GOQii Life – not just another fitness band
In the world of fitness band, GOQii Life stands out. Every other fitness band manufacturer forgets about you the moment you complete the purchase. But with GOQii, the relationship has just started after you have picked up your band. I am not a fitness freak, but I am very much conscious of my fitness. I have tried a dozen fitness bands in the past. Fitness bands help me keep track of my activity and keep me motivated. But over the period of time, I got used to the habit of staying active and didn’t need a smart band on my hand to keep me active.
When the GOQii Life band arrived in mail, things were a little different. When I signed up with GOQii and activated my fitness tracker, I had to choose a coach. I was given 5 options of coaches and I was supposed to choose one of them as my coach. I first thought that these coaches could be some automated bot. But I was wrong. They are real people and trained fitness coaches who can guide you with your fitness activity.
The GOQii Life band is basically a free device. You buy 3, 6 or 12 months subscription of the fitness trainer relationship. After your subscription tenure, the band can be used independently, if you decide not to extend. The service is a bit expensive as it starts from Rs 1000 per month. But then the benefits you get out of it is much more valuable.
My GOQii coach spent about an hour getting to understand me and my everyday activities. She then defined short-term and long-term goals for me. She keeps track of my activities everyday and encourages me to ask any fitness related doubts, if any.
Technically, GOQii Life is yet another glorified pedometer. The band is made of high quality, flexible rubber. The tracker snugly fits into the band. The band comes in two color options: Red+Black and Black. It is water resistant to an extent. Sweat, water splashes and spills cannot harm it. However prolonged dipping in water may damage the tracker. The band is fitted with a metal gripper after it goes through a rubber loop. This two level protection makes sure that the band stays securely in the hand even during rigorous workout. On my usage, the metal gripper gave away a few times, but still the band stayed in my hand because of the rubber loop.
Pairing the band to the mobile app was simple and smooth. Once paired, the app would collect data from the band only when it is open. There is no background syncing. While this may save battery, the sync has to be done explicitly and this manual intervention could have been avoided. The display on the band is always off. A swipe or tap on the screen would show you the time, goal status and battery level. Tapping again would cycle the display to show steps, distance, calories, etc. The display is good and is visible under direct sunlight as well. I like the fact that it has watch function, so I don’t need to wear a watch separately.
The GOQii pedometer is as accurate (inaccurate) as any other fitness band. My morning jog would be for 5 km and consistently GOQii counts it as 3.8km. Mi Band measured it as 4.2 while the Fitbit flex counted only 4 km out of my 5 km. I am yet to find a band that is accurate to the meters. But this inaccuracy can be forgiven as the band is all about keeping you active and not to track you on a micro level. Sleep tracking was way better than Mi band or Fitbit flex. But I find it irritating that I have to manually put in sleep mode like the Fitbit flex. Mi band automatically detects that you are sleeping, but the sleep tracking accuracy was really bad in it.
GOQii Life band can alert you if you are inactive for a while. But my band kept vibrating even while I was active. So I disabled the feature. Somehow it kept on vibrating and I was not able to disable the inactivity alert at all. The support team pointed out that it could be a bug and they were willing to fix it or replace my tracker. But that was my experience with this feature. Also the battery lasted for a whole of 7 days on a single charge.
The app interface is straight forward and pretty simple to use. But the visual language used in the app can be improved to give a futuristic look and feel. The visual looks outdated and the interactions are pre-historic. However the app does what it is supposed to do. Also there is way to include your social contact into the app. But this can be improved. I wish there was a way to automatically detect all my contact who are using GOQii and I wish I was given an option to choose them to be added as my GOQii friends.
All these features are secondary when it comes to GOQii. The highlight is the service and the coach relationship which the GOQii bring to the table. Yes, it is expensive compared to a fitness band plus a monthly gym membership. But for anyone who has a fitness target to achieve, but unable to spend time at gym, GOQii Life is the best option. The constant motivation and fitness tips from a real person is the highlight of GOQii and I would highly recommend it.
