Microsoft Band 2 Review (vs Fitbit Blaze/Surge & Apple Watch)

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• published: 21 Mar 2016
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Huh. The Microsoft Band 2 is SURPRISINGLY good! Was not expecting to be this impressed with a Microsoft product! Get it now on Amazon: http://mreh.ca/22s8bbd Web Review: http://mreh.ca/1UfE6qQ Similar Products: Apple Watch: http://mreh.ca/1dAyOmM Fitbit Surge: http://mreh.ca/1e5v5hf Its unique design took a bit of getting use but physically, the Microsoft Band 2 is an impressive piece of hardware. From a fitness standpoint, it’s better than anything that Fitbit has, from a day-to-day use perspective, its as useful as the Apple Watch and isn’t as annoying to use as Android wear. The only place that the Band 2 falls completely on its face are the lack of apps you can install on the Band 2. For my Microsoft Band 2 Review, I’ve given it a score of 4.1 Eh’s out of 5. It has the same score as the Apple Watch (Gasp!) and does much better than anything that Pebble Offers as well as the Moto 360. From a fitness perspective, Its not as functional as the Fitbit Surge but definitely better than the Charge HR. In terms of design, the Microsoft Band 2, feels like a band. A bulky band which takes a bit of getting use. The Band seems to wear well as the rubber portion of the band is very scratch resistant and seems to have the ability to heal itself. The buckle is actually one of the best parts of the Microsoft Band 2 despite its thickness. The AMOLED display is top notch when it comes to displaying information. It puts the blocky LED’s of the Charge HR and e-ink screen of the Pebble Time’s to shame. The face of the Microsoft Band 2, after my usage period, doesn’t show any scratches. When it comes to durability, on my average usage, the battery will last approx. two and two nights and maybe one workout. n. The Band 2 is actually a nice fitness activity tracker. It comes with GPS so if you’re one of those people who like to draw shapes on maps while you run, you’ll feel right at home with the Band 2. The heart rate captured by the Band 2 seems more accurate than anything Fitbit as it seems to track quick elevations in heart rate quicker than the Fitbit's. Now this optimistic outlook on my HR results in higher calories burned per workout but the overall daily caloric count isn’t higher. The Band 2’s health data was different than the Apple Watches and Fitbit Charge’s. Now one of the standout marketing fluff features is the Guided Workouts which, from my perspective are quite useless. There are several pre-loaded workouts that you can choose from and you can load custom workouts through the web interface. One of the things I noticed was that the screen of the Band 2 was always on during a workout which made it easier to deal with if you’re timing your exercises. The last thing about fitness is sleep tracking. With the battery life being a bit better than the Apple Watch, you can sleep with your Band 2 for at most two nights at a time. For fitness logging, the web portion of the Microsoft Health is awesome. In fact, its way better than the dashboard that Fitbit offers because it tries to go a little deeper into the data. It doesn’t just spew out all the numbers the device collects, it tries to make a bit more sense of it all which is important when you’re trying to live a slightly better life. When it comes to everyday usage, the Band 2 is decent. As I mentioned earlier, it doesn’t have the strength of an App Store like the Android Wear and Apple Watch does but if you’re like me, who generally defaults to the basic features on devices, that won’t matter. For those who are fitness-minded, you can attach your Microsoft Health account to all the large players. For notifications, I found that the Band 2 wasn’t annoying out of the box like Android Wear is. Alerts aren’t unique as it does the same thing as all the other devices. It shakes and then the screen comes on. You can dismiss all the notifications and view them all as an after thought through the notification tile. The Band 2 has a touch screen and two physical buttons. Navigating through the menus is done through the screen while selecting a menu requires the use of a button. There is a bit of color customization with the Band 2 but that’s about the limit of the customization. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to stay in the loop! We release 2-3 videos a week so there's going to be something new every week. We're all about helping you get the most out of iOS so click Subscribe! WEBSITE: http://www.mobilereviews-eh.ca T-SHIRTS: http://mobilereviewseh.spreadshirt.com PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/MobileReviewsEh TUMBLR: http://mobilereviewseh.tumblr.com INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/mobilereviewseh TWITTER: https://twitter.com/MobileReviewsEh AARON: https://twitter.com/Aaron_The_Ho FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/MobileReviewsEh GOOGLE +: http://bit.ly/GplusMobileReviewsEh