Jawbone UP3 will start shipping April 20 to U.S. consumers who placed pre-orders and should have their new wrist wearables by mid-May. The wait will be a bit longer for consumers making a purchase once it's shipping.
In a blog post, Travis Bogard apologized for the delay and any frustration waiting for the wearable has caused consumers.
"We sincerely apologize for the delay and frustration that this has caused, and we are deeply grateful for the patience and continued support of our customers," writes Bogard, VP of product management and strategy.
Jawbone can't be very happy about its actual shipping date given the big market coverage that the Apple Watch is getting in preparation for its debut in Apple stores on April 24.
The Jawbone UP3 device, formally announced in November 2014, was scheduled to go into mass production and ship within weeks of the news. However, manufacturing issues that resulted in a less than stellar product threw the shipping schedule off course.
"Specifically, we were not achieving the level of water resistance we had passed in the design and initial production stages," explains Bogard, noting the details of the issue holding up the device's release. The wearable featured advanced multi sensors and supposedly water resistance of up to 10 meters. However, extensive and exhaustive testing indicated the Jawbone UP3 could not meet that expectation.
What that means is that you can't take the Jawbone UP3 deep sea diving, swimming or even snorkeling. It can, however, deal with some water, like a shower, hand washing and splashing.
"We would like to apologize to customers who may have pre-ordered UP3 on the basis that it would be suitable for swimming. Customers who wish to cancel their pre-order will, of course, be able to do so with no charge," states Bogard.
This is the second time in four years that Jawbone has met some formidable manufacturing issues. The original UP device was pulled from market as the first batch was found to not hold a charge.
The Jawbone UP3 will be available overseas and abroad later this year. The wristband offers up insight on a wide range of health and body vitals, including heart rate, sleep monitoring and workout tracking. It boasts accelerometers, bioimpedance sensors and skin and ambient temperature sensors. The bioimpedance capability allows the device to track its owner's pulse by passing an imperceptible electrical current through the body to measure its resistance to the signal.
The device can run seven days on one full charge.
The Jawbone UP3 costs $179.99 and was originally set to be sold at Apple and Best Buy stores. But given that Apple's own first-ever wearable, the Apple Watch, is also arriving to market this month, it's likely the Jawbone UP3 may not make it on shelves at Apple stores as initially stated in late 2014.
