LG’s Lifeband Touch looks like it’s a great fitness band, but LG needs to go back to the design drawing board in order to make a wearable you’ll actually want to wear.
LG Lifeband Touch: On the plus side
On paper, the LG Lifeband Touch has a lot going for it. A 0.91″ OLED Touch-compatible display available in three sizes that tracks your walking, controls your music and syncs with LG’s Fitness app to track your workouts and keep you fit.
The curved touchscreen has excellent response with clearly laid out information on its very bright screen. The app layout is on the bright pink side, but it’s got a good layout with easy to follow sections.
All good stuff that sounds very compelling — again, on paper.
The problem is that this is pretty much where the good news ends.
LG Lifeband Touch: On the minus side
The issues with the LG Lifeband Touch in reality, however, tell a different fitness picture.
The LG Lifeband Touch sells itself as being compatible with both iOS and Android devices, but it turns out that the Android side of the fence is rather limited at the moment. My day to day phone right now is the Samsung Galaxy S5, but the LG Lifeband isn’t compatible with the S5. If I was using an S4 it’d be happy, but the S5 isn’t supported. LG’s documentation suggests that support exists for “Android 4.3 and 4.4; Android™ 4.2 for LG G2 and Galaxy S 4”, but the reality is that it’s quite limited on the Android side, albeit not quite as limited as, say the Samsung Gear Fit.
The LG Lifeband Touch is designed with a bracelet style in two sizes: medium and large. Medium, which was what I tested with is meant to fit wrist sizes from 155-175mm, which means it should have slotted around my wrists without a problem. But it didn’t; the reality here is that the Medium sized band was massively loose on my wrist. I don’t have the largest wrists in the world, but short of putting on a lot of mass (which more or less is the exact opposite of the point) it’s never going to fit because the LG Lifeband Touch isn’t adjustable in any way at all. If you don’t fit into the two existing size definitions, it’s either going to pinch horribly, or roll around on your wrist and miscount your motions. Neither is desirable.
Finally, in a competitive sense, it’s downright weird that it doesn’t track your sleep at all. To be fair, I haven’t hit a fitness band yet that totally accurately tracks my sleep, but not even turning up to try is a large omission in this space.
LG Lifeband Touch: Pricing
LG’s RRP for the Lifeband Touch is $199.
LG Lifeband Touch: Fat Duck Verdict
The Lifeband Touch should be LG’s play for the growing wearable market, based on its excellent OLED display.
It should be — but it isn’t. Given the price disparity between the Jawbone UP and even the Samsung Gear Fit, the LG Lifeband Touch sits in a too limited, too uncomfortable space. Maybe next time, LG?