Scosche Rhythm 24 vs Rhythm+: Which is Better for you?

The heart drives the body through all activities.

Understanding your heart rate gets you that much closer to perfecting your goals in fitness and sports.

But before that, you need a means of collecting the said data. In this article, we’ll discuss the Scosche Rhythm 24 vs Rhythm plus: Which is Better for you?

Here’s a breakdown of what we’ll cover today:

• First, we’ll introduce you to the Scosche brand at large.
• Then, we’ll individually review both the Scosche Rhythm+ and Rhythm 24; including a pros and cons list for each as well as a snip of what customers are saying about them.
• Next, we’ll outline a comprehensive buyers guide on heart rate monitors.
• We’ll also elaborate on the benefits of using the Scosche Rhythm+ and Rhythm 24 heart rate sensors. A brief list of similarities between the monitors precedes a longer explanation of the same.
• Finally, we’ll provide a list of 10 useful links to content related to the subject matter.

Scosche Rhythm 24 vs Scosche Rhythm+ Review: The brand

About the “Scosche” brand

Scosche industries was founded in 1980 by Roger and Scotia “Scosche”  Alves. The company started in Southern California as a car audio consultant.

Since then, they have grown their product list to include car accessories, chargers, audio equipment, and fitness devices such as the Scosche Rhythm 24.

Scosche Rhythm 24 Review

The Scosche Rhythm 24 is arguably the best heart rate monitor on the market. It’s an optical heart rate sensor with the market’s number 1 accuracy rating. The sensor also tracks cadence, pace, and other metrics across different activities including running, swimming, walking, and cycling.

It promises the best battery life, operation speeds, reliability, and diverse monitoring and pairing capabilities aside just HR measurement.

It’s the latest iteration of Scosche’s series of heart rate monitors. Therefore, it has the best features you may want. It has new firmware and software.

Let’s now examine all the special features of the Scosche Rhythm 24. We’ll base our discussion around the following areas:

Features

Larger battery

One of the most outstanding features of the Scosche Rhythm 24 is the new tripled battery capacity from the older rhythm+.

Now, like they claim you get, “a minimum of 24 hours” on a single charge. If you ask me, this is one of the best in the market. As long as we are strictly talking about rechargeable batteries.

The battery charges in about 2 hours. It uses a USB cradle. You have the tri-LEDs indicating battery status.

Different colors for different charge levels- green means the battery is charged up while it blinks red when the battery is low. I’m not a fan of this whole proprietary chargers wearable manufacturers so love…

So it’s safe to say that a low charge is not going to be your excuse this time.

Connectivity

The Scosche Rhythm 24 is running on Valencell’s Performtek chip. More on this later. One of its new features is NFC-A connectivity. This is not the same as the one for mobile payments. That explains the “A” tag.

This is proposed for commercial use where the device is ultimately expected to pair with all devices and equipment. So you won’t use it.

On the other side, you will use ANT+ and Bluetooth, most likely both. Many wearable techs use ANT+ while most mobile computing devices use Bluetooth.

It goes that the Scosche Rhythm 24 is compatible with iOS, Android, and all watches. It’s also compatible with some of the best exercise bikes for cardio.

Quite the good news for all Garmin watches fans. Since Garmin uses the most common, age-old file format to store, read and transmit data wirelessly, the Scosche Rhythm 24 is now ready to pair with the likes of the Garmin forerunner 935 or 735. Other supported file formats include ANT+ FIT.

From that, you can receive the following categories of signals: ANT+ Heart Rate, ANT+ Cycling Cadence, Bluetooth Smart Heart Rate, Bluetooth Smart Running Speed/Cadence, Bluetooth Smart Cycling Cadence.

The watch has several modes, a huge plus from the Rhythm+ which only had HR tracking.

These include running(Bluetooth Smart Running Speed/Cadence,), swimming( yes..), and cycling(ANT+ Cycling Cadence, Bluetooth Smart Cycling Cadence).

You can now pair to a foot pod and over 200 compatible apps including Zwift. Did we talk about storage? No? Cool, this thing has onboard storage and for good reasons.

For starters, you can save your workouts and sync the metrics later. This opens a world of possibilities not possible before.

Next, the Scosche Rhythm 24 tracks more variables at a much better accuracy level. You can now workout far from your primary device- swimming, wild running, extreme weather…

The watch can beam data from up to a radius of 100ft. This ensures you are not restricted in any way. You can go swimming with it and it’s best to record the readings for later.

Super Accurate

Remember the Valencell sensor mentioned above, it’s from 2018. The previous version of Scosche watches ran on an earlier version of the chip from 2012.

Believe it or not, many users and reviewers alike have echoed the accuracy of the older sensor. This is even better. It’s super accurate, head-to-head with its electrode counterparts.

The accuracy of a heart rate sensor is the most vital of its abilities. The new Valencell Performtek sensor is a state-of-the-art optical transducer that has raised the bar in the biometric sensor modules space.

It collects, processes, encodes, and transmits heart rate and other related data in real-time!

This drastically enhances its reliability, uptime, and accuracy, three of the principal factors in sports tracking technologies.

I’m not sure, but I think this is what you get from the extra $20 you pay from the old model. Plus more. Strap your gear and head out let’s check your heart rate zones.

The Scosche Rhythm 24 can now track your preset heart rate zones. If you don’t quite understand this topic,

I highly recommend that you check out our comprehensive article cardiovascular endurance. It’s your health condition and age that determine your heart rate zones and thus, your target heart rate.

User Interfacing

The LEDs on this device are super useful and smart. Considering this thing has no display, it had to be the only way to help users interact with the device. The following are the various light modes you’ll come across on the watch:

 

Centre LED		Tri-LEDs
Color/ Status	Meaning	Color/ Status	Meaning
Purple	Stand-by: no heart rate detected	Green	Battery level 3 lights- full 2 lights-average  1- low
		Green blink	The battery is too low
Blink Blue	Zone 1
Blink Green	Zone 2
Blink Amber/ yellow	Zone 3
Blink Red	Zone 4
Red Rapid flash	Zone 5

 

The older Rhythm + had only one LED as it only tracked heart rate. Two buttons for everything here- power and mode buttons.

Press and hold the power button to power it on and off. Use the mode button to navigate through the various activities tracked- running, swimming, HRV, etc.

You’ll get the hang of it within a couple of training sessions. I’ll give it to the engineers for simplicity.

Durability

The Scosche Rhythm 24 is made from a similar polycarbonate brick with an excellent paint job and durability. A soft rubbery finish dominates the top and feels premium.

It should survive a few accidental drops. The optical sensor module is back facing and is made of three LEDs- 2 green and 1 yellow.

This allows the monitor to produce accurate results every time regardless of skin color. On your side, simply make sure that you are getting the right fit.

That brings us to the straps. They come in two sizes( medium and large) and three colors( black, grey, and blue). The hook design is now a simple slide-to-lock mechanism. It takes like two seconds to clip in.

This makes it super simple to buy and swap in new straps and for cleaning purposes too. Although the Scosche 24 has IP68 water, dust, and sweat resistance certification.

You can ideally wash it with the straps on but I wouldn’t recommend it. Plus, you don’t want to air dry it under direct sunlight or such.

Pros

• Super accurate
• New strap design
• More status LEDs
• Excellent battery life
• Bluetooth, ANT+ and NFC connectivity

Cons

• Requires a secondary device to get the most out of it

What Amazon Customers Have to Say About the Scosche Rhythm 24

The Scosche Rhythm 24 enjoys a good reception. It’s rated 4/5 out of 5 on average. Here’s what some verified buyers had to say about the product:

One customer said:
Another customer said:
Another customer said:

Scosche Rhythm+ Review

The Scosche Rhythm + is a revolutionary heart rate sensor that seeks to replace chest straps. It promises accurate readings, long service life, and peak performance.

It’s a device from 6 years ago but is still a viable option. Newer heart rate monitors track other metrics as well while the Rhythm+ only tracks heart rate.

Let’s now look at its quirks and features in the subsequent subsections:

Features

1. Usability

The Scosche Rhythm+ premiered as the best-in-class when it was first announced back in January 2014. It was timeless then and it’s timeless now.

The interface was customer-centric. You get all the things you need and they are well-implemented. Bluetooth and ANT+ are the only connectivity options, no NFC.

This allows you to transmit heart rate data to virtually most consumer electronics and fitness equipment. This ensures that you can benefit from any equipment- gyms included.

It’s easy to use and connect. One button navigates everything. Press and hold to turn on and off. The following are the LED colors and their interpretations:

 

LED color	Meaning
Blinks red 3 times	ANT+ connection established
Blinks blue 3 times	BT connection established
Slow purple blink	Tracking mode on

 

2. Stamina

The Scosche Rhythm +, at the time of release, had one of the best battery lives of any heart rate monitor.

It lasts at least 8 hours on a single charge under tracking. It has a standby time of over 200 hours. As expected, a proprietary USB charging cradle is used.

It juices up in 2 hours but you may leave it overnight. This is one productive habit I personally try to adopt to avoid surprises the next day.

The sensor reportedly retains up to 80% percent of battery capacity after 5 years of use. You may also rest on the fact that Scosche gives a lifetime technical support for its products.

Stamina is important to ensure that you don’t miss data in the middle of training. 8 hours enough time to work out for a day or two. Maybe more.

The LED flashes red to indicate low charge and lights steadily when the charger is connected.

3. Mechanical Design

The Scosche Rhythm + boasts durable neoprene straps. It’s available in medium and large sizes. The straps are heavy-duty by the way they look and feel. They are perforated to the back to improve air circulation.

This is useful in reducing sweat and odor build-up. The straps are available in black, blue, grey, green, and pink.

This allows you to at least find a theme that fits your preferences. You may also purchase extra straps for the same reasons.

It uses velcro straps to accommodate almost all user sizes of the forearm. Speaking of which, the Scosche Rhythm + can only work on the forearm. Which is kind of awkward.

It’s easy to wash and may dry fast depending on the weather. The sensor module is relatively small and lightweight. You may not notice you have it on. It’s a simple brick with the aforementioned light and button on the face.

Two green and 1 yellow led are placed on the bottom where they come in close contact with your forearm.

The wavelengths used are cool and hardly noticeable. You should not have any skin irritation whatsoever.

The straps are easy to install and replace without any special tools. Once set up, the monitor works well and even automatically pairs with “known” devices. You shouldn’t worry about accidental drops either as the gadget is rock solid.

The strap’s adjustability and the sensor module’s shape deliver a snuggly fit for accurate readings.

It also affords you the flexibility of moving around as your activities demand at the gym without interfering with the HR monitoring process.

4. Customer Satisfaction

As I said earlier, the Scosche Rhythm + is designed to track heart rate to perfection. This is how you can rely on the optical sensor in place of chest straps.

This is made possible by the use of the high fidelity Performtek sensor from 2012. The company has also integrated with over 200 fitness apps for a fluid experience on any platform.

This allows you to get so much from the monitor. It’s rated IP67 water and sweat resistant. You may use it under all conditions as long as you have the receiving smartwatch or phone.

Meaning you can’t take it swimming. In case anything goes wrong, the company offers a 60-day free return policy.

A 1-year warranty plus lifetime technical support seals the deal. All the while, the tracker promises fast-tracking and transmission speeds.

Remember the dual-colored LEDs on the back that sense your heart rate? You don’t need all of them. They are different wavelengths to ensure that it can work on all skin complexions.

San Francisco’s Derek’s Running Club and San Francisco’s Fat Cake Cycling Club are two institutions that have tried and tested the Scosche Rhythm+.

They seemed to like it a lot as evident on this video below.

Pros

• Lightweight
• Comfortable fit
• Super accurate
• 1-year warranty
• Water and sweat proof

Cons

• Only tracks heart rate

What Amazon Customers Have to Say About the Scosche Rhythm+

So far, I think the Scosche Rhythm + is still a great product. I went on searching for other people’s opinions and they seemed rather positive. Here are a couple of snips of what some verified buyers had to say about the Scosche Rhythm+:

One customer said:
Another customer said:
Another customer said:

Scosche Rhythm 24 vs Scosche Rhythm + Buyers Guide: Things to Consider before Buying a Heart Rate Monitor

The Scosche Rhythm+ and Rhythm 24 heart rate monitors bring a previously “ hospital-exclusive” technology to your arms.

You can use this heartbeat data to make pivotal decisions in your lifestyle and training. That’s why you need a reliable monitor within your budget.

We are here to assist you with the decision-making process. Consider the following factors before investing your hard-earned money in a heart rate tracker:

1. Price

A heart rate monitor needs to be accurate and well-made. Two factors that significantly determine the price of a heart rate sensor.

I recommend purchasing a high-quality piece to be sure of accuracy. Otherwise, you’ll be compromising and misguiding your training efforts by using the wrong HR figures.

It only follows that quality and durability are assured.

2. Type

Heart rate monitors could be of two common types:

a) Chest strap heart rate monitors

These use an electrode sensor to directly pick up heart pulse electronic signals. This is then converted into a heart rate in beats per minute. Since they work directly with the heart pulse Rhythm+, they are considered to be highly accurate.

Professional athletes and people whose bias is towards accuracy are the biggest users of this type of heart rate sensor.

They are less comfortable and may require some getting used to.

b) Armband heart rate monitors

These use an optical sensor. Green or yellow or both LED light is shined into the blood vessels from the point of contact of the tracker to the skin.

That’s why they can be worn on the wrist or forearm. The light is distorted by the changes in properties of blood as it’s pumped by the heart.

Such changes are converted into heart rate in beats per minute. Due to the semi-direct measurement technique, optical heart rate sensors are considered to be a little less accurate.

They are super convenient and comfortable to use though.

3. Comfort and fit

A heart rate monitor should fit snuggly for accurate and consistent heart rate readings. This necessitates that you should find a strap that fits your arms.

Fortunately, most manufacturers do include two differently-sized straps. The straps should be easy to install, clean, adjust, or replace.

The straps should be available in different colors and support total air circulation. This improves hygiene and keeps off sweat odor.

4. Accuracy

As previous;y iterated, a heart rate monitor MUST be correct. This means that you should get a high-quality sensor module. Be sure to do turns of research on the accuracy of the specific heart rate sensor you wish to buy.

5. Connectivity

An ideal heart rate monitor should be capable of Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity. NFC would be a nice extra but not necessary.

These modes of communication allow us to pair with multiple classes of devices from small mobile gadgets via compatible mobile apps to gym equipment and accessories.

6. Durability

A heart rate monitor should be made of high-quality abrasion-free, tough straps. They should retain their color after multiple episodes of cleaning.

Neoprene or canvas appears to be the go-to materials. Water and sweat resistance is an equal necessity if you are to freely enjoy the tracker.

The straps and battery should be easily replaceable to extend the life of the tracker.

7. Battery life

The average length of your workouts should guide you to the ideal battery life to look for. Two options here- coin cell or rechargeable battery. The earlier lasts much longer on a single charge. But, that’s just about what you get.

On the other side, rechargeable batteries last for hours at best but can be juiced up via USB, mostly.

I would recommend anything from 6 hours on a single charge. The coin cell option will require replacement down the line. Typical recharge times average at about 2 hours. This is manageable.

8. Customer Service & Ratings

For purposes of accuracy and reliability, get a monitor that has been tried and tested by other people. These could be technical labs, social clubs, or pro athletes.

Such information is usually available on the vendor website. Likewise, check out the averaging rating on the product.

As obvious, do ask for a free-return policy along with at least a 1-year warranty.

Similarities & Differences

Both devices share the same DNA as is clear with some aspects of both their hardware and software. Let’s examine their relationship…

Similarities

1. Bluetooth, ANT+
2. Rechargeable battery
3. Multiple app compatibility
4. Proprietary charging cradle
5. Water and swear resistance
6. Dual-band wireless transmission

Differences

Aspect	Scosche Rhythm+	Scosche Rhythm 24
NFC	N/A	Present
Battery life	8 hours	24 hours
Number of LEDs	1	4
Cadence	N/A	Tracked
Modes	Heart rate only	Heart rate only, running, cycling. HRV, swimming
Price	$79.95	$99.99
Armband Colors	Black, blue, grey, pink, green	Black, blue, grey

 

Benefits-(Scosche Rhythm 24 vs Scosche Rhythm +)

1. Cardiovascular Health

Both watches are in fact,  read your heart even if from a distance. Simply knowing how many times your heart beats per minute is a deep insight into the current state of the body. What best reflects this than heart rate?

The Scosche heart rate monitors take this ability from a hospital-only service and manage to integrate it into consumer electronics. Efficiently.

This not only allows you to continuously track heart rate but to also record and make sense of the cumulative data. Here, you will get an insight into your health.

Maybe even detect early obesity and hypertension. Factors like age and other natural causes like genetics can be ruled out to help establish a meaningful assessment of our heart health.

The Scosche Rhythm 24 tracks other metrics aside from heart rate like the Scosche Rhythm+. It gives things like cadence which allows us to gauge our performance in different activities.

You can observe how good you get based on the amount of time taken to complete sets. This is directly reflective of your cardiovascular health.

2. Smart Training

The Scosche Rhythm+ and the Rhythm 24 track and transmit real-time heart rate information.

Meaning, the readings may fluctuate with the change in intensity and duration. This data is stored and post-processed by your secondary device into an easy to interpret numerical or infographics.

You can tell how well you faired during each rep, each stride. This way you can perfect your form and intensity. You can further allow compatible apps to make more sense of the data and personalize for the multitude of other activities they also support.

So you can use both the Scosche trackers across many other fitness activities.

The Scosche Rhythm 24 has internal storage which opens the option to save your data for later. Meaning you can take the waterproof monitor to places where you can’t take your phone. Again, one tech for more use scenarios.

3. Simplicity of Use

The Scosche Rhythm+ has a single button while the Scosche Rhythm 24 has only two. This makes them one of the easiest devices to use.

The Scosche Rhythm+ has a single status LED as well. It’ll tell you the battery level and connection status. The slightly complex Scosche Rhythm 24 has 5 LEDs.

Once you understand how it works, which requires repetition, the lights are only an added convenience for all the quest you need to interact with the device.

Battery level, charging, standby, connected, and storage modes are easily displayed by different lights on the Scosche Rhythm24.

4. Planning

Let’s start with the doctor here. You need to check with yours to find out about your health in preparation for a specific workout.

This may mean different target heart rates for different wellness and calorie-burning goals. The ability to monitor if the targets have been met has many benefits.

For one, you may increase the chances of implementing your goals. You can also identify your weak points and improve them.

5. Reliability

You must be able to trust the readings you get from the monitors. The Scosche Rhythm’s Performtek sensor module from 2012 is still competitively accurate to date.

The 2018 iteration of the sensor powers the Scosche Rhythm 24 and it’s even better. It’s super accurate and considerably power efficient.

6. Health Records

You can save the heart rate information on your app from the signal received from the Scosche Rhythm+.

On the other side, the Scosche Rhythm 24 has internal storage to access the readings later. Ever consulted your doctor about an issue and he’s like “I wish I had your records”.

This is the same history that you can use next time you are going for a cardiovascular check-up. It may help your doctor recommend better lifestyle treatments and tips to improve your athletic performance.

Scosche Rhythm 24 vs Scosche Rhythm +: How are they different?

 

Metric	Rhythm+	Rhythm 24
Connectivity	BT, ANT+	BT, ANT+, NFC
Battery life	8 hours	24 hours
Strap	Pull velcro	Clip velcro
No. of LEDs	1	4
No. of buttons	1	2
Price	79.95	99.99
Accuracy	Good	Better

Scosche Rhythm 24 vs Scosche Rhythm +: How are they similar?

At the end of the day, both devices primarily track the heart rate. I wouldn’t say exactly but very similarly.

• Both use Valencell’s 2012 and 2018 Performtek sensors for the Rhythm+ and Rhythm 24 respectively.
• They give almost identical heart rate results and thus, accuracy. To this end, they are considered to be one of the most reliable optical heart rate sensors on the market.
• Both are worn on the forearm
• Both have adjustable, easy to install, dual-sized pairs of straps. They fit snuggly and are well-aerated.
• Both trackers are water and sweat-proof
• Both monitors are dual-band ANT+ and Bluetooth-enabled for limitless data sharing
• They use identical heart rate LED transducers- 2 green and 1 yellow to ensure they work well for people of all colors.

Independent Reviews and Recommendations

You may find the following links to be useful in educating yourself on the lines of heart rate tracking and general cardiovascular health:

1. How to connect the Scosche Rhythm+
2. Scosche Rhythm 24 user manual video
3. Applications of heart rate monitoring
4. Shortcomings of wrist-worn heart rate monitors
5. Sensor-based weightlifting system
6. How to choose and use a heart rate monitor
7. Target heart rate 
8. Target heart rate calculator
9. Exercise and the heart
10. Benefits and effects of exercise

Conclusion

Heart rate monitors afford us a strategic perspective into the functioning of our bodies. This way, we can accelerate our improvement process, which yields cardiovascular endurance and heart rate variability.

The Scosche Rhythm+ is a highly accurate, water-resistant optical heart rate monitor with excellent service life. It’s best for people who only want HR data.

On the other hand, the Scosche Rhythm 24 is an advanced, long-operational, super accurate, modern heart rate sensor that tracks more than just the heart rate.

It has NFC and several supported modes. It’s a durable and timeless piece of fitness accessory. It’s best for tech enthusiasts who want extra data on their health.

I would highly recommend either device, depending on your context.  Thanks for reading to the end. Do check out more articles on tech and fitness on the site. Cheers!

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