When comparing Microsoft Band 2 vs Withings Activité Pop, the Slant community recommends Withings Activité Pop for most people. In the question“What are the best smartwatches?” Withings Activité Pop is ranked 12th while Microsoft Band 2 is ranked 14th. The most important reason people chose Withings Activité Pop is:
The tracker looks more like a regular watch, with a fairly minimal and cleanly designed watch face. You can wear it with many different styles and it will blend in.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Fits well on virtually any wrist
The Microsoft Band 2 comes in 3 sizes to ensure it fits: Small (145-165mm or 5.7-6.5"), Medium (160-190mm or 6.3-7.5"), or Large (185-215mm or 7.3-8.5").
Pro Natural feeling display
The display is slightly curved, making it more natural to wear and use. You also won't be hitting it off walls and doors as often as other watches because it doesn't stick out as far from your wrist as other fitness trackers.
The OLED display doesn't light up black pixels, meaning the background blends in perfectly with the bezels making for a more pleasing look as well as saving battery life when displaying mostly black colors.
Pro Custom guided workouts
The fitness tracker allows you to ditch the notebook before heading to the gym.
Pro Smartphone connected
The Microsoft Band 2 connects to your Android, Windows Phone, or iPhone to provide notifications on your wrist. Swiping left from the main screen shows notifications that have been synced from the watch. It doesn't show context for these notifications however - just the number of missed notifications and their respective icons.
Pro Suits a variety of occasions since it doesn't look like a fitness tracker
The tracker looks more like a regular watch, with a fairly minimal and cleanly designed watch face. You can wear it with many different styles and it will blend in.
Pro Great for people who travel
The tracker uses a battery which means no worrying about bringing charging cords with you, and the battery lasts for up to 8 months.
The time automatically stays synced to your connected smartphone. So when you cross time zones, the Activité Pop will automatically adjust the time for you.
Cons
Con Band 2 is discontinued - no Band 3 on the horizon
Most likely due to the very high incidence of returns (due to charging issues and the straps cracking in half), the Band fitness tracker brand seems to be entirely discontinued.
Con Poor HR sensor + Poor data visualization
The fitness tracker's HR sensor is very inaccurate during HIIT/weight lifting movements, it takes forever to even lock-on, and once locked-on it doesn't stay locked-on. All of this contributes to very poor HR accuracy. To top it off, the app/web site does not display high-frequency data, it will plot a single HR point for every 1 minute of activity which makes it very, very useless.
Con Bulky clasp
Under the clasp is a sensor that determines whether it's being worn or not (so it can save power when not in use), which adds bulk.
Con Poor battery life
Without using the GPS, battery life can be stretched to a day and a half, but if you do use the GPS that time will be reduced to just a day. Either way, you will want to charge it every night.
Con Watch bands are low quality and fairly unprofessional in appearance
The overall design makes it feel like there is confusion as to who the target market is for the tracker.
The watch face is sleek and professional in appearance, looking more like a regular watch than a tracker. However the bands available for the watch are made from a cheap-looking silicone. If you wish to buy a replacement band, they are only available in three bright colors (orange, plum, and teal).
Con Sometimes has issues with condensation inside the glass
The watch is supposed to be water resistant up to 50m. However some of the watches have loose backs which causes condensation to build inside the watch, especially after hot showers.
Con Difficult to read in poor lighting
The watch face doesn't have a backlight and the hands don't glow, so it's near impossible to read the time in dark settings without external light.