In a space already leaded by biggies like FitBit, Honor, Xiaomi, will HealtifyMe Rist band be able to stand a chance?
Fitness trackers have gained a lot of popularity in recent years, and that can be attributed to the modern lifestyle to an extent. While Honor and the Xiaomi are considered leaders of the product category in the affordable segment, there are other bands offering much more than just the services of a fitness tracker. One such option is the HealthifyMe Rist fitness band that is more than a bunch of sensors on a wrist band.
It’s worth mentioning now that I am no fitness enthusiast because I simply cannot find the time for it. In a year, I hit the gym for three months, pump up and then fall back. I am no foodie as well, but my love for Nutelladoes hamper my diet to some extent. I’m fairly healthy and fit though, thanks to my love for dance. So, do I still need a fitness tracker? And more importantly, do I need a personal coach, which Healthify Me offers along with the Rist?
To be honest, I have seriously considered gaining some weight and still try my best to. But, I lack the discipline of eating the right diet, and more so, keeping a check on what I eat. I had the opportunity of reviewing the HealthifyMe Rist for over a month, and this review will go into what good it did me.
Design and Features
Right out-of-the-box, the Rist comes with a silicone band, USB charging cradle, and ‘how to use’ cards. The silicone band is of decent quality and doesn’t feel too premium. The band ties around your wrist with two plugs and not a clasp. It certainly isn’t the best part of the Rist and I felt if better options can be made available, that would help. Since I commute by the local trains of Mumbai, on several occasions I was afraid that I might accidentally lose the band.
Besides the band, it is the Rist device where the actual functionality of the device is. The Rist is a tiny, candy-shaped unit, with a touchscreen OLED panel on the top. The bottom has magnetic inductive ports for charging along with a thin layer of silicone that keeps it friendly to your skin. Also, it is water and sweat resistant, and that means it will be able to survive the shower and even heavy rains. The Rist band connects to your smartphone over Bluetooth 4.0 and requires the HealthifyMe companion app. The app is available both for Android and iOS.
Talking about the sensors, the Rist has a pedometer which is said to be working on 3D sensor technology for improved accuracy of steps taken. The fitness band is essentially a step counter and activity tracker. Sadly, the device neither has a heart rate sensor and nor a sleep tracker. While this might make you feel left out of a complete fitness experience, this is not where the focus of the HealthifyMe lies. The battery on the Rist lasts for around 4 days on a single charge of 30 minutes. When paired, it doesn’t end up taking too much out of your smartphone’s battery. ALSO READ: Honor Band 3 Review: An affordable, feature-filled fitness tracker
The ‘healthy’ deal
What the company offers is not just the Rist unit packed with a bunch of sensors to tell you about your fitness, but it is betting more towards the human element of it, like the GOQii 2.0. The Rist band comes free with certain health plans by HealthifyMe. With these health plans, you will be put in touch with an actual human coach who would guide you with your workouts, nutrition, and other health matters.
The base plan ‘Essential’ starts from Rs 999 per month that offers you a dedicated nutritionist and trainer who will call or chat with you to keep a check on your workouts and nutrition. The second plan called Balance is priced at Rs 1,299 per month, whereas the highest plan called ‘Transform’ is priced at Rs 1,499 per month.
Many of us use fitness bands today, but with little knowledge of how to decode our growth from those numbers tracked by the device strapped to your wrist. The deal with a personal coach here is that he or she will do the job for you and break down your health improvement for you to have a better insight. For you to have a suitable plan, you can also take up the Rs 99 one-time consultation before signing up. ALSO READ: Apple Watch leads wearable tech market in Q1 2017, fitness band hits first ever decline: Report
Once you sign up for a plan and paired the Rist with HealthifyMe app, you will set up a target for yourself. In my case, since I weighed around 70 kgs last month, I had set up a target to gain 4kgs. I also set up a daily target of walking 10,000 steps every day. To help the coach better the HealtifyMe app on my smartphone prompted me at regular intervals for breakfast, lunch, dinner, water intake and sleep.
The app has a list of food and beverages items that keeps on updating. All I had to is feed in what I ate at different times and how much water I drank. Thanks to the app reminders, I ended up drinking much more water than before. With only half the dedication to feed in my food and water intake regularly, I was able to gain half the target I had set for the month.
Rist is very similar to what the GOQii offers. But comparing it directly with the Mi Band 2 or Honor Band 3 in the budget will not be a good comparison, as the other two are just standard fitness bands. Rist, on the other hand, is a complete fitness platform. If you wish, you could also not use the Rist band at all and still stick with the HealthifyMe platform and paid service. The platform can collect data from various other sources such as the Google Fit app or FitBit bands if you can splurge on one. ALSO READ: GOQii 2.0 band review: Much more than just a fitness tracker
Verdict
I consider myself a novice when it comes to using a fitness band and thus the Rist band was an extensive experience for me. The Rist indeed made me concerned more about my health and fitness, and if nothing at all, it did make me punctual and mindful about my food and water intake. Also, for a guy who still prefers an analog wrist watch over smartwatches, the Rist had me considering to opt for it soon.
Overall, the Rist band and HealthifyMe platform is a strong recommendation for those who need a bit more motivation to be fitter and more careful about their health. The Rist is a good start in that direction.