We don’t often write about health and fitness smartphone apps unless they come directly from a wearables manufacturer. However, the ONVY app has potential to be very useful.

Essential reading: Best fitness trackers and health gadgets

This is because it solves a problem many wearable tech enthusiasts have. The apps from different brands are typically not designed to speak to each other.

ONVY HealthTech is currently developing a health management smartphone app with more than 320 wearable integrations. This includes integrations from Apple Health, Fitbit, Garmin, Polar, Misfit, Withings, Strava, Google Fit and more. The company’s aim is to empower their users to manage and optimize their physical and mental fitness with a holistic approach. 

The app has recently been made public in Beta and is available in all international iOS app stores. You can download, install and test it for free on: https://lnkd.in/d66RDpDT.

It’s not a finished product.

As this is still work in progress, the features will develop over time. So, it’s not a finished product.

Currently you are able to link all your accounts and the information will be pulled at regular intervals. It syncs in one direction – from your different apps to OMNY. I’ve had no issues with connecting my Garmin, Withings and Apple Health accounts.

For now, the home screen shows a Balance Score, Recovery, Activity, Mindfulness and Stress. Each of these is rated on a scale from 0 to 100. The info is designed to help you balance your physical and mental strain on a data-driven basis. So your ideal daily sweet spot for each of the main categories is shown “in the zone”.

I really like the way the app is designed and think it has quite a bit of potential. Something that seamlessly consolidates your data from different wearable accounts is sorely needed. Particulary for wearable tech geaks such as myself.

The company says it has a pretty exciting feature roadmap and new functionality will drop over the next few months. In time, you will get personalized recommendations and access to advanced health & performance programs. The AI Health Coach will help you to optimally balance physical and mental strain on a data-driven basis. The software will guide you to peak health & performance without damaging effects of stress or overload. At least, that’s the idea.

ONVY Health Tech are looking for early user feedback on the Beta app. As an incentive, they will give away 3 months for free for their premium features when they are launched in the 2nd half of 2022. This is an early access offer for the first 250 users that download the app.

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Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets

So what exactly are they?

Pulse oximeters are simple non-invasive electronic devices that measure how well oxygen is sent to parts of the body furthest from the heart (such as arms and legs). Most can also calculate heart rate.

Obtaining a measurement

To obtain a measurement, a sensor is placed on a thin part of your body, usually a fingertip or an earlobe. Inside the probe is a light emitter that flings out two streams of light: one red and one infrared.

Oxygenated blood and deoxygenated blood absorb different amounts of these lights. These values are used to calculate the absorption of hemoglobin in the person’s blood stream, i.e. how much oxygen is in your blood. Okay, enough of the science lesson…

Oxygen saturation levels

Oxygen saturation levels fluctuate throughout the day. Healthy individuals typically register readings above 97%. Measurements should never fall below 95%, although levels above 92% are generally considered safe. Cold hands, weak pulse, hand movements, fingernail polish and acrylic nails are some of the most common factors that may affect a reading and cause inaccurate results.

Although measuring oxygen saturation during a workout may not be necessary for most, wearing a pulse oximeter can be useful in certain situations. Serious athletes may, for example, wear a pulse oximeter to monitor oxygen levels during strenuous workouts. They are also useful for mountain climbers and athletes whose oxygen levels may decrease at high altitudes.

Measuring oxygen saturation is more important for those with certain medical conditions or patients recovering from a recent illness or surgery. It can be used to check the health of a person with various conditions. This includes heart attack, heart failure, anaemia, lung cancer, asthma, pneumonia and Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). On a wrist wearable, it can also be used to warn of sleep apnea, a condition where breathing is interrupted during sleep.

This is our selection of some of the best pulse oximeters on the market today.

Jump to

Fingertip-based

Zacuate Pro Series 500DL | Wellue O2Ring | Innovo Deluxe | Santamedical | Deluxe SM-110 | FaceLake FL350 | iHealth Pulse Oximeter

Wrist-based

Fitbit devices | Garmin Vivosmart 4 | Garmin sports watches

Fingertip-based

ZacUrate Pro Series CMS 500DL

With the help of feedback collected from over 2,000 customers, the newly upgraded ZacUrate CMS 500DL Pro Series Fingertip Pulse Oximeter provides you with SpO2, pulse rate and pulse strength. Compared to its predecessor its quicker, less sensitive to movement, more accurate under indoor lighting and can read SpO2 up to 100% rather than 99%.

The gizmo’s finger chamber comes with a SMART, Self-Adjusting Spring System. This accommodates a wide range of finger sizes, from children to adult. All your readings are conveniently displayed on a large digital LED display.

The popular oximeter comes with 30 hours of battery life, which means you will not need to replace the two AAA batteries too often. A measurement takes only 10 seconds.

Amazon*

Wellue O2Ring

Slightly different and more expensive that a typical fingertip pulse oximeter, the Well O2Ring slips on your finger. From there it continuously tracks and records your blood oxygen levels, heart rate and body movement.

The thing has a built-in vibration motor that will kick into action when detects the blood oxygen level or heart rate out of threshold you preset on the smartphone app. There’s also the option of installing PC software. With this you can view and print very detailed sleep report, which can also be exported as PDF or CSV files.

Battery life is up to 16 hours of continuous uninterrupted monitoring. We have not tested the ring but it has glowing reviews from those that have.

Amazon*

Innovo Deluxe Fingertip Pulse Oximeter

The main novelty of the Innovo Deluxe is that includes both a Perfusion Index (PI) and Plethysmograph in one device.

The Perfusion Index is a numerical representation of your pulse strength. What this means is that it eliminates second guessing whether the readings are reliable. If the PI value is less than 0.2%, this means that your hands are either too cold or improperly positioned..

The Plethysmograph shows a visual representation of your heartbeat. Each wave corresponds to a heartbeat and the amplitude to the amount of blood detected in your blood vessels. Consistent waveform represents that good blood flow was detected.

Of course, you also get a SpO2 and Pulse Rate reading. The technology mentioned above ensures accuracy of readings.

Amazon*

SantaMedical

The newly upgraded SantaMedical Finger Pulse Oximeter is an affordable and accurate way to check pulse and blood oxygen. The self-adjusting finger clamp plus simple one-button design allows for easy operation. The small portable size makes it easy to handle and carry.

Other features include an easy to read bright digital LED display; 30+ hours of continuous monitoring on one set of batteries; integrated SpO2 probe and processing display module plus SpO2 and Pulse Rate and bar; low battery level indicator; and auto power off.

The oximeter comes with 2 AAA batteries and a hanging neck/wrist strap and case for use on the move. The device is intended for spot checks of pulse rates and blood oxygen saturation level at home, in sport and recreational use, such as mountain climbing, high-altitude activities and running.

Amazon*

Deluxe SM-110 Two Way Display Finger Pulse Oximeter

Another popular choice, the Deluxe SM-110 comes with major improvements over the predecessor model. This includes a two way display (by default, the display faces the user – at the touch of button, it faces away from user).

This FDA approved monitor provides reliable oxygen saturation and heart rate readings. Just insert the 2 AAA batteries, put it on your finger in, push the on button and away you go. The SM-110 is for anyone who is interested in knowing their readings including mountain climbers, hikers, skiers, bikers, and others.

The gizmo is suitable for all ages and accommodates a wide range of finger sizes. Finally, you also get a nice little velcro close mesh case with a belt loop and neck cord.

Amazon*

Facelake FL350 Pulse Oximeter

This lightweight, portable device quickly measures your Blood’s SpO2 oxygen, pulse rate and pulse strength.

Simply place your finger inside the antimicrobial vinyl sensor and have these vital measurements instantly displayed on a a large digital red LED screen. Designed and Tested to exceed FDA and CE standards, the device features a battery-saving automatic power off function and a heart rate bar graph.

The oximeter comes with 2 AAA batteries, a nylon carrying case, a neck lanyard and a full one-year warranty. There is also a clear screen protector which can be removed before use.

Amazon*

iHealth Air Wireless Pulse Oximeter

iHealth, the maker of fitness trackers, smart scales and smart blood pressure monitors, also sells an oximeter.

The FDA approved device gives you gives you fast, accurate vital signs readings. You can track and view measurements instantly on the device LCD display and via the iHealth MyVitals app.

Simply charge your oximeter, download the iHealth app, and you’re ready to go. The iHealth Wireless Pulse Oximeter automatically detects your smartphone or tablet.

The app also keeps a history of your data and gives you the option to share your information with a family member, doctor or caregiver. Each reading is evaluated and charted for a clear picture of your current level of wellness, and results are graphed against previous readings to track trends at a glance.

Amazon *

Wrist-based

Fitbit Charge 4/Versa range/Sense

It has been a long time coming but Fitbit has finally enabled the Pulse Ox functionality. Charge 3 and 4, the Versa range, Ionic and Sense all spit out these types of stats. Regular are not able to see the raw values and the company has also stopped short of diagnosing any conditions such as sleep apnea.

There is now a graph in the smartphone app called Estimated Oxygen Variation that appears in the morning amongst the sleep statistics. If the line is green your blood oxygen is fine, orange indicates there may be a problem. There are also two horizontal lines which show the healthy range.

For those that want to see actual stats, as long as they have a Versa or Sense they can install a watch face that allows for this. Those with a Premium Subscription can also see weekly and monthly trends in the new Health Dashboard.

Amazon*

Garmin Vivosmart 4 (Vivoactive 4/4s, Venu, Vivomove range)

Vivosmart 4 and lots of other Garmin fitness trackers and watches come with a blood oxygen sensor. This automatically measures your oxygen levels at night, allowing you to better understand your sleep quality. The data can potentially be used to identify sleep conditions such as apnea, although Garmin does not diagnose these. You can also check your oxygen levels on demand during the day.

The remaining features are fairly standard include the usual step, distance, calories, floors, heart rate and advanced sleep tracking. Like many other Garmin wearables Vivosmart 4 will also keep tabs on your stress, VO2 Max, reps and sets in the gym. No built-in GPS, though.

Other Garmin options include Vivoactive 4/4S, Venu and Vivomove range. They offer the exact same Pulse Ox functionality, but are more costly due to a wealth of additional fitness and health features.

Read more

Amazon*

Garmin sports watches

Garmin has also churned out a number of sport watches with this feature.

The first to include the sensor was the Fenix 5X Plus. This is a feature packed device that tracks everything under the sun, comes with built-in music storage, Garmin Pay, GPS, pre-loaded topographical maps and much, much more.

The Pulse Oximeter does its thing at night, allowing you to better understand your sleep quality. This can potentially be used to identify sleep conditions such as apnea, although Garmin will stop short of diagnosing these.

The watch is a beast when it comes to the sports it can track and functionality and this is reflected in its price. Therefore you are unlikely to purchase it for its pulse oximeter alone.

Other Garmin watches with the sensor include the Forerunner 245/245 Music, Forerunner 945 and Fenix 6. It looks like the company will be slapping on the functionality to most of its new watches.

Garmin.com | Fenix 6 (Amazon); Forerunner 245 (Amazon); Forerunner 945 (Amazon)*

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*Disclosure: We are a review site that receives a small commission from sales of certain items, but the price is the same for you. We are independently owned and all opinions expressed here are our own. See our affiliate disclosure page for more details.

The post Guide to buying a pulse oximeter appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

The company’s latest BPM joins iHealth Sense, View, Feel, Ease and their Blood Pressure Dock. The new device is FDA approved and BHS certified for accuracy.

“iHealth continues evolving the experiences of reviewing blood pressure so that our senior users can know which stages of their blood pressures in an easier and clearer way,” said Wade Shu, Vice President of Product Development at iHealth.

“With just one glance, they can know if they need to pay more attention to their blood pressure.”

iHealth Clear highlights systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, and heart rate results with one push of a button and displays them on a large 4.3’’ display. The readings are color coded to highlight stages of hypertension. The six colours range from greed to red – dark green meaning “optimal BP” and red meaning “Stage 3 Hypertension”.

Essential reading:Top blood pressure monitors

The monitor is WiFi-enabled and easy to set up. It supports 2 users and can store up to 2,000 offline readings. For more detailed info, the smartphone app is useful as it sorts readings into a digital logbook format and displays this visually in more detail so you can identify trends over time.

The company has big plans for the future.

“In next 3-4 years, iHealth will continue rolling out new hardware products with simplicity and software platforms with flexibility. Leveraging unified solutions including both iHealth hardware and software, it offers unique advantages to assure the best user experience for our customers,” ” Wade Shu told us. “

There may be lots of gimmicks or unnecessary bits of equipment for your health available today, but rest assured that home monitors for blood pressure are not gimmicks and they are highly useful. Taking regular measurements is particularly important as you get older, as the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle can build up and your blood pressure can increase. If you smoke, are obese, are physically inactive, or have diabetes or high cholesterol, you may also be at an increased risk.

“iHealth is to become the global leader of Remote Patient Management for hospitals, clinics and long-term care utilizing our award-winning mobile devices and silicon valley breed most advanced technologies. We produce and develop our own products, partner with other leading vendors to fill the gap and acquire industry leaders to accelerate the market penetration,” Wade Shu added.

For more information or to purchase, head over to Amazon or iHealth.com.

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7

Design7.0/10

Ease of use7.0/10

Use of information7.0/10

Motivation7.0/10

Pros

• Automated tracking of activity
• Accurate swim statistics
• Good battery life
• Low price

Cons

• Retro design
• No heart rate sensor
• Lacks smartphone notifications
• Screen slow to register taps

When it comes to buying the right fitness tracker, the characteristic of water-resistance can often be a deciding factor. Whether you are looking for a wearable for swimming or just want your fitness tracker to survive a rainy day, getting a water resistant device is a solid investment.

Waterproof wearables do not exist and regulation prohibits wearables from being marketed as such. This is because, there is always a certain level of water pressure at which a wearable will begin to leak. Activity trackers can therefore only be marked as water-resistant. You should always check the markings on your device or the manufacturers website before taking a fitness tracker into a shower or a pool.

Water resistance is becoming more common these days and your fitness tracker or smartwatch is likely to be fine in rainy or sweaty conditions. But the same cannot be said for the vast majority of devices when it comes to swimming. iHealth Wave is one of a limited number of wearables that keeps tabs on all your fitness activities, both in and out of water. It monitors traditional activity such as how many steps you walked and how far, and provides you with analysis of your swimming, identifying different types of strokes and numbers of lengths.

Swimming is a great all-round exercise and one of the best ways to keep fit. But the benefits don’t stop there. Jumping in the pool will also help improve your resting heart rate and blood flow, relax your mind and build endurance. You’ll also probably be able to keep yourself going for a longer time than if you were running.

Let’s dive in with the Wave, then.

Design

The tracker comes wrapped in a silicone band but can also be removed to be worn in a pocket when you are not in the pool. Just like its non-swimproof brother iHealth Edge, Wave has a rather retro-looking, watch-like design. The robust, sporty, no-nonsense look is very functional, but probably not something you would write home about. It does feel comfortable though.

You will find two silicon bands in the box – a black one and, the one I much preferred, a blue one. Switching between the two couldn’t be easier. Just squeeze the main unit out and slide it into the new band. It takes all of about 5 seconds. The feel of the rubbery band is very similar to what you would find on a standard Fitbit or Garmin fitness tracker. The strap secures with a classic watch buckle so stays firmly in place even during the most rigorous of workouts.

You can use the circular OLED touchscreen display to view your progress right from your wrist. There are no controls on the watch but the display can be switched on with a sharp flick of your wrist. Otherwise it stays off to save battery life. This makes perfect sense – if you are in the pool, you need a simple way to navigate the display. The same wrist action allows you to progress through the individual data screens.

Tapping on the screen will yield similar results. However, because the actual display does not fill the entire screen real-estate, the sweat spot is rather small so the feature can be a bit spotty. At times, I found myself repeatedly tapping on the screen before my touch registered.

The first tap on the screen or flick of the wrist shows the date and battery life, the second how many steps you’ve taken that day, tap again for distance and once more for calories burned. There is also a screen showing how far along you are towards meeting your daily performance goal and another one detailing your latest workout.

iHealth says Wave will last up to 7 days on a full charge but that will be reduced with swim tracking switched on. That’s not bad, and compares well with the competition. The device comes with a proprietary charging cable that plugs into a standard USB port. To charge, align the three pins on the back of the fitness tracker with pins on the charging unit.

Features and software

During the day, Wave will monitor the usual including the number of steps that you make, along with distance travelled and calories burned. At night it will automatically keep track of your kip time, breaking this down into deep and light sleep, and awarding you a sleep efficiency score. Then it will wake up in the morning with a discreet vibrating alarm to get you ready for another activity-filled day. There is no heart rate sensor – don’t look for it because its not there.

The Wave does a pretty decent job at keeping track of your movement and sleep and has good Apple Health app integration. It also automatically monitors your workouts. This means no buttons to push when you begin your run, walk or swim.

After a period of activity the tracker figures out when you have finished your workout, and buzzes your wrist to show you a summary, i.e., how length it lasted, the number of steps, distance and calorie stats. This is a nice touch and something I’ve not seen on other wearables.

You can also set the tracker to vibrate to get you moving after a period of sustained inactivity. There are settings in the app which allow you to tweak the sedentary alarm depending on how long you want it to wait before alerting you. The vibration alarm can also be set to wake you up in the morning without disturbing your partner. The vibration was strong enough to wake me every single time without error. The watch does, however, lack smartphone notifications, something that is becoming a standard offering in most fitness tracking devices these days.

While there is nothing special about Wave’s basic activity tracking capabilities, its with swimming where this gadget really comes onto its own. Wave is built to handle up to 30 metres depth and can sit in salt water too. You can use it to track swim sessions in the pool and it will even monitor open water swimming.

Before jumping in the water, you do need to make sure that you have primed the tracker to be in a swim-ready state. This is done through the accompanying smartphone app, presumably to prevent false positives and preserve battery life. While testing, I actually left the tracker in a swim-ready state all the time, and Wave did not falsely register any activity as swimming. But it did correctly identify every single swim session.

The device dishes out a fairly complete set of basic swim metrics. It can automatically detect three unique swimming styles: freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke, as well as the duration of your swim session, number of strokes, strokes per minute and calories burned. If the Wave doesn’t recognize what you’re doing it records the stroke as “other”. Considering my swimming technique, I am surprised none of my strokes made it into the “other” category. The app also allows you to view how your measurements develop over time.

You will know that Wave has picked up on your swim session when the screen begins to flash up a swimming icon. During your workout, you can only view the duration of the swim on the watch screen, nothing else. For more detailed data, you will need to synchronise the device with the iHealth MyVitals app on iOS and Android.

Some reviews state that Wave is slow to pick up on swimming activity, and can miss out a the first minute of your session. I did not experience this so perhaps iHealth has updated its algorithms since those reviews were written. Hard to know. The tracker was also pretty good at identifying my strokes, but not 100% accurate.

The lap tracking feature is still in beta stage, and iHealth says in order to track your laps accurately the kick turn and push off must be pronounced with acceleration at the beginning of each new lap. If you do not, the actual number of laps may differ from the what is shown on the app. Again, I found that the tracker was pretty accurate in determining the number of laps in the pool.

You can see below, how swim tracking information from Wave compares to Garmin Vivoactive HR. All in all, the two sets of data are not too far off. In the session in question, Wave registered a duration of 8:55, 36 spm and 133 calories. Garmin’s tracker registered 8:51, 33 spm and 96 calories.

The data from Vivoactive HR is far more detailed, but it doesn’t include stroke type analysis. Also, you need to keep in mind that triggering swim tracking on the Garmin devices required a number of key presses, whereas Wave opened and closed the session all on its own.

Overview

Summary

iHealth Wave covers all the basics when it comes to 24/7 activity tracking. While step and sleep tracking is fairly accurate, I could not help but feel that its swim tracking statistics lacked in depth. They probably will satisfy the occasional non-competitive swimmer, but might leave those very serious about their pool time wanting more.

iHealth actually produces a full suite of health and fitness tracking devices, which includes smart scales, blood pressure monitors and glucometres. If you already own one of these devices, the benefits of keeping all your data in one app are obvious.

iHealth Wave Gadgets & Wearables may get a commission

I am not a great fan of its design, although I do admit that it is functional. If you prefer your tracker to look more like a watch than a band, you’ll like the Wave’s round retro-look.

The automatic activity tracking is great and the stats it churns out are pretty good. Best of all, no buttons to press, the tracker is capable of figuring out what you are up to based on your movements. Wave lacks some features such as smartphone notifications, a heart rate sensor, and altimeter for counting floors, but this is a device that retails at a much lower price point than most of its competition.

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We’ve heard recent rumours of Apple working on developing sensors that non-invasively and continuously monitor blood sugar levels. CNBC reports that the efforts have been going on for over five years and that the tech giant is looking at finding ways to navigate regulatory pathways. Whether or not these efforts actually pan out and we see a commercial product remains to be seen.

Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets for 2017

Non-invasive glucose monitoring is considered to be the holy grail of diabetes treatment. Many companies have tried and failed and diabetes patients still have no accurate alternatives to tracking glucose by piercing the skin. Diabetics usually do this several times daily in order to make decisions on diet, exercise and medication. Many diabetics still resort to logging their results using pen and paper.

While we are waiting for someone to come up with non-invasive glucose monitoring system, there are more high tech solutions for tracking a person’s blood sugar levels. This is where iHealth comes in.

Founded in 2010, iHealth is a company based in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of the Tianjin-based, Chinese manufacturing company Andon Health, one of the largest OEM health technology manufacturers in that country. The company is known for its wireless devices that can measure vital signs such as blood pressure, weight, heart rate, and more recently blood sugar levels.

For glucose monitoring iHealth offers two solutions – iHealth Align and iHealth Smart. Both take readings like you’re used to with a traditional glucometer, but add a digital twist. The devices add the convenience of automatically interpreting your readings, and transferring them to the accompanying app. You essentially get a digital logbook that presents your data in simple and easy to understand ways such as color-coded charts and graphs.

Align is the less expensive version which directly attaches to your smartphone or tablet via the headphone jack. Smart is its big brother – a wireless version that uses Bluetooth to transmit your readings over the air to the cloud.

Design

Align arrives in a packaging containing the small tear shaped glucose meter, a lancing device, ten lancets, four colored cases, and a clear cap for alternate site testing. About the size of an American quarter, this portable glucometer fits easily into your pocket.

A small 3.0V (CR1620) battery powers the whole thing. Rather conveniently, I found that the box contained two more replacement batteries. There is also a travel patch where you can squeeze everything in, and a couple of instruction booklets.

The more sophisticated Smart arrives in a much larger box to accommodate the Gluco-monitoring device, lancing device, ten lancets, a clear cap, USB charging cable, travel case and instruction booklets. The oval shaped measuring unit is Bluetooth enabled so apart from the charging cable, there are no wires and you don’t need to plug it into your smartphone.

Holding the power button for 3 seconds will turn Smart on. Further presses of the button display previous blood sugar level readings. On the other side of the meter you will find a micro USB port that is used to recharge the device’s batteries. It takes up to 2 hours to recharge meter and it last for up 200 tests. There is also a test strip eject button on the back of the main unit.

You also need to purchase measuring strips and control solution which are sold separately. 100 test strips retail for $25 which works out a reasonable 25¢ per test strip. The measuring strips are “coded” meaning you need to scan the bottle and they will expire in 90 days. The app tracks both expiration and quantity of test strips, and warns you if you are running low. Both devices use the same type of strips and the exact same lancing device.

Features and software

iHealth’s iGluco smartphone app works with both Apple’s devices and Android phones. You can use it as a standalone app to manually log results from your traditional glucometer, or use it to sync readings from Align and Smart.

When you first use Smart, you need to pair it with your smartphone. Once connected, the Bluetooth symbol will flash and remain lighted on the meter. The app will then register the device and connect with it.

The process for setting up Align is simpler – just add the unit as a new device on the smartphone app. There is no Bluetooth pairing in this case as the tear shaped tracker plugs directlyinto the headphone jack.

You need three items to test your blood sugar level: the iHealth Smart or Align device, the lancing device, and test strips.

To start off, insert the test strip into the Align’s or Smart’s strip port with the contact bars facing toward you. The top end of the lancing device comes off to load a lancet while the opposite end twists to prime the lancer. Prepare the lancing device by adjusting the lancing level and cocking the handle until it clicks.

You then need to use the lancing device to obtain a blood sample. Its important to wipe away the first blood drop and squeeze until a second small blood drop forms. This increases accuracy. Then apply the blood sample to the absorbent hole of the test strip. If you are using Smart and are in Bluetooth range, the iHealth app walks you through the test process.

I must to admit I wasted about 3-4 test strips before learning the correct technique. But once I did, I found that even the smallest droplet of blood was enough when applied correctly to the testing strip.

Each time you take a test, the app will look at the time and tag the reading automatically (before/after breakfast/lunch etc…). You can edit the automated info about each test if it is incorrect. You can also enter other information such as medications, activities, record an audio note and more.

Each test will show as red, green or yellow on the smartphone app. Red means a high blood sugar level, green is a normal level and yellow is low. This is based on glucose recommendations issued by the World Health Organisation. If you prefer, you can edit the levels through the smartphone app and define your own target range levels.

If you don’t have the mobile device with you, you can sync later on as Smart stores up to 500 test readings on its internal memory. I would suggest though using the app because it provides a much easier way to view results and trends.

A lot of effort has clearly been put into designing the app and for me, this was perhaps the best part of the system. The software keeps all your readings in one place, colour codes everything showing if you are in a low, normal, high or very high range. It also keeps tabs on your highest and lowest reading and has further charts which separate your results depending on meal-times.

You can view trends by date, time of day, before meal trends, after meal trends – and all this can be segregated into daily, weekly, 2 weekly, monthly and 3 monthly data presentations. You can share the reports and the app will export PDF, CSV or Microsoft Excel files with your results in table or graphic form, or even post them to social networks.

You can also set reminders. Furthermore, the app plays nicely with Apple Health, and you will find that all your readings will find their way into the Apple Health app.

Accuracy of glucose meters is, of course, a common topic of concern. Commenting on the accuracy of readings and comparing them to clinical settings is, however, beyond the scope of this article. But blood glucose meters must meet accuracy standards set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). iHealth says its Smart glucometre is both FDA Approved and CE Certified.

iHealth Align Glucometer Gadgets & Wearables may get a commission

I did find that the readings tended to fluctuate somewhat. Reading through Amazon reviews, it is clear that most people have praised the hardware and software side, but there is a division of opinion on accuracy. I would suggest reading through Amazon reviews and making your own judgement. I would also suggest purchasing a control solution test. It contains a known amount of glucose that reacts with test strips and is used to check that your meter and test strips are working together properly.

Overview

Summary

All in all, I found that both Align and Smart look and handle very nicely. In the time that I’ve tested them, I had no problems pairing or measuring readings. If you are looking to purchase one of the two, the price for both is very low so I would suggest paying $15 more and opting for the more expensive Bluetooth version.

Outside of accuracy which is beyond the scope of this article, I can say that the system is simple to use once you get the hang of it. It comes with a comprehensive iHealth Gluco-Smart app which serves as a great visualization tool. The app automatically collects and analyzes your readings, and gives you a host of simple to read and understand history and trends charts.

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Progress has been slow in advancing glucose monitoring systems. You still need to prick your finger to get drops of blood and both systems use disposable test strips – just like your traditional glucometer. Its fair to say that these and other similar high-tech devices, are middle-of-the-road solutions to integrating technology with diabetes care. For use until one day someone finally comes up with a non-invasive glucose monitoring solution.

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Health is a company based in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of the Tianjin-based, Chinese manufacturing company Andon Health, one of the largest OEM health technology manufacturers in China. The company is known for its wireless devices that can measure vital signs such as blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels.

iHealth has just launched Wave – a swimming tracker aimed to help improve your performance in the pool, that also doubles up as a basic activity tracker. The circular device comes in a water-resistant wrist silicone band but can also be removed to be worn in a pocket when you are not in the pool.

During the day, the Wave will monitor the usual activity tracking basics such as the number of steps that you make, along with distance travelled and calories burned. The device will also automatically track your workouts. At night it will monitor your sleep. Then it will wake up in the morning with a discreet vibrating alarm to get your ready for another activity-filled day.

While there is nothing special about the basic activity tracking capabilities of the Wave, its with swimming where this gadget really comes onto its own. The Wave is built to handle up to 30 metres depth and can sit in salt water too. In a pool the app can be used to set pool length for tracking, but it will also track open water swimming.

The Wave will dish out a very complete set of basic swimming metrics. It can can detect three unique swimming styles: freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke, as well as the duration of your swim session, number of movements, movements per minute and calories burned.

Rather conveniently, you can use the OLED touchscreen display to view your progress right from your wrist. The display can be switched on with a vigorous flick of your wrist, and perform the same action to flick through the data screens. This makes perfect sense – if you are in the pool, you need a simple way to switch the screen on.

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View on iHealth

After your swim session synchronise all the data with the iHealth MyVitals app on iOS and Android. The app lets you check your data in graphs at any time. Save a history to see how your measurements develop over time.

iHealth says the Wave will last a up to 7 days on a full charge but that will be reduced with swim tracking to around 5 days. The device comes in the four different colours pictured above.

Check out the official video.

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7

Design8.0/10

Ease of use6.5/10

Use of information6.5/10

Motivation7.0/10

Pros

• Simple to operate
• Wide range of metrics

Cons

• Set up difficulties
• Inconsistencies in measurements

iHealth Labs Inc. is a company based in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of the Tianjin-based, Chinese manufacturing company Andon Health, one of the largest OEM health technology manufacturers in China. The company is known for its wireless devices that can measure vital signs such as blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels.

iHealth was one of the early entrants into the connected scales market. Its current range of smart scales consists of the:

• iHealth Core HS6
• Wireless Body Analysis Scale HS5;
• iHealth Lite HS4

Design

There is little to distinguish connected scales these days in the looks department. The HS6 will look good in any bathroom with its smart sleek design. The scale measures 350 mm × 350 mm × 28.5 mm and weights around 2.5 kg. The 4 AAA batteries will keep it going for around 3 months.

There are no colours to choose from – but the white colour that is available combines well with the white letters on the LCD screen. The scale is compatible with most modern major market Android and iOS mobile devices.

Ease of use

The scale uses four electronic sensors, as well as a set of proprietary algorithms to measure body composition. By standing still on these sensors with your bare feet, the HS6 will measure nine different body components. Data is displayed on the LCD screen, and sent wirelessly to the iHealth MyVitals App.

In terms of user-friendliness, some users have flagged up difficulties in connecting to their wifi networks, and others have had to manually start the app on their phones on occasion in order to sync individual readings. So it can be a bit of a hit and miss depending on the configuration of your network.

Once it is up and running though, the associated app keeps a history of your data and gives you the option to share your information with your doctor or caregiver. The app works with both Apple and Android devices. In addition to keeping your data on your mobile device, you also receive a free and secure cloud account. Accessible from any computer, you can log on to view your vitals, as well as share readings with fitness buddies.

Use of information

The Core provides a complete assessment of your body composition. It measures nine aspects of your overall health including weight and body mass index, body fat, lean muscle, bone mass, water weight, daily calories and visceral fat rating. The information that it churnes out can be integrated with Apple Health.

The jury is still out on the accuracy of this scale and user reviews are split right down the middle.

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However, it is fair to say that most scales on the market today that attempt to estimate more detailed vitals such as body fat – are not 100% accurate. So rather than taking one measurement into account, it is better to look at the average over a few days. Longer term trends provide more precise information as individual discrepancies in readings should even out over time.

Motivation

Smart bathroom scales are one of the best ways to keep track of your health and monitor your fitness goals. Step on one of these scales, and your weight data will find its way to a corresponding app on your mobile device or a Web dashboard. Using the app or dashboard, you can then track your progress over time. This takes away much of the hassle associated with tracking your weight.

Overview

The verdict

On the plus side, the scale is simple to operate and it is less expensive than some other leading brands. It keeps a record of all your readings and provides detailed statistics on a wide range of vitals, which you can then monitor over time. This is one of the few scales that measures lean mass, bone mass, muscle mass, body water, visceral fat and daily calories intake. On the minus side, the reported set-up difficulties, and occasional fluctuations in measurements need to be taken into account when considering this purchase.

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8.3

Design8.0/10

Ease of use9.0/10

Use of information8.0/10

Motivation8.0/10

iHealth Lab’s line of products include blood pressure monitors, blood glucose meters, body analysis scales, pulse oximeters and activity trackers that sync directly with a free mobile app to make measuring, tracking and sharing your health data easy.

The iHealth wireless blood pressure monitor offers an elegant user interface and vivid testing process that empower you to monitor changes in your blood pressure readings, and understand the reasons behind these changes using simple analysis tools: interactive graph, statistics, smart World Health Organization (WHO) classifications, and an FAQ.

The iHealth range of blood pressure monitors consists of:

• Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor BP5
• Wireless Blood Pressure Wrist Monitor BP7

Design

We were very impressed with the up market and classy packaging the device arrived in, it could have been made by Apple. The blood pressure monitors come complete with a wireless blood pressure monitor, user manual, quick Start guide, charging cable, and travel case.

The monitor can take up to 80 measurements on a full charge.

Ease of use

Forget the wires and tubes. This no hassle monitor makes it easy and convenient to check your own blood pressure, anytime and anywhere. To use the device you need to download the free app. The app allows for multiple users to input data which is stored and accessed separately. The readings are remembered and can be recalled individually or shown in graph form.

Readings are synced with the iHealth app and stored on our secure, HIPPA compliant, iHealth Cloud, so that you can instantly store data, track trends, and share results with your doctor, caregiver, or family members.

You can also enable offline measurement in the “Device Settings” of iHealth MyVitals app. To start measurements when disconnected from the iOS device (“offline”), turn on the Monitor by pressing the “START/STOP”button. Offline measurement data will be uploaded to the device automatically upon the next iOS connection.

The data can be exported to a limited number of locations: Email, Facebook, Twitter, and the Targetweight Pro app. To add the data to any other website or app it must be copied over manually.

Use of information

The iHealth Wireless Blood Pressure Wrist Monitor has obtained CE medical certification (Europe) as well as FDA approval (USA). The monitor also has obtained ESH Certification (European Society of Hypertension).

Each reading is evaluated against JNC guidelines (Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure) and graphed against previous readings to track trends at a glance.

With the BP7, to ensure accuracy, the device automatically detects wrist position and will not begin reading until correct position has been achieved. Wrist blood pressure monitors are extremely sensitive to body position. To get an accurate reading when taking your blood pressure with a wrist monitor, your arm and wrist must be at heart level. Even then, blood pressure measurements taken at the wrist may be higher and less accurate than those taken at your arm. That’s because the wrist arteries are narrower and not as deep under your skin as those of the forearm.

The BP7, not by nature of a flaw in its design, may suffers from the above. Most people are going to experience higher results on a wrist monitor than they are one that goes around the upper arm. So if we understand that, and set it aside in favor of the increased convenience then what we’re left with is an attractive and well designed instrument.

The American Heart Association recommend to anyone using a home BP monitor that they should use a device that measures the pressure in their upper arm. Why go for a wrist BP monitor? Some people may have problems taking a blood pressure measurement from their upper arm. For instance, they may have a very large arm or find the BP measurements painful.

Motivation

Home monitoring is a great way to help detect and monitor high blood pressure. Regular readings taken over a period of time can track the history of your results and indicate any changes, fluctuations or elevations in your blood pressure. The iHealth Wireless Blood Pressure Monitors provide a convenient way to test, track and share your results.

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The MyVitals app supports a variety of iHealth devices, so you can use the app to track not only your blood pressure, but weight, calorie trends, sleep data, physical activity, food intake and more. It is very easy to manage all aspects of your general health within the one app, which presents the data in easy-to-understand graphs, comparing the readings to national recommended guidelines, and it also allows users to set their own targets that track performance against them.

Overview

The verdict

The iHealth blood pressure monitors are slightly less expensive than their nearest rivals. They have good battery life as well as a built in rechargeable battery. The software is simple and easy to use. If you have been told by your doctor to measure your blood pressure on a regular basis – or if you just want to take greater care of your health, we would recomment this product as good value for money.

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Purchase the iHealth Blood Pressure monitors from the iHealth’s website

We are a review site that receives a small commission from sales of certain items, but the price is the same for you. Purchasing items by clicking on links in this article allows us to run this website. We are independently owned and all opinions expressed here are our own. See our affiliate disclosure page for more details.

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