What I Like (and Don’t Like) About the New Una Fitness Watch.
I’ve tested every type of fitness watch and thought I’d seen it all, but my first encounter with the Una watch shocked me: there’s a USB-C port on the side of the watch. It’s not a set of contacts for a magnetic charger or a port that requires a proprietary cable—it’s just a hole that accepts a regular USB-C cable. This is what’s missing from modern watches.
Una watches started appearing in my feed about two years ago, and they finally started shipping this summer. I’ve been wearing a test unit for a few weeks now. The Una watch is advertised as repairable and upgradable, with open-source code. I can see small screws around the dial and on the back. The Una website sells a replacement battery for $40 and a replacement screen for $50. They also sell the tiny screwdriver you’ll need for repairs, but if you’re the type who appreciates a repairable watch, you might already have one.
Overall, I liked it. The Una watch features a MIP display (an old technology that has become iconic ) and a simple but effective app. While not all features met my expectations during testing, none of them disappointed. This seems like a good start for the “one watch for life” concept, and I’m interested to see how the hardware and software evolve over time.
The Una watch and its app are easy to use.
These days, most wearables try to do as many things as possible, whether they’re really suited to those tasks or not. Frankly, I’m perfectly happy with a running watch that measures time, distance, and heart rate while running , and I don’t try to assess the quality of my sleep or pretend to be able to determine how quickly I’m aging.
The Una watch app displays your daily step count, activity, and floors climbed, as well as your average and baseline heart rate. During runs, it tracks your pace, distance, and heart rate, then provides detailed information. The data is securely uploaded to Strava, and the app can create small bar charts showing how these metrics change from day to day.
Developers have a lot of room for creativity.
There’s a “store” (which, as far as I understand, is all free) where you can download additional watch faces and features. I’m currently testing a habit tracker called HabitLab: every evening, it asks you if you’ve consumed alcohol, smoked cigarettes, had a late dinner, and so on. Every morning, it asks how you’re feeling. And while the watch doesn’t typically track sleep, the app does record your heart rate variability (HRV) overnight and your resting heart rate. Over time, it will correlate your answers to these questions with your sleep data, hopefully yielding results similar to Whoop’s diary analysis. (I haven’t used it long enough to judge its effectiveness yet, but stay tuned.)
The HabitLab app appears in one section of the watch as a standalone app; another section, called Gym Sets, offers a strength training workout type that wasn’t available on the watch before. I simply select Gym Sets instead of “Run” or “Workout,” and the app tracks my heart rate and sets a timer.
The store is small, and the apps are simple, lacking many of the features found in apps for the Apple Watch or other more capable devices. However, the Una watch has only been on the market for a few months, so it’s not surprising that users haven’t yet created many apps. The company’s software development kit, and even its PCB designs,are free to download and develop .
I was not impressed with the accuracy of the Una watch.
I was concerned that the emphasis on repairability and affordability meant the Una would be made with components that might not quite meet modern standards. Heart rate sensors have improved over the years, so the Una’s sensors need to be quite good if it wants to even be in the middle of the pack. Garmin , Apple , and now Fitbit have raised the bar significantly.
I can say the GPS tracking worked quite well; during both trail and pavement runs, it followed my route precisely. (It doesn’t seem to work as well as the newer Garmins, but it’s still usable, and the distance totals were quite accurate.)
I was disappointed with the heart rate accuracy. When I first received the watch, the heart rate tracking was terrible. I sent several emails to my contact at Una and almost published this review with very bad news about the watch’s accuracy, but then a firmware update for the Una watch appeared on my phone. I installed it and then ran a couple more test runs, and the heart rate accuracy improved significantly . If you buy this watch, make sure it’s updated to at least version 1.6.0.
However, the update has improved the heart rate accuracy to a level I’d call satisfactory, but not good (and certainly not excellent). The graph follows my heart rate fluctuations , as measured by a chest strap , but occasionally the Una will suddenly spike the reading, significantly exceeding my actual heart rate. In the graph below, note the jump to around 165 when the true value was 155, and then, later in the workout, the Una records another jump around 160, when my actual heart rate was around 145 and declining. (I’ve observed similar anomalies in several workouts.)
The Una watch is a good starter, but it’s not for everyone.
I’ve been very pleased with the Una watch since I started using it. I still love the USB-C charging, and it was incredibly convenient to simply connect it to the same cable I normally use for my phone on my nightstand, without having to find an adapter or a dongle.
I loved the MIP display, which worked well in sunlight and had a convenient backlight for indoor or dark use. A handful of training profiles, as well as a handful of quick taps and apps, are perfectly adequate if you don’t expect much from the watch, which I didn’t. It’s minimalist, distraction-free, and doesn’t have a single AI-based feature. It’s a real breath of fresh air.
At $199, you don’t have to pay extra for these perks. It’s only slightly more expensive than the new Fitbit Edge ($179.99), but less expensive than the Coros Pace 4 ($249) or the Garmin 70 (also $249). The Una doesn’t have as many features or activity tracking capabilities as those models, but perhaps the benefits I’ve mentioned make up for it.
The Una watch is a good choice for those passionate about app development, want a watch that can be repaired, are constantly losing their chargers, or appreciate a minimalist approach. But would I recommend it to the average person who just needs a basic fitness watch? I’m not sure.
The unreliable heart rate sensor makes this watch unsuitable for those seeking a more accurate and modern timepiece. The MIP display will look dated and unfamiliar to those accustomed to brighter and sharper AMOLED screens. The lack of sleep tracking or other convenient features may come as an unpleasant surprise, considering many watches offer these features.
Overall, I like this watch today, albeit with some reservations, and I have high hopes for the future. If the Una lives up to expectations, it would be great to see the ability to upgrade components—perhaps an AMOLED display option for those who need it, and perhaps future firmware updates will improve the heart rate accuracy.
But a lot depends on the company itself. “One watch for a lifetime” implies that the company will survive long enough to release more than one model. I also hope that future offerings will meet people’s desires, and that the watch and app will remain simple and subscription-free. Of course, as the company grows (if it does at all), it will have to balance competing interests, so time will tell how much reality matches this vision. Nevertheless, I really like it.