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Fitbit Adds Multi-Device Support and Extensive Bike-Tracking Analytics

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Apr 12, 2001
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Fitbit today announced a two-pronged update to its popular line of fitness trackers, adding support for in-depth bike-tracking on the Fitbit Surge and allowing users to easily switch between multiple Fitbit models with "Multi-Tracker Support."

The company says the added support will grant customers more ease-of-use in switching amongst Fitbit devices throughout the day, or week, allowing them to choose "the right tracker for any occasion." The update lets any one user pair up to six Fitbit trackers - the maximum amount of Fitbit variants on the market - to their Fitbit account.

fitbit-surge.png
After the initial pairing stage, Fitbit will automatically notice when a user switches trackers without needing to enter the Fitbit app. The company notes that as a user transitions amongst trackers throughout the day, for example wearing a "Fitbit One to work, Fitbit Surge for a run, or Tory Burch for Fitbit for a night on the town," the Fitbit app never pauses or hiccups in curating the usual array of steps and calories burnt as a single statistic across every device.

Also announced today is an update specifically to Fitbit Surge, using GPS and "other advanced sensors" to provide a comprehensive overview of various bike riding statistics, including: distance, duration, average speed, heart rate, and calories burned. Already the beefiest Fitbit, with a 7-day battery life and on-board GPS tracking sensors, the company hopes to broaden its fitness-friendly device with the new cycling-specific features.
"Our users are passionate about fitness and have consistently requested a way to track their outdoor cycling activity. We are delivering this feature on Fitbit Surge for active consumers looking to track and better understand performance during rides, in addition to their other workouts," said Tim Roberts, VP of Interactive, Fitbit. "Our goal is to provide users with the tools it takes to track their exercise and reward them for doing the activities they love to do most - like biking and running."
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Fitbit noted that while the Multi-Tracker Support is slated to hit later this week, the bike-tracking features won't roll out in North America until sometime in April, "with global availability coming soon." The nebulous April launch window for the cycling-focused update sees the company beefing up the features of the Fitbit Surge, the tracker most in direct competition with the Apple Watch, which at $249 is still $100 cheaper than the 38mm Apple Watch Sport.

Article Link: Fitbit Adds Multi-Device Support and Extensive Bike-Tracking Analytics
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/23/fitbit-adds-multi-device-support/
I've been waiting for a device specifically for biking. Clunky bike computers suck and I don't want to carry my iPhone, as I've dropped it. I'll look more into this.
 
kcirtap00 said:
I find the Health app clunky and unusable. The Fitbit app is much better in terms of UI I think.
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I am curious whether and when FitBit will create a Watch 'app'. People are unlikely to wear a FitBit Surge and an Apple Watch but an Apple Watch and a Fitbit One or Zip is certainly imaginable. I am curious whether third-party apps will be able to access the heart rate data generated by the Apple Watch. Supposedly the Health app is an aggregator that can take in data from different apps but also can provide those data to other apps.
 
x13gamer said:
That's going to be the Apple Watch 2. Apple's media event for 2016 announcing the new watch will have the tag line "It's better this time"

Or "Last time we should of had these features"
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One can only hope. The issue is at what point can a wearable be independent of an iPhone, yet still connect with said device for up to date information and notifications, all the while not putting much of a dent on battery life. The next step isn't so much about adding more features as it is about advancing battery technology.
 
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furi0usbee said:
I've been waiting for a device specifically for biking. Clunky bike computers suck and I don't want to carry my iPhone, as I've dropped it. I'll look more into this.
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How about Garmin Edge 500?
Nothing worn on a wrist is biking friendly.
In addition, there are cases with strings that you can tie to your jersey for smartphones.
 
Had Apple said anything about pairing multiple Apple Watches to a single iPhone? I'd like to get a sport for exercise, stainless for work and social. Stainless will probably wait for version 2.
 
Without any type of ANT support I can't take this seriously to analyse bike usage.

GPS to gather speed data is unreliable depending on the environment - i.e., heavily wooded areas, or large built up areas - with tall buildings. When your stopped, the GPS will still record that you are moving even if 0.5 km/h, which will screw up the overall speeds.

The heart rate monitor on this device isn't actually great either.

I'd rather use dedicated speed / cadence devices that fit on to the bike. Much more reliable.
 
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harley3k said:
Take note, Apple... GPS!
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Take note Fitbit, support for unlimited 3rd party apps, two-way texting, full array of notifications, voice notes, a color screen, and a style that works at work and play. All for just $100 more than your Surge.

Honestly, the Surge is rather absurd at its price. If one wants a true running, or cycling, or hiking, or multi-spot watch one should just buy one of those. The Surge is truly a Jack-of-all-Trades, Master-of-None. For the money there are better options.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
Take note Fitbit, support for unlimited 3rd party apps, two-way texting, full array of notifications, voice notes, a color screen, and a style that works at work and play. All for just $100 more than your Surge.

Honestly, the Surge is rather absurd at its price. If one wants a true running, or cycling, or hiking, or multi-spot watch one should just buy one of those. The Surge is truly a Jack-of-all-Trades, Master-of-None. For the money there are better options.
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Replacing 'surge' with 'apple watch' yields the same result ;-)
 
I prefer my Garmin Vivosmart. Works with all ANT devices (including cadence meters for my bike, and my Heart Rate Monitor strap). Not to mention it also does all iOS notifications (not just text and calls). It gets several days worth of us before it needs a charge (I usually charge it after 3-4 days, but even when I get a low battery warning it still goes the rest of the day).

The only thing it lacks is GPS, but I'm okay with that. I still have my Garmin 405 watch if I really need it.
 
I had two Fitbit devices, Flex and One. Both are backed by a great support and I loved the battery life.

Having said that, data accuracy was questionable at best and the devices themselves are not high quality. Flex's band is easily torn (I had replaced it 3 times), easily scratched, and not very comfortable to wear One's belt clip was poor and often came off, and very easy to lose as a result. And recharging requires taking One and Flex from the clip and/or wrist band, which doesn't feel very natural and eventually cause wear and tear.

And tap gesture on Flex didn't work very well and the button on One wasn't very well designed.

Perhaps Surge is better designed, but I have lost my faith in Fitbit's ability to produce high quality hardware after these mishaps.
 
I think that fitbit is trying really hard to get as many items out there and sold before the Apple watch hits the streets next month. This is smart, even if it is temporary. The real competition begins April 10.

Still, an important distinction is that they seem to be headed in different directions. Fitbit (realizing the competition) seems to be focusing on areas that Apple is not going after. And again that seems smart and maybe even long term smart.

For me, as someone who does not wear anything on the wrist right now, if i were to buy something the looks will be important. And that makes me lean towards the Apple watch. For others, especially if they are focused on specific trackers like bikes, may the Fitbit is the way to go.
 
MacrumoursUser said:
No Health app support no sale.
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No Healthkit support is actually a good thing at this point. There is really nothing beneficial about a device supporting Healthkit. I think when Healthkit was first announced, we had high hopes. But Apple has yet to provide a compelling reason to use it.
 
nutmac said:
I had two Fitbit devices, Flex and One. Both are backed by a great support and I loved the battery life.

Having said that, data accuracy was questionable at best and the devices themselves are not high quality. One's belt clip was poor and often came off, and very easy to lose as a result. And recharging requires taking One and Flex from the clip and/or wrist band, which doesn't feel very natural and eventually cause wear and tear.

The button on One wasn't very well designed.

Perhaps Surge is better designed, but I have lost my faith in Fitbit's ability to produce high quality hardware after these mishaps.
Click to expand...
I've lost my FitBit One five times so far. Three times of these I found it again (or it was found by somebody else), though on one occasion this involved a half an hour search in deep snow (the snow allowed me to exactly backtrack my steps but I walked past it twice and found it eventually by establishing the Bluetooth sync radius and scrutinising the centre of that).

But that still meant that I had to replace my FitBit One twice. It never fell out of its clip, I always lost the whole package. But I know found a placement where I have lost it only once in the last five month (and found it again), whereas at the beginning I was loosing it about once a month.

Otherwise I cannot complain, the button requires some force to press down fully but that is a minor detail. I also find it quite accurate in terms of reproducibility of step count and altitude and the latter also matches quite well with other altimeters. My biggest nitpick is that synching with the phone sometimes fails to the point that I have to restart my phone to get it working again. But that only happened under iOS8, so maybe its iOS that is to blame for that.
 
As an owner of a Fitbit Surge since it's early launch last year, I've been mostly satisfied with it. Contrary to what others say, the heartrate monitor has been reliable, even during exercise. The only issue I have is that I have to press two buttons to reach notifications, when it should have been accessable from the watch face.

Despite my experience, I'm getting an Apple Watch next month and handing the Surge down to a family member. I will definitely miss the sleep tracking though.
 
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