Jawbone brings passive heart rate tracking to its activity trackers

Jawbone has released new features to its Up wristbands.

According to the Verge, the Up3 and Up4 bands which are equipped with heart rate sensors will now track the user's heart rate periodically throughout the day, rather than just once in the morning as the wristbands did before.

The company says that this passive heart rate tracking is supposed to give the users a more complete picture of their health, including when diet or other stimuli might affect heart rate.

Also, the bands will now automatically transition from active to sleep mode when the wearer goes to bed at night. This means that the users no longer have to activate sleep mode by tapping their tracker. Instead, it will detect when the wearer has gone to sleep and when he or she wakes up.

In addition, the Up3 will come in four new colors, including teal and sand, while the Up2 wristband will ship with a thinner strap and will be available in six different colors. The clasp on the Up2 has been redesigned.

The feature upgrades are available through a firmware update and will roll out to the users through their iOS and Android apps.