Move to be wonderfully minimalist and intuitive, when the disc is in its normal unlit state, it looks rather plastic-y and unimpressive.

The optional wristband, which is comfortable and lightweight (not to mention very durable), also could use some style help. I found the strap to look effeminate on my wrist, even in the onyx hue coupled with the slate-colored device. The standard clip evidently has no style agenda but does stay secure and can be easily forgotten about within minutes of clipping to your waistband.

Who The Jawbone UP Move Is For

The Jawbone UP Move is recommended for just about anyone who wants to get a handle on their daily activity levels without worrying about a difficult learning curve with a new device and app. The simple interface and intuitive functionality of the UP Move are very attractive. The UP Move’s high accuracy in monitoring activity and sleep also garner it points in my book.

For more advanced athletes or those with specific health-monitoring needs, the UP Move may not offer sufficiently comprehensive capabilities. And for those with high style at top of mind, the UP Move may not offer as much pizzazz as pricier alternatives.

The UP Move nevertheless makes a compelling argument as the go-to fitness/activity tracker for most people. Indeed, at its price point, the UP Move provides a best-in-class value that can’t be ignored by anyone.