It felt like I was in a time when fitness bands reigned supreme and smartwatches were clunky devices that hadn't found their purpose yet. It made me nostalgic for simpler Wearables.
The new entry level tracker is called theInspire 3. The affordable price and 10-day battery life of theInspire line is what makes it famous. The color display on the third-gen Inspire is a departure from the previous versions. It's basically a less luxurious version of the fitness tracker. The Inspire 3 uses black plastic with buttons on either side. My review unit has a sporty feel to it, as well as the retro '90s jelly vibe of the band. If you want to get closer to the Luxe's chic vibe, you can choose a fancy band.
It's a big step up. Adding colors makes theInspire 3 feel more modern, while the brighter display makes notifications and metrics more readable. You get a lot of clock faces. The new screen has limitations as well. The front of this thing is only half the size of the front of the Luxe, due to the large screen. The rest is nothing more than a piece of paper. When you look at the display at an angle, you can only see it.
The display's impact on battery life is one of my main concerns. The Inspire 2 led the pack with an estimated 10 days of battery life, which is more than any other device, according to the company. I haven't had the chance to put the Inspire 3 through my usual testing regimen yet, but I can already see that the always-onOLED puts a dent in that claim. I was closer to three days with the always-on display on. I took the Inspire 3 with me on the business trip. I left with about 85% battery after disabling AOD. I had about 10% left by the time I got home. It is not as bad as the 10 days that were promised.
I am excited to see how well the new profiles work for the best sleep tracking on the market. The purpose of the profiles is to give you an idea of what type of person you are. I only had this thing for about a week and a half, and it requires you to track sleep for 14 days out of a month. You should be able to see metrics detailing your sleep patterns once you log your sleep data. On paper, it is similar to what was introduced recently with the GALAXY WATCH 4 lineup, the GALAXY WATCH 5 lineup, and the GALAXY WATCH 5 PRO.
The Inspire 3 reminds me of what I like about fitness bands. It's light and comfortable to sleep in. It isn't going to help you control your smart home, but it does give you basic notifications, allows you to set alarms and timers, and tracks your steps for the day. You can get access to more advanced metrics like a Daily Readiness Score, but it is optional.
If you want to use the clip attachment, you can pop the wristband out and put it into it. I was surprised how much I liked it when I wore a pedometer on my body. I missed out on metrics when I wore it with the clip, but it was so discreet I didn't mind. This is a great way to keep up with step tracking. New is old again. You can wear a tracker on other parts of your body with newer ones.
You can forget you are wearing theInspire 3. I didn't look at my wrist for anything other than the moment. I don't have to wonder when I'm going to top up my battery even if I don't get 10 days with theInspire 3. If your main goal is to cut down on distraction, it's not a bad thing that it's more passive than what I get with my Apple watch. I remember why I kept my old Fitbit Alta HR.
I don't think I'd wear a fitness band as my main tracker in the future. I like the larger screens that cost less. I'm addicted to smart features. The mix of affordability and simplicity is refreshing. A compelling case can be made for devices that don't do more. Sometimes it is enough for a device to blend into the background.
Victoria Song is a photographer.
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