Bellabeat Women Wellness Gadget Review

The European company Bellabeat deals with a very rare topic. No, not a sports watch, not a smart backlight, not drones, or even virtual reality. She produces gadgets for women. Today we will talk about Spring bottle, Leaf Urban and Leaf Chakra wellness trackers.

From dopplerography to wellness

Startup Bellabeat was founded by two very different people: Slovenian sculptor Urška Srsen and Croatian mathematician Sandro Moore. Together they developed a portable device for doppler sonography (ultrasound method), which allowed pregnant women to independently monitor the condition of the fetus.


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One of the sources of inspiration for the couple was Moore’s collaboration with Tanya Premru-Srsen, the doctor of gynecology and obstetrics, Urška’s mother. The modern approach to perinatal care turned out to be sterile and cold, and the new generation of young mothers wanted more. A portable dopplerograph helped to monitor the development of the fetus, as well as listen and record its heartbeat.

The bold idea won the start-up competition of the Pioneers Festival conference in Vienna, and at the same time attracted the attention of the American business incubator Y Combinator. Europeans went to conquer America.



Bellabeat founders recall time in Y Combinator with warmth. However, they had to abandon the idea of ​​tracking pregnancy: too difficult for users and hard to put into practice as a mass product. But what could they offer to the world? They were Leaf wellness trackers .

What is "wellness" for Bellabeat

Modern man is not enough to be only "healthy." He always wants to combine good physical health with mental health. This is “wellness”, a concept popularized by lifestyle lifestyle publications for both genders and by actress Gwyneth Paltrow. The word means “well-being”, and, in accordance with the spirit of the time, is interpreted by everyone in different ways.

For Paltrow and her wellness brand GOOP, well-being is the result of an expensive purse, detox smoothie and a chakra cleansing session by a shaman. Exactly the same offers some Men's Health. The founders of Bellabeat approached the question practical: a person feels good when he is fast asleep, moves regularly and from time to time gives himself a chance to relax and unwind. It means that it is worth concentrating on these three areas, tracking and analyzing them.


Bellabeat Leaf Original, also known as Nature

At the time of the launch of Leaf, the market was oversaturated with fitness trackers. The devices experienced the peak of popularity, many of them followed the sleep and activity, as it should have done the new gadget. Bellabeat didn’t even think of Fitbit as another competitor, which turned out to be a very sensible solution: after a couple of years, the market for wearable gadgets collapsed (for example, Jawbone). Leaf was created for women who, most likely, will never buy a sports bracelet or watch. The gadget is not for sport, but for man.

In 2017, the company expanded its range of smart bottle Spring . This was a response to a new growing trend in the wellness industry - water consumption counts. The concept came from the world of marathons, where a lack of water leads to sad consequences.



It turned out that for an office employee sitting in front of the computer all the day, proper drinking is also an actual problem. Replacing water with coffee and junk food, a woman (and any person) worsens her state of health, sleep and concentration. Therefore, you need to gently force the bottle user to drink more water than Spring does.

Best of all, the bottle manifests itself as a “partner” for the wellness tracker, but it can be used separately. All Bellabeat gadgets work within the same “ecosystem” - a mobile application.

Leaf: smart decoration

Externally, any Leaf wellness tracker resembles an eco-style brooch. This is because its body is made of wood composite, which is to the touch - exactly natural stone. "Pebble" holds a frame of stainless steel.



Pleasant moment: the frame does not leave an unpleasant smell of "metal" after contact with the skin and there are no visible fingerprints on it.

The Bellabeat team went through three versions of the rim design that the original tracker model had, Urban and Chakra . The original Leaf is no longer produced, its frame was made in the form of a figured leaf. In Urban, steel decor has a fancy geometric shape. The oval frame of Chakra presses a rose quartz or black onyx petal to the case.


Left - Bellabeat Urban , right - Bellabeat Chakra

The case of the tracker is black and gray, the rim is silver and the color is "pink gold". They are combined in different ways so that the potential owner of clever jewelry can choose their own design and colors. With Bellabeat, you don't have to choose between pink and blue silicone bracelets, as usual.

In addition to the decorative function, the frame serves as a clip for fixing on clothes. It is tightly clamped on the fabric and shake the device will not work. Each Leaf tracker can be hung on a chain and worn around your neck like a pendant. Urban has eyelets on both sides, so these trackers easily turn into elegant bracelets: just attach a strap to them. Chakra has a loop on one side only, so that it is worn solely as a pendant or brooch.



Naturally, the question arises: does the position of the wellness tracker affect its accuracy? In Bellabeat, the moment was taken into account and worked. The tracker considers activity approximately equally regardless of the location of the fastener. To do this, in the settings you need to specify its position: as a bracelet, brooch or pendant.



The tracker bodies are protected from water ingress according to the IPX6 standard. This means that they can not be removed in the shower or while washing hands, but you should not immerse the whole underwater.

App for good mood

There are no buttons and screens on the Leaf trackers body, and access to statistics and its analysis is possible only through the application. Synchronization is not automatic, it is done every time manually. The process is simple: you need to press a button in the application and knock on the tracker a couple of times. It’s not necessary to do synchronization every day, the tracker stores the data collected in the last 14 days. There are no differences in the work of Leaf Urban and Leaf Chakra, they have an identical set of functions.

By the way, for some other everyday and wellness devices like Misfit trackers, information about steps and proximity to daily targets for activity is indicated by a blinking LED: blinked once - 25% of the target, two half, four almost 100%. Developers light "Morzian" seemed incredibly elegant idea. In practice, it is easier and faster to pull out a smartphone than to memorize light signals. Moreover, the potential owner of Leaf would rather not want its “smart decoration” to flash with a LED like some kind of bank. Therefore, all data is available only in the application.



The application is extremely simple and conveniently organized. A brief summary of all monitored indicators is on the main page: activity, sleep, water tracking, meditation, stress level and menstrual cycle. Settings at least, they indicate the goals of physical activity, sleep duration, water consumption and the number of meditations. Statistics on any other tab scrolls back and forth with a calendar panel.


Activity tab and comparison with Mi Fit step counting

Activity mainly includes the number of steps completed. In our experience, Leaf counts fewer steps than the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 fitness tracker. On the other hand, both Chinese gadgets and the more expensive Fitbit bracelets add vigorous hand strokes to the steps. So beautiful statistics cheat still in times of glory Nike Band. Leaf Wellness Tracker is often worn on the body rather than on the wrist, which by default gives a more conservative estimate.



Goals are set either by minute of activity or by steps, but both will be considered. The implementation of the selected goal can be monitored on the tab "Activity". It also shows how many steps or workouts on average occurred in the last week. Statistics are also kept on the kilometers traveled and calories burned, including calories at rest. Exercises like yoga, in which the user of the tracker almost does not move in space, the tracker itself does not recognize. They need to be made manually by a large green button.



Leaf tracks sleep automatically. Accuracy is not bad, but if you browse through Instagram posts for a long time in bed, the tracker will be wrong with the counting. It does not matter: it is easy to correct the necessary hours in the morning, having cut off the superfluous. From the statistics, we propose: a percentage of the goal, the average duration of sleep per week and an estimate of deep sleep. For happy lovers to take a nap after lunch, there is a button "Add a dream".

Separately, you can specify the position of Leaf in a dream to increase the reliability of the observations. Apparently, if you fix the gadget on your arm, and not on the collar of your pajamas, then it will react differently to movements in your sleep.



Leaf meditations are one of the most thoughtful parts of the app. They are offered three dozen different, from educational respiratory to "mental travel." Some help to relax, others promise to help with back pain (and cope with the persistent desire to eat junk food. Thank you, Bellabeat).



Before meditation, the tracker clings to the belt, where it should monitor proper breathing. Then you need to get comfortable, close your eyes and follow the voice instructions of the application (so far only in English). At this time, a large pause button appears in the application. For some meditations, divergent concentric circles appear around the button, indicating the breathing phase: circle inside - inhale, circle outside - exhale. There are many applications of this type, however, everything works beautifully and without unnecessary complications.

Tracking stress looks interesting. At the very center of the tab is a large graph that illustrates how sleep, phase, physical activity, and meditation affect the user's state. Under the graph, there are panels on which it is described in more detail what and why influences the level of stress.



If you scroll through a few days in advance, you can see how the graph changes its shape. No advice is given here: apparently, so as not to increase stress!

The last tab is devoted to the menstrual cycle. The calendar on it is depicted in the form of a horseshoe, on which fertile days and menstruation days are marked. The button in the middle adds a new menstruation and ends. In the tab with history, past cycles are recorded and three future predictions are predicted. The “Add pregnancy” button is hidden in the settings in order to start tracking the pregnancy accordingly. Everything is simple and without unnecessary settings like "today I wanted sweet", which are found in individual applications for tracking monthly.



As mentioned above, the Bellabeat application works with Spring's smart bottle and also serves as a mobile interface for it. There is nothing to complain about, the information is presented clearly and without unnecessary complications. After each synchronization, the data on the drunk water is updated. The app gently pushes the user to drink more and slowly learn to drink more in a few weeks. If you prefer, you can manually add a couple glasses of water not drunk from Spring, and set reminders that it's time to take a sip or two.



Bellabeat data can be synced with Google Fit and Apple Health. In the "apple" aggregator, more health data is transmitted, including minutes of awareness and drunk water. Google Fit accepts and shows less data, but this problem has existed since the last redesign of the Google application, when its functions were severely curtailed.

Spring: a bottle with a pair of tricks

There are quite a few smart bottles on the gadget market. The big minus of almost every one is that they are plastic. Plastic is durable and durable, proving that trash islands in the ocean. Would you like to drink from it? Not to everyone.



Unlike competing bottles, Spring is glass. Not entirely, of course: only the vessel is made of borosilicate glass, and it has no bottom. The bottom replaces the screw-off plastic base with a silicone coating, where the electronic “filling” is hidden. From above the plastic neck with a cover fastens. To prevent the bottle from slipping out of hands, a two-piece silicone cuff is put on it.

The lower part of this cuff closes the seam between the glass bulb and the base, that is, serves as additional protection against leakage. Although all parts of the bottle sit very tight and do not leak. This design is not accidental: everyone who used bottles in life knows that it is inconvenient to clean them. Organic remains are always accumulated along the edges of the bottom, which give the liquid an indescribable taste and aroma. No bottom - no problem.



Disassembled Spring can be washed by hand or in a regular dishwasher. In addition to the base: it is gently wiped with a damp cloth - although it is airtight and will not deteriorate, slightly getting wet. The seal on its reverse side opens, under it is hidden the battery and a small vibration motor. When synchronized, it turns on to indicate that the bottle is running.

The bottle is incredibly beautiful. Spring is nice to hold. Design minimalist, no frills, but clearly thought out to the smallest detail. Bellabeat has worked hard to really want to carry their product every day.

How to use Spring? Pretty simple: 1) Connect it to the application. 2) Calibrate before first use. 3) Pour water and drink. From time to time, launch the application, press the “Synchronize” button and shake the bottle vigorously. Done, your water consumption has been updated. Compared to recording water manually in the app (or on a piece of paper, if you like hardcore), it’s easy.


Calibration Bellabeat Spring

With regard to the nuances of using the bottle, the developers have surpassed themselves. After the first calibration, technical issues can be forgotten. You drink from a bottle, you pour water, you pour out water, and she decides for herself what has just happened. For some gadgets, this level of autonomy is just a dream. Apparently, someone at Bellabeat sensibly reasoned that users hate constantly synchronizing data over Bluetooth. It was a wise man.

Spring records and stores up to seven days of water consumption data. Synchronize them to see current progress. If there is no time to do it in the middle of a busy day, then you can safely continue using the bottle, as if there is no built-in electronics in it.



Many people call tracking drunk a solution to another invented problem. Meanwhile, inadequate water intake is a related issue with excessive consumption of junk food. According to statistics collected as part of the 2009-2012 National Health Survey of the United States, its participants received 70% of their water from beverages (including sweet soda) and food. Only 30% of the drunk turned out to be pure water . The consequences of such a diet can no longer be told.

For women, the lack of water is sensitive, it is indispensable for maintaining the health of female organs. In addition, no expensive cream with magical anti-aging nano-particles will not help the skin as timely sip of water.

Even such a smart bottle as Spring will not force anyone to switch to a healthy lifestyle. But if you put a gadget in front of you on the table, then it becomes easier and faster to drink water than, say, to go for a cup of coffee with buns.

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When it comes to gadgets designed for women, it’s usually customary to blame technology start-ups and companies for not developing such things from sexist motives. The founder of Bellabeat does not think so: “I think everyone wants to hear it - this is because their (wearable gadgets) are developed by men. Not sure if the answer is correct. Women's health seems to companies too narrow a niche. ”

Bellabeat confidently occupied this niche and created impressively comfortable products. They gently push their owners to take care of their health and well-being, without overloading them with unnecessary information and millions of notifications. And thanks to the beautiful design you want to use Bellabeat gadgets.

Now we are engaged in the localization of the Bellabeat application. Soon it will be available in Russian - wait. Until March 31, Madrobots has a 15% discount on all Bellabeat products for the BBHBR promo code.