Jawbone UP3 awakes from its slumber with new firmware

[sincity]

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When Jawbone rolled out its latest generation of fitness trackers, the UP2 and UP3, they ditched the physical button of the UP24 and replaced it with a temperamental touch interface to switch between step and sleep tracking modes.

It was a frustration, especially given the automatic sleep tracking of the Fitbit Charge HR.

But now Jawbone has released a firmware update for the newer UP bands that does away with mode switching, allowing the band to automatically track sleep without any user input.

The touch controls are still used to silence alarms and notifications, but are otherwise made redundant in this update.

An update with heart

UP3 owners also benefit from the update with the addition of passive heart rate monitoring. In addition to recording your resting heart rate at the moment you wake up, the UP3 will now also record your heart rate while you're sitting down, not moving.

The argument is that by including resting heart rate with passive heart rate, users will be able to start getting an insight into the effects of external things like stress or caffeine on their heart.

The firmware update requires the latest version of the UP app on iOS or Android, and is available now.

• Check out our list of the best fitness trackers

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