Review: YuFit fitness band is smart, but has some basic flaws

Pretty much every second person you know, and their friend, has a device on their wrist these days that screams "fitness-conscious". It's the year of the fitness bands, which means that every other month, there's a new one in the market. We found Micromax's latest, the YuFit band, appealing for two reasons — it's priced at a highly affordable ₹999; and has a display (unlike the Xiaomi Mi Band, at the same price).

What's good: The band has an understated design, unlike some others, which are either too colourful or too chunky. It feels comfortable on the wrist, even if worn all day. Also, at no point did we feel it was likely to slip and fall off. Basics, you'd argue, right? But you'd be surprised at the number of such devices that just cannot seem to hold on to your wrist effectively. We loved the Healthifyme app, which acts as the brain. It analyses steps taken and calories burnt. We also loved the diet analyser. Once you enter the data — bands don't (yet) know what you eat — it shows your protein, fat, fibre and carb intake for the day.

What's not: Now, here comes the deal-breaker. Minus the features on the app, the display and the design, what must a fitness tracker do accurately? Measure steps. Unfortunately, we found the YuFit to be shockingly erratic. Just walk or go for a sprint on the road, and it seems to do alright (we tallied figures with the GPS-enabled tracker on our phone). But hit the treadmill and its flaws are obvious. It under-measures by kilometres altogether. And if you ride a two-wheeler, another problem shows up. The tracker added distance while we were riding. Mistook it for a cycle, perhaps. Who knows?

Verdict: The YuFit fitness band, with its price and the fact that it comes with a screen, could have been an automatic favourite. But what's the use of a fitness tracker that does not, well, track correctly?

Quick specs

What: YuFit fitness band

At a glance: Android-compatible, calorie counter, digital display

Best buy: ₹999

USP: Design, build quality, display, price

Rating: *1/2

(The writer tweets as @saritray2001)