Wearables wearing out their welcome
I had a draft of a post ready to go where I was going to do a comparative test of the sleep tracking of the Hello Sense, the Misfit Flash and the Fitbit Charge this week, but in the last 2 days the button has snapped off the Charge and the Flash no longer syncs (have tried on both android and iOS, multiple installs and wipes, new battery, no idea what's up with that thing). So, that plan is probably a bust, therefore I have no choice but to declare the Sense the winner of my little sleep contest due to forfeits... For now.
Something has broken on every single "wearable" I've had.
- 2nd Generation Jawbone UP - had 3, all died. One had the button break, the others had internal faults. First one was bought in May 2013, none lasted more than a few weeks. Retailed $129.95.
- Fitbit Flex - Band split apart after 2 months, had to get a replacement. Retails $99.95.
- Fitbit Force - Non-replaceable band split apart within a year, and then they withdrew them for sale because of skin irritation complaints. A gift, was retailing at $129.99.
- Misfit Flash - Unknown syncing fault. Bought November 2014 for half price during their Black Friday sales. $49.99 retail.
- Fitbit Charge - Button snapped off while I was asleep. Got that January 2014. Bought for $110 with a discount code from my broken Force, retail $129.95. Currently in a back and forth with customer support to hopefully get it replaced.
I'm 7 for 7. Seven wrist-wearable devices in 2 years! (Just to be clear - I only wear them one at a time.)
I feel like a mug. I don't treat these devices badly - I don't wear them in the shower like some heathens do, asking for trouble. These relatively expensive toys appear to just expire. Sure, they pretty much all have a 1 year warranty and mostly thoughtfully die within that window, but that doesn't really make it OK - it's a pain in the ass to keep chasing up tech replacements for things that really shouldn't be keeling over within their warranty period.
Am I just unlucky?
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