The allure of a cool, capable smartwatch is strong, what with options like the flashy Apple Watch 3 and regal LG Watch Style available, but sometimes all you need is a simple activity tracker.
The Nokia Go, the company's most affordable wearable, stands out as being clean of all the negatives that commonly tag along with budget-priced trackers.
The Go is essentially the same product as the previously released Withings Go, but it has now been rebranded with the Nokia name after the company took over Withings in 2016.
The Nokia Go isn't chintzy, it doesn't over-promise, and best of all, it essentially disappears on your arm or pocket. No, it's not invisible, it's just super comfortable and designed in such a way that it only requires your passive, not active, attention.
It doesn't push notifications or remind you where you need to be. The Go just tells you the time and bothers you with the only complication that's worth a hoot for fitness users: how close you are to reaching your goal.
Nokia Go price and release date
- Nokia Go RRP is set at $49.95/£39.95, but we've seen it drop lower
- Out now in the US and UK, no word on an Australian release
You can buy the Nokia Go now from a variety of third-party retailers or you can just head straight to Nokia's own website.
The RRP is set at $49.95/£39.95 but in the UK we've seen the price drop down to £35 when it's on sale. You can't currently buy the Nokia Go in Australia, and so far the company hasn't shown any intention to bring it to market either.
Display
- Small e-ink display that's limited in functionality
- Can display both step count and the time
The Nokia Go is stocked with a circular, monochromatic e-ink screen that runs about an inch from end to end. This display is hugged with a band of white bezel, but it hides itself once you slip it into one of the provided encasings.
It might seem obvious, but the display serves as your means for digesting info. And as mentioned earlier, there's not a whole lot to see on this little screen. So, Nokia doubled its function as a button, which you can push down to show off some more.
It's not a particularly finessed way of accessing the time, but it's the only control provided on the device.
Design and comfort
- You can wear the Nokia Go as a watch or clip it onto your clothes
- It's lightweight but not the best for the fashion conscious
Extending out from its e-ink display is the white module that houses the rest of the guts. Popped out of the watch or clip-on molds, the Go module is no thicker than a finger and no heavier than a small handful of coins.
It's not the most visually arresting design, but like the goal of the Go, its simplicity is intentional. And this simple design allows it to do some cool stuff, like pack in tremendous battery life and waterproofing protection up to 5 ATM (about 50 meters).
The Go can be inserted into the provided silicon watch to give it a more traditional look. Once popped in, the strap loops through to tighten and fastens with a metal push-pin that does a good job at staying put and remaining comfortable after extended use.
Strap colors include blue, black, green, red and yellow. Some of those are particularly bold, but for the purpose of this review we've photographed the black version.
If you don't want to wear it as a watch, Nokia also includes a plastic case that allows you to tuck it out of sight. You can clip it to your pocket, shoes, or onto your car keys.
No matter which enclosure you've chosen, each is tough enough to withstand the elements. The waterproofing means you don't have to take this off before you get in the shower.
Performance
- The Nokia Go doesn't do many strenuous tasks
- It will automatically detect workouts like swimming, walking and running
Just a few moments after you take the Go out of its box, it greets you with your walking progress and the time.
And after just a minute's worth of setup, we had pretty much already forgotten about it on our wrist. It might sound weird, but we were really happy in that moment because it spoke to the power of a device that doesn't try to dictate your life with reminders and notifications.
It's there when you need it, like before bed when you want to reflect on your accomplishments.
The Nokia Go offers up an experience that encourages you to move at your own pace.
Once you do start moving, so does the Go. During our time with this fitness wearable, we did about two week's worth of walking, a little bit of jogging and, of course, sleeping. Unlike other wearables, the Go doesn't track every activity under the sun, just the ones that are most common.
Tracking, in general, works well. Step monitoring is accurate, as is its ability to track sleep. The app does little more to reward you for meeting your step goal than to change the Go's center symbol to a star shape, but the metrics for your sleep are nicely detailed.
The screen shows your progress by wrapping tick markers around the border of the screen. Once the ticks make a full circle, you've reached your goal and the walking icon turns into a star. Some might complain about the lack of positive feedback for reaching your goal, but is a celebratory vibration really all that rewarding?
Tracking progress is simple, but checking the time is more complicated than it should be. For those moments, you may find it frustrating that it doesn't allow you to set the time function as the default screen. You need to press the screen in to see the time. The clock face will automatically go back to the goal tracking screen after about five seconds.
But the Nokia Health Mate app does allow users to adjust the color theme between light and dark. Each looks pretty bold and the one you'll choose just comes down to personal taste.
Interface and app
- The Nokia Health Mate app is easy to use and displays your details clearly
- You'll need to use the app often as the Nokia Go itself doesn't display much
You can get suited up with Nokia's fitness trackers regardless of smartphone OS allegiance. If you're running a phone with iOS 8 or Android 4.3, or higher software you'll be able to connect it with the Nokia Health Mate app.
Third-party app integration is a big deal for those who are deep into fitness. Thankfully, the Health Mate companion app doesn't disappoint. It's compatible with Apple Health, Google Fit, MyFitnessPal and RunKeeper.
To get the Go up and running, you'll need the Nokia Health Mate app. It's the same one that manages its other products, like the Nokia Steel and Nokia Steel HR.
If you're someone who likes to keep an eye on your in-depth metrics, the Nokia companion app won't disappoint. It's up there in terms of its visual design and ease of use.
While waiting for the Go to sync with the app does take some time, it's so worth it just to see the vivid, detailed breakdown of your activities.
The app's homepage and dashboard make it easy to parse through daily and weekly wrap-ups for personal reflection. But if competing with friends is more your style, Nokia has you covered here.
Leaderboards allow you to face-off against your companions to see who can walk, run, sleep or swim more. It's a rather basic social feature, but appreciated nonetheless.
Battery life
- The Nokia Go is built to last for eight months without a recharge
- You'll need to replace the watch battery when it does run out of charge
For as much promise as wearables often hold, battery life is a common low point. Thankfully, that isn't a problem with the Nokia Go.
Whether the efficient e-ink screen gets all of the credit, or it's just the limited functionality of the Go in general, you can't cough at a battery that lasts for eight months.
The Nokia Steel also offers this long term battery life, and we have seen similar battery life from products such as the Moov Now.
The Nokia Go is a fitness tracker in its most simple form. For those very simple functions, it's a strong performer. Compared to many other fitness trackers, the Nokia Go doesn't do a whole lot.
But whereas many of those same devices tend to overpromise and underdeliver on a good, wholesome experience, the Nokia Go mostly nails the balance.
Who's this for?
The Nokia Go is a minimalist's dream. The e-ink screen, in tandem with the solid color enclosures, looks heavenly and feels unobtrusive to the activities of daily life and sleep.
It doesn't try much, but it easily accomplishes what it sets out to do. If you're looking to track steps and monitor your running, sleeping and swimming, this is one of the more affordable ways to achieve it.
The Go wins big points by being versatile as a watch or a clip. Its rugged, waterproof design means it can handle whatever you throw at it. But why wouldn't you want to show this cool, little device off on your wrist?
Should you buy it?
While the Go does push the boundaries for sleek, simple design and ease of use, there are some issues to note.
The Go's interface is too short on information. Most wearables attempt to free you from checking your phone by pushing its metrics and other notifications to your wrist, but this does no such thing. While it's sometimes a blessing to be removed from it all, it's a curse for those who would prefer a wearable that beams more info.
Speaking of the Go's display, this device is proof that the use of e-ink in a wearable is a clever, but imperfect application of the tech. It has its benefits, like supreme, eight-month long battery life and readability. But switching between screens often shows unsightly ghosting of the previous screen's visual elements, and it lacks a backlight, so forget about peeping the time at night.
All of that said, the Nokia Go is a perfectly good fitness tracker for those with perfectly simple needs. This wearable doesn't aim to spark a revolution in the way that you work out, nor does it pack in the features to push the endless stream of notifications to your wrist.
But, in a market where every other device tries to do just that, the Go is a refreshing breath of air in that it defies the trends to make a very solid, reliable, long-lasting tracker that will only cost you less than most of the competition.
First reviewed: January 2018
The competition
Don't think the Nokia Go is the perfect fitness tracker for you? How about some of these alternatives.
Moov Now
We love the Moov Now - it's affordable and can do much more than the Nokia Go. It can record fitness data at a much deeper depth and only costs a touch more than if you were to buy the Nokia Go.
This doesn't come with a screen though, but that does mean it offers months of battery life too.
Read our Moov Now review
Xiaomi Mi Band 2
Another fantastically affordable fitness band here and this one comes with a LED screen on the front so you can easily see all of your daily stats.
Perhaps the standout feature on the Mi Band 2 is the fact it can handle heart rate tracking, unlike the Nokia Go. It doesn't have such great battery life as the Nokia tracker though.
Read our Xiaomi Mi Band 2 review
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