adidas Fit Smart review

By adding everyday activity tracking, the Fit Smart is now much more useful than it once was. But while it’s somewhat useful in keeping you in a specific training zone for workouts, we’re not entirely convinced the heart rate monitor is accurate enough to help with detailed conditioning. For those looking for some visual stimulation during workouts however, the coloured zone system does provide some inspiration.

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Casual activity trackers should stay away, but if you’re a mostly short-distance runner or already keen on keeping fit, then the Fit Smart is going to appeal both from a device and software perspective. It’s comfortable to wear and easy to use, while the accelerometer and heart rate monitor generate mostly accurate readings.

For £145, it’s both surprising and disappointing that it doesn’t have the basic activity-tracking features available, especially when we’d imagine it wouldn’t take much to include them. For an extra £50 you could get a similar setup like the TomTom Runner Cardio GPS-packing watch, although the Cardio isn’t as slim or nor can it really match the MiCoach’s in-depth training software.

If Adidas perseveres with the Fit Smart, and brings out a new one in the future, GPS would make it a killer fitness band for runners. Right now, though, the Fit Smart just needs to be smarter.

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The Adidas miCoach Fit Smart is a great workout companion, especially if you're a runner. Its training plans and weekly goals make it easy to personalize and achieve nearly any fitness goal you have, from beating your fastest time to toning and sculpting your body.

However, there's a learning curve with the Fit Smart, so if you don't read the instructions fully, it will be hard to get the most out of the device. But if you're looking for guidance on how to reach your next level of fitness, the Fit Smart is a solid wristband that will help you get there. 

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The Fit Smart delivers an effective and efficient experience with battery life far superior to the company's earlier wearable device, the Smart Run. However, the reliance upon your phone to get usable accuracy via GPS is frustrating. A dedicated running watch, such as the TomTom Runner Cardio, has GPS built-in, so may be the preferable (and more expensive) choice.

The Adidas miCoach Fit Smart is the makings of a good product. If the price came down to £100 it would be an amazing entry point to a heart-rate monitor sports wearable. But as it stands, it's just good enough rather than great.

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The battery and the dock are something of a pain, and the weak Wi-Fi connection can be a farce but using the Adidas miCoach Smart Run watch to get you fit is certainly a better way to go it than on your own. All the same, it does cost £300.

To give this product 4 stars, what we're really saying is that we recommend you buy it, and that's not quite an endorsement that we're prepared to give this product. We love the built-in heart rate monitor and we really believe that it will make a big difference to your fitness regime but glaring errors and lack of running modes drop the Smart Run somewhere short of the finished article.

This is definitely a good effort from Adidas and we certainly prefer it to the TomTom GPS Sports Watch but wait for the next generation to arrive and you'll really have a winner.

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