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The app
- Inviting cartoony app
- Not as fun as Fitbit
As standard, the TomTom Touch Cardio sets you a daily goal of 10,000 steps, the old standard before companies started whittling this down to make the less active feel less guilty. You can set your own goals too, for distance or active time, and over the period of up to a month.
However, TomTom’s software doesn’t quite have the motivational boost of, for example, Fitbit’s platform.
Where Fitbit was built from the ground up for this kind of basic fitness tracker, with lots of effort put into egging-on people that, say, have paid for gym memberships that went by barely-used, TomTom’s is aimed at sportier people, but has tried to appear friendlier with cartoony visuals.
It lacks the fun challenges you get with Fitbit and seems more aimed at those who are committed to getting fit than those who need some pushing. Which is fine, except the TomTom Touch Cardio itself is a basic tracker that fitness fanatics are unlikely to buy.
There’s nothing wrong with the TomTom Sport app as such, but it’s not as engaging as some rivals, and it fits better with the TomTom Spark 3 and Runner 3, which can make more of the substantial activity-tracking part of the TomTom platform.
Like any of these apps, you can track your stats over the days and weeks, which is handy for monitoring your progress from couch potato to aspiring 5K runner. Or whatever your ‘journey’ may be.
Battery life and compatibility
- 3-day battery
- Works with Android and iOS
TomTom says the Touch Cardio will last for up to five days of general use. In our experience, which includes using it as a watch, making it light up to tell us the time a whole bunch of times a day, this claim is a little ambitious.
Two and a half to three days is more like the reality, making it a little too close to a smartwatch in terms of battery upkeep. The TomTom Runner 3 lasts several days longer, as does the Fitbit Alta.
To charge the TomTom Touch Cardio you pop out the module from the strap and simply plug the cable into the micro USB port on one of the sides.
The tracker will work with iPhones and Androids, any that are not ancient. They need to run iOS 8 or newer, or at least Android 4.3 (though the TomTom app requires Android 4.4).
TomTom publishes a specific list of phones on its website, but it’s not worth paying too much attention as masses of phones not listed will work just fine.
