Microsoft Band Review | 171 Data compared

The Engadget review characterises the $200 Microsoft Band as an ambitious crossover between a smartwatch and a fitness tracker that ultimately feels more like a proof of concept than a consumer-ready device. On the positive side, the wearable shines due to its cross-platform software compatibility, offering an identical, data-rich experience across Windows Phone, iOS, and Android. Its primary strength lies within the Microsoft Health platform, which integrates deep analytics like sleep and step tracking, and leverages 10 distinct hardware sensors—including built-in GPS, UV light tracking, and a heart rate monitor—to offer unique lifestyle insights and guided workout rep-counting. Furthermore, Windows Phone users benefit from integrated Cortana voice control, and the device features a highly customisable tile-based interface with bright screen aesthetics. However, the hardware is heavily criticised as an ergonomic nightmare, plagued by a bulky, rigid, and uncomfortable semicircle design featuring raised plastic parts that dig into the wrist and make sleeping difficult. The wide, flat screen is highly susceptible to severe scratching, showing immediate wear within just two days of regular use. Additionally, while it claims a two-day battery...

Microsoft Band Review Summary The original Microsoft Band stands out as a highly ambitious, OS-agnostic wearable that heavily prioritises health tracking through an extensive array of built-in sensors. Its core strengths lie in its independent GPS functionality—which allows users to map outdoor activities without carrying a smartphone—and specialized sensors measuring UV exposure, skin temperature, and galvanic skin response. It provides responsive notification alerts for calls, texts, and social media directly to its 1.4-inch display. Additionally, Windows Phone users benefit from deeper integration, including Cortana voice dictation and on-wrist text replies. However, the device is severely held back by a highly inflexible, rigid design that makes it unappealing and uncomfortable to wear, especially during desk work. Despite its fitness focus, it only supports basic light rain and cannot be worn in the shower. The 100mAh battery delivers a mediocre 30 to 48 hours of life, uses a restrictive proprietary charger, and wipes out all unsynced workout data if it completely dies. Finally, the accompanying Microsoft Health app launches as a bare-bones experience that frustratingly hides advanced sensor data and lacks official...

The Microsoft Band is an incredibly advanced fitness wearable packed with sensors and backed by Microsoft Azure’s powerful machine learning cloud capabilities. Its biggest advantages lie in its highly interactive features, most notably a bright multi-touch screen with a tile-based user interface and robust "guided workouts" that cater to all skill levels. It also goes beyond traditional health trackers by offering extensive productivity integration, allowing users to receive notifications for emails, calendar appointments, text messages, phone calls, and social media networks. Additionally, while not flawless, the device offers reliable consistency in tracking data like heart rate, steps, and calories burned, making it highly effective for users who want to closely monitor and micromanage their long-term fitness progress. Despite its engineering genius, the device suffers from being over-engineered, bulky, and lacking intuitive, mainstream-friendly features. A major drawback is the baffling omission of basic "at a glance" functionality, meaning the display does not automatically activate when the user lifts their wrist, nor does the screen text auto-rotate to match the viewer's perspective. The device also lacks proactive prompts—such as vibrating to remind...

The T3 Microsoft Band review outlines a powerful but aesthetically flawed hybrid device that costs £150/$180 and bridges the gap between step trackers, running watches, and smartwatches. A major standout pro is its customizable Windows-style tiled interface displayed on a very bright screen, paired with advanced Guided Workouts that track intermediate interval training intervals seamlessly. The wearable functions without a mobile phone thanks to built-in GPS and a heart-rate monitor, while also providing basic smartwatch alerts. For Windows Phone users, it includes deeper integrations like full voice-dictated messaging and calling via Cortana. It even pairs with TaylorMade to supply detailed mapping and swing analysis data for golf enthusiasts. However, the reviewer heavily criticizes its build, describing it as an ugly, unyielding, and rigid "fitness handcuff" that is physically uncomfortable to wear while sleeping. The intense processing power and screen brightness limit the battery life to just two days, requiring a proprietary magnetic charger to juice up. Performance flaws include slow initial GPS satellite locks and mediocre heart-rate tracking accuracy that fails to satisfy elite athletes. Lastly, the device is over-stuffed...

The Microsoft Band is an ambitious but deeply flawed entry into the fitness tracker market, retailing at £169.99. It is heavily praised for its extensive features, notably its cross-platform compatibility with multiple smartphone brands and a built-in GPS that allows for phone-free run tracking. It also stands out by including an integrated UV monitor to alert users when they need sunscreen. In terms of daily utility, the device seamlessly tracks workouts, converts metrics into helpful graphs, and features a useful text-alert system that pulses notifications to the wrist and displays messages word-by-word so runners do not have to halt their pace. However, the tracker's major downside is its cumbersome and uncomfortable physical design. The strap is an inflexible, 7mm-thick piece of rubber that feels bulky and highly noticeable on the wrist. Furthermore, despite its hardware bulk, the device lacks a stand-alone music player option, meaning users are still forced to carry a phone if they want to listen to music while running. The device also suffers from a few key software limitations, such as a complete lack of compatibility with...

The Telegraph review describes the Microsoft Band as a "surprisingly good" wearable that offers a comfortable fit and effective, motivating workout tracking, with high potential to lead in the fitness market. Its core strengths lie in immediate, simple usability and functionality that successfully encourages more productive exercise. The Telegraph However, the review highlights significant cons, including a clunky, awkward aesthetic design that hampers its appeal. Additionally, the Microsoft Health app is criticized for failing to coherently present data, making it difficult for users to track progress effectively.

In The Guardian's review, Samuel Gibbs evaluates the Microsoft Band (£170) as a highly accurate, advanced fitness tracker packed with ten distinct tracking sensors. The reviewer highly praises several prominent pros, including its reliable three-day battery life (which drops to two days when tracking exercises with GPS) and its extensive suite of sensors, such as an optical heart rate monitor, built-in GPS, a UV light tracker, and galvanic skin/temperature sensors. Additionally, the review highlights its excellent cross-platform compatibility with Android and iOS devices, a solid data-rich smartphone and web companion application, an innovative built-in workout guide that counts repetitions, and a very comfortable, highly adjustable sliding clasp mechanism. The Guardian The Guardian

The Neowin review of the first-generation Microsoft Band highlights a feature-rich, $199 wearable with impressive tracking capabilities, including built-in GPS, a heart rate monitor, and a 1.4-inch touchscreen. While offering cross-platform compatibility and comprehensive data, the device is praised for its sensor array. However, the review notes significant cons, primarily the uncomfortable, rigid design that fails to contour to the wrist and creates ergonomic issues, alongside unpolished software and connectivity bugs. The device lacks intuitive interface elements, such as an on-screen battery percentage.

The PCMag review characterizes the original Microsoft Band as an ambitious but flawed fitness tracker, highlighting a sharp, full-color display and useful guided workouts. However, these features are undermined by a rigid, uncomfortable design—particularly for smaller wrists—due to inflexible components. Beyond ergonomics, the device suffers from inaccurate heart rate monitoring and a lackluster companion app lacking essential, standard health tracking features like calorie logging. Due to its restrictive ecosystem dependency and lack of computer syncing, PCMag deems alternative devices superior at the price point.

The Microsoft Band is positioned as an ambitious, feature-dense fitness tracker featuring 10 sensors, including continuous heart rate, GPS, and a UV monitor, providing valuable, actionable data through the Microsoft Health platform. It effectively offers 24/7 activity tracking, sleep analysis, and smartwatch notifications, along with Cortana voice controls for Windows Phone users. However, the hardware suffers from significant design flaws, described as bulky, stiff, and uncomfortable to wear for extended periods. Furthermore, the interface is characterized as clunky, with user experience marred by irritating notification management, according to the review.

Microsoft Band Review Summary The Microsoft Band is an ambitious first attempt at a hybrid "smart fitness band" that blends comprehensive activity tracking with robust smartwatch capabilities across Android, iOS, and Windows Phone devices. On the positive side, it features accurate standalone GPS for tracking runs, a continuous 24-hour heart-rate monitor, and the ability to download detailed, expert-guided workout routines directly to your wrist. It also excels at managing a massive stream of smart notifications—including texts, emails, and social media updates—making it incredibly connected for a fitness device. Furthermore, its $200 price point makes it highly competitive with contemporary dedicated fitness watches. However, the device is held back by several design and functional flaws. The physical band is thick, stiff, and highly uncomfortable, fitting more like a "fitness shackle" than a standard watch. Its flat, plastic OLED display is highly prone to scratching, and the lack of water resistance means users must remove it for showering or swimming. Performance-wise, the battery life is mediocre—lasting roughly 48 hours normally but dropping drastically to just 5 hours with continuous GPS enabled. Additionally,...

Microsoft Band Review Summary The Microsoft Band ($199) is a feature-rich fitness tracker and smartwatch hybrid that earns a 3.5 out of 5 (Good) rating, primarily held back by severe design flaws. On the positive side, it is packed with advanced features, including built-in GPS tracking for phone-free runs, customisable screens, push notifications across iOS, Android, and Windows Phone, and an innovative "Find a Workout" coaching feature integrated with major fitness brands. It comprehensively tracks daily steps, calories, runs, and sleep, while delivering a solid four days of battery life when the GPS is turned off. However, the reviewer highlights major drawbacks, describing the band as wildly uncomfortable and poorly suited for petite wrists due to its rigid, clunky form factor. The hardware features two inflexible surfaces facing each other, and its unique optical heart rate monitor—positioned on the clasp—proved highly inaccurate during testing. Additional cons include a lackluster Microsoft Health mobile app that lacks historical data graphs, a touch screen that is hard to use while moving, a lack of bicycling tracking, and no computer syncing capabilities. Ultimately, while...