The Mio Velo tracker is a new product from Mio that is a interesting alternative to the Mio Alpha 2. It differs in a number of ways, for instance: it offers an embedded heart rate sensor, which negates the need for a chest strap. Also, since there is no heads up display, the Velo is much smaller than that Alpha 2. This is great news for those of you who (like us) hate having to deal with putting on a bulky chest strap whenever it’s time to work out.
Additionally, Mio has chosen to exlcude a heads up display. The Velo is meant to be more of a replacement to a chest strap monitor, rather than a dedicated all in one fitness tracker.
Aethetics & Fit
The Mio Velo is offers a minimalistic design with a (unfortunately only 1 color) sky blue coloring. The unit has only one discernable button on the top left side for simple interface functions. It is located near a green LED that flashes to indicate your heart rate readout.
The bottom of the device (the part that touches the user’s skin) contains Phillips bio impedance sensor. The sensor has 4 copper contacts on the bottom of it to accommodate the Velo's charging unit. We noticed that the Velo has a different charging point that the Alpha, which would indicate that Mio prefers to use a different connecter for all of their products.
Comfort & Fit
If you’re going to be wearing a fitness tracker for extended periods of time, comfort is a big consideration. Luckily, the Velo doesn’t disappoint.
The Velo uses that same wrist straps as the Alpha, which felt about right on our wrists – not too firm or too loose. The plastic is soft and rubberlike. This makes removal and cleaning a breeze. The Mio products have some of the more comfortable bands in the industry, at least among the products we have tested.
Connectivity
The Velo also offers another big improvement over its predecessor: that of ANT+. ANT+ is a competing standard that some manufactures prefer to use over Bluetooth. Both technologies have their pros and cons, but it is refreshing to see a fitness band that supports both formats.
The Velo also has the ability to bridge data between Bluetooth and ANT+ devices. The Velo will be able to take data in ANT+ form and rebroadcast it to different Bluetooth devices such as smartphones. This can be useful for those who have multiple devices, such as a separate cycling computer or smart watch.
Mio Velo App
The Velo has a fairly decent app. You will be able to set up to 5 different sensors sets for different activities. It also contains a special LED flash pattern setting, allowing you to set the Velo for certain heart rate notifications.
Since there is no heads up display, the Velo relies entirely upon wireless syncing to its App. so If you need to see your data on the fly, this may not be the best unit for you.
Battery
The battery functions for the Velo is about average. This probably has something to do with how small the unit is.
We tested the unit with just the heart rate function and we managed to go about 2 days between charging’s. However, when we had it paired and broadcasting with other ANT+/Bluetooth devices it lasted maybe 12-13 hours. You may want to ensure that your device if fully charged is you plan to be out for longer than 8 hours exercising.
Conclusion
The Velo has it where it counts: the heart rate sensor is spot on accurate, and the unit stayed flush with our skin the whole time we had it on.
Cleaning the straps is a breeze, the whole process takes less than 10 minutes and you can have it back on and ready to go again.
We also like the fact that the Velo also has ANT+/Bluetooth bridging functionality.
Bottom line: The Velo is good basic fitness tracker. At its core it is a heart rate monitor with some tracking functions thrown in. The unit is competitively priced and very affordable. This is a device best suited for those who only require minimal features or need a device that can bridge 2 devices together.
We hope you found this Mio Velo review helpful. For more reviews take a look at these links below.
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