Even though the long-delayed Up3 isn’t shipping until later this month, Jawbone this evening has taken the wraps off of two new fitness trackers, the Up4 and the Up2. The latter is a replacement for the Up24 released in 2013, while the former is a new fitness tracker by the company. The Up4 most notably adds support for on-band wireless payments from American Express. Both watches pair with your iPhone over Bluetooth.
The Up4 sports an NFC chip to perform the wireless payments. Existing American Express customers will be able to link their regular account information with the Up4, but non-American Express customers will be able to apply for an AmEx card and potentially receive instant approval.
Other than the addition of NFC for wireless payments, the Up4 is nearly identical to the Up3. It features heart-rate tracking and sleep analytics. The Up4 will be available later this summer for $199, which is $20 more than the Up3.
The Up2 is similar to the Up3 in terms of design. It features an adjustable strap and is 45 percent smaller than the Up24 that it is replacing. The Up2 offers vibrating notifications and Jawbone’s smart alarm clock, which tracks your sleep and wakes you up at the best possible time. The Up2 is available now from Jawbone, Amazon, and BestBuy for $100.
Both of Jawbone’s new offerings come at an interesting time in the wearable space. The Apple Watch is set to start arriving to pre-order customers on April 24th and also includes the ability to wirelessly pay for products when paired with Apple Pay. While the Jawbone Up2 and Up4 are cheaper than the Apple Watch, we’ll have to see if they compare in terms of quality.
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anyone know how reliable the jawbone sensors are?
Compared to Visa support (almost universal), AMEX is a weak option. Try using AMEX in Europe.
Still – kind of neat we’re getting some traction for wireless payments.
The Up3 is actually something I would buy. Has the looks, has the functionality (for a smartband) and, most importantly, it can last 7 days on a charge. Up4… nah. I’m not entirely convinced I would do the wireless payments thing… and then, AMEX is not really popular over here in Europe.
Considering how they made their customers wait for UP3, still haven’t updated their apps for iPhone 6/6+ yet and fixed the bugs, I wouldn’t jump on it.
As a current customer of Jawbone UP24, I am not happy. And I’m waiting for my Apple Watch to arrive, so I can ditch my UP. Jawbone support is horrendous. Check out their support Twitter feed and Facebook page.
American Express in the US only or Canada aswell?
This thing doesn’t even tell time! Pass!
I am excited to go to an UP2 to replace my original UP. From what I’ve read no trackers are perfect, but using it encourages a person to get moving and also get some sleep.
It’s a little late to be doing an April Fools’ joke. Seriously? They couldn’t even get the UP3 out of the door within 5 months of it being promised, and now they are trying to launch two more products?? I really liked their app and was planning on getting an UP3, but after all of this, I think I am going to forego it for the second gen Watch.