Little
fittie.
If
you exercise using an app on your phone or smartwatch, you'll know
that the last thing you need as you reach mile nine is to flick
through a complicated set of pages to check your progress. Simplicity
is key when you're drenched in sweat and trying to push through the
wall, and what you need is a tracker that you can quickly glance at
to see where you're at. On that note we review the iFit Link.
The
Link from iFit is as simple as an activity tracker gets without being
a bargain bin piece of crap. The small unit itself is just half the
size of your pinky and designed to snugly pop into an adjustable
wrist band (it comes with two different sizes of bands, handily), or
just be dropped into your pocket. All recorded data from your
work-out is transferred via Bluetooth to the iFit app on your phone,
so altogether no great surprises in product terms.
The
Link is a sleek and tiny unit adorned with nothing but four OLED
lights. These are what you'll be glancing at during your run because
each light will shine in sequence as you complete 25, 50, 75 and then
100% of your goal. It's a pretty easy job of setting up your desired
goal to reach in the app (something like 15,000 steps in a day) then
syncing to the Link and watching as the lights pop up throughout your
day. If you need a more accurate total of your current achievement
then you simply open the app on your phone; but for hour-to-hour,
minute-to-minute use, all you do is glance.
Or,
you know, not even that. The Link also has a pretty useful vibration
feature which gently gives you the momentary shivers when you've
reached a programmed goal, or just as a reminder for something.
Again, this is all very easily sorted through the app.
iFit
have designed the pop-in wrist band quite well here, as the Link
slots in from the back – the part pressed up against your wrist –
so there is no chance at all of it falling out. Because it therefore
completely covers the Link, the band has a transparent section
through which the OLEDs can shine. Also, both sizes of band are
widely adjustable and the clasp itself features two press-through
studs, so seems very sturdy.
In
use, we tested the iFit Link, first by checking how well it recorded
a very small amount of movement (we walked 50 steps), and then a much
bigger, longer session (a three mile run, to be precise). Short walks
were spot on nine times out of ten (and the times it was out was by
just a step or two either way), while over longer distances it
recorded data to a similar degree of accuracy of other, more
expensive trackers.
The
true selling point of the iFit Link is the price to features ratio.
It does indeed perform very well, and the mere fact that it has those
OLED indicator lights is pretty unique considering the price. If
you're looking for something versatile and reliable, this is a
contender.
£69