Nike+ FuelBand SE review

Earlier this month, Nike came out with the FuelBand SE, and of course, I couldn’t resist buying one. C’mon, it has a PINK Nike swoosh on it!

So what’s the scoop?  Well, Nike has added some new features, some of which are included in firmware updates for the older version too. There’s “win the hour” where you have to be active for 5 consecutive minutes in a hour to “win” that hour. New trophies to go along with how many hours you win per day. There’s movement reminders that can be configured via the iPhone app. Those trigger an alert on the phone, and also light up the LED display on the band. The app itself has also had a huge overhaul, and integrates a new feature called “sessions.”  Sessions allow you to tag an activity, say running or hiking, and see stats like your fuel per minute. There’s also new trophies related to sessions.

The big downside is that Nike “improved” the fuel calculation / movement detection. What this means is that my average fuel per day now seems about 50% of what it used to be. This update seems to be mostly firmware, as I wore both the old and the new for a day and the old one got about 2x the fuel. Then I updated its firmware, and they are pretty much the same now.

Pros:

• Bluetooth 4.0 (no more pressing and holding the button to sync)
• Sessions
• New trophies
• Movement reminders

Cons:

• Battery life compared to previous version (I think I was getting 7-10 days before and now I’m getting 4-5)
• LED doesn’t seem as bright in sunlight
• New fuel calculations (this would actually be fine if there was a way to calibrate my past history, but now, it seems like it will be even harder to have a best day/week/month)

In case you missed it, you can read by review of the original FuelBand here.