Myzone Mz-switch A tracker, but not chocolate chip
This modular heart-rate tracker can be attached to different parts of the body, while the app gamifies your activity – yay, exhaustion is fun
£140 / stuff.tv/mzswitch
It’s an argument that rages like ketchup or mayo, Sonic or Mario, and which Fun House twin you fancy more: is a chest strap or a wrist-worn heart-rate monitor better? Myzone always used to swear by the former, but its interchangeable Mz-switch now embraces the latter too.
The answer to the questions above is of course mayonnaise, Sega is cooler than Nintendo, and how could you pick between Martina and Melanie? But the tracker debate is harder to settle, and so the Mz-switch is out to please everyone. Instead of choosing between an ECG chest strap and a PPG sensor shining a light into your arm to measure bloodflow, it does both.
Myzone claims this is a world first. It admits that, while the
ECG is accurate to 99.4%, the PPG sensor trails behind at 95%; but as you’re about to discover, it’s all about a balance between accuracy and convenience depending on the activity.
Heart-shaped blocks
The Mz-switch is made up of a clip-in main sensor module with adjustable chest, arm and wrist straps (1). The plastic module is the size of a two-pound coin and light compared to a smartwatch, while the straps are made from a mix of flexible and conductive soft-touch materials.
Glisten to your heart
On the front you’ll find a bright colour-coded LED strip for quick notifications of your Myzone status (2) and a button for switching between ECG and
PPG operation (3). On the back are those all-important optical sensors plus press-stud poppers for attaching to the chest strap.
My heart will grow on
With league tables, competitions and chat functionality the app can be bewildering, but it’s massively addictive – forget to strap up before a workout and it hardly feels worth carrying on. It’s a bit like forgetting to swap out your fantasy football captain when they’re injured.
Fit playing games (with my heart)
Myzone’s app gamifies exercise: you score effort points depending on how hard your heart is working against WHO guidelines. Once your heart-rate capacity has been assessed, you’re given a golf-style handicap that means everyone is theoretically competing on a level playing field.
Shaky breaky heart
There are limitations. Go for a run and Myzone won’t map it, so no pace, distance or cadence – just points scored, calories burned and heart-rate data. Still, it plays nicely with big apps like Strava, Mapmyrun and Apple Health, plus Garmin devices, watchos, Tizen and Wear OS.
If you’re a gym poser rather than a workout grafter, the Mz-switch is not for you. It doesn’t look cool, it doesn’t have a fancy display to show off to the Johnny Bravos, and app integration doesn’t extend to Tiktok. It’s simply a versatile activity tracker that pushes you to roll up your sleeves and go further without intimidation. @James_a_day