What's a Vital Bracelet?
The Vital Bracelet is a new breed of V-pet from Bandai that combines fitness with Digimon. Unlike past V-pets the device wraps around your wrist instead of hanging on a keychain, and by using the built in pulse tracker and pedometer it allows you to train your Digimon and evolve them.
This page was last updated 3/14/2023
Basic History (pre BE)
The first version of the Vital Bracelet was released in May of 2021. Known as the "Vital Bracelet Digital Monster", it came in three versions: White, Black, and Special. It featured the new Digimon Pulsemon as the main mascot and training partner. With other Digimon available on seperately purchaseable DiM Cards. The Special version was only available to purchase when the VB was released, and featured a bright highlighter yellow band and the ability to train Veemon as well.
The Digivice -V- was the second iteration of the vital bracelet. It came out a few months after the first version, and was a tie in with the new anime, Digimon Ghost Game. The Digivice -V- was featured as the new season's digivices and had a navy blue band and a different logo on the top of the device. Instead of Pulsemon it allowed you to train the lead Digidestined's partner, Gammamon. The Digivice -V- 
had a few quality of life improvements that addressed common complaints, such as easing up on DiM DRM and giving users more control over their Digimons' sleep schedules.
The third "version" of the Bracelet was an English translation of the Digivice -V- called the Vital Hero. It came out in July 2022 and came in Red, Blue and Black. Each color version came with it's own starter Digimon: Red had Agumon, Blue had Gabumon and black had Pulsemon. The six Vol Series DiM Cards were also re-released in English to go along with them. While the black and blue versions were easily purchasable online from the start, the red version was initially walmart exclusive and were not released on time and in small quantities. Thanks Walmart! Now you can now purchase them on Amazon if you really want one, but the Vital Bracelet BE is superior to it in almost every way.
To BE or not to BE
The Vital Bracelet BE is the newest version of the Vital Bracelet. It comes in Clear Black and Clear White versions, with special editions available for different franchises. The Digimon version of the BE is called the Digivice VV and comes with a nice dark pink/light red band and the new Gammamon BE Memory DiM. Besides some cosmetic differences it works exactly the same as any other device so you're free to choose whichever one you like best (please Bandai re-release the Tokyo Revengers BE I need that translucent red band...). Every Vital Bracelet BE is also cross series compatible, so you can purchase any BE and use it with every DiM and BE memory available on the market.
There have been several major upgrades to the firmware and hardware, more than I can mention here, so instead I will link to the model differences listed on Humulos' website. The main benefits are more Digimon storage on the device, the afformentioned cross compatiblity, and the ability to freely choose your exercises and do them as much as you want. The BE also has the ability to read SD cards for the first time, which allows the firmware to be updated by downloading it from Bandai's website. This has also opened the doors for modding the BE for even more quality of life changes. (more information about these mods will be posted at a later date)
It is important to note that while the Clear Black and Clear White are the cheapest and most readibly available versions of the BE, they cost less for a reason. They do not come with ANY DiMs or BE Memory cards, so make sure you collect some before you dive in.
What is a DiM Card?
Unlike other types of Digimon Vpets, Vital Bracelets allow you to "load" them with Digimon Identified Memory (DiM) Cards. These little memory cards can plug into the device in order to hatch a new Digimon or transfer a Digimon from the App back to your device. The first version of DiMs contain a Digimon line with up to 17 different Digimon to evolve into, and there were 37 different ones to collect.
On all previous devices, using a DiM card would lock the card to that device. DiMs could only be paired to one Vital Bracelet Digital Monster at a time, and the Hero and Digivice -V- allowed DiMs to be used on three devices.
BE Memory DiMs are the upgraded version of DiMs, and are only compatible with Vital Bracelet BEs. They feature more Digimon per DiM, and Adventure Mode can now be completed by any Digimon, regardless of what BE memory DiM they come from.
There's Also an App...
Bandai's Vital Bracelet BE app sucks. It just does. It's slow, clunky, and when it first came out there was a good chance you could lose your Digimon at no fault of your own. 
The battle system was also overhauled, but battles are slow and you have to find someone online to fight you instead of fighting ghost data. Also BE Memory DiMs have a huge power advantage, so there's no point in trying to fight with any of your old DiM Card Digimon. The main reason to use the app right now is storage. There is supposed to be updates later on that will make the App better, but these will be Digimon exclusive as far as anyone is aware.
The original App used to have weekly ranked battles available, where you would fight ghost data of another person's Digimon in order to score points to rise to the top of the leader boards. There were also raid battles where user's Digimon would come together to take down famous big bads from different seasons of the anime. These are no longer accessible on the app as bandai is putting their resources into the new one. The old app is all but closed officially now.
The Future of Vital Bracelets
The Vital Bracelet Vpet has only been around since 2021, but it seems to be popular enough that Bandai hasn't given up on it yet. It's a neat little device but it's not for everyone. Unlike a traditional V-Pet you do not have the option to feed your Digimon or clean up their poops, they don't die of old age and it's hard to get them sick. The Vital Bracelet isn't that great of a health tracker either. It's easy to scratch and the BE is still only splash resistant.
It may sound like I hate the Vital Bracelet, but I don't. Despite my issues with it I enjoy having a Digimon branded device that gamifies fitness. I like being able to carry a partner around without having to check on it every five minutes to make sure it doesn't die. Wanting to help my Digimon evolve into something cool has gotten me excited to go on walks and appreciate the nature trails near my house. If you're still on the fence on if you'd like to get one of these devices or not I recommened hitting up Youtube and checking the plethora of reviews that offer their own opinions and compare the different versions.
