At first glance, the TomTom Touch looks like just about any other fitness tracker. The basics are in place, with a rubber strap and IPX7 water-resistance capabilities. The Touch’s unique feature, however, is the ability to calculate body composition, differentiating between muscle component and body fat. The Touch has an optical heart-rate sensor, which is positioned on the underside of the tracker module so that it sits flush against the skin. There is a silver metal disc just below the display—place your finger on the disc and stand straight, without your arms touching the sides of the body, and the algorithm will give you an approximate idea of body fat and muscle composition. Keep in mind though that the reading does not replace medical tests, but can give a good idea about what sort of fitness regimen you should undertake.
For general activity tracking, the Touch does pretty much everything you would expect from a fitness band. It will calculate steps, distance travelled, approximate calories burnt, monitor heart rate and track your sleep (if you wear it to bed, that is). The step-tracking is pretty accurate, and in line with what the Fitbit Surge also registered. Like most wearables that rely on motion-sensing technology, however, it may detect false steps.
The TomTom Touch app (free for Android and iOS) is what you will need to refer to regularly, to understand your activity routine, how well it is progressing, and set sports modes and goals. While most features are readily available, it isn’t as slick or intuitive perhaps as the Fitbit app. Firmware updates for the Touch cannot be downloaded and installed via the app, and you must plug the tracker to your PC for updates. This seems a bit odd at a time when people are trading their PCs for iPads and smartphones.
The tracking module needs to be detached from the strap to reveal the micro USB port for charging. TomTom has opted for a strap-fastening mechanism that is perhaps not the slickest to use—the strap has to be threaded through a clasp and then pinned. The Touch’s battery lasts almost an entire week on a single charge, which is better than a lot of similarly priced rivals
