has anyone else just given up on it? i have worn a series 2 ss apple watch for a year now and yesterday i went out and purchased a fitbit charge 3 and its just more comfortable to wear and the software is much better. it gives me the info i need and it tracks my sleep. i am enjoying it so much more and it was a third of the cost of the apple watch. i own 2 iphones including the xs max that i just got, an ipp 10.5 and a mbp 15 and the airpods. i enjoy my apple gear but for me it just seems the watch isnt apple's best showing.
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Gave up on the watch
- Thread starter Adam Henry
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I also own a MBP, 12.9 IPP, XS Max, iPhone 6s, AirPods, AppleTV and I happen to think the Apple Watch is one of my favorite Apple products, so I guess YMMV.
Good for you. Life is too short to put up with something you aren’t happy with.
I find the Apple Watch to be vastly better than the FitBit, but personal accessory purchases are obviously personal decisions. I'm not sure what you mean by "the software," though, since there probably are apps for "the information [you] need" and multiple options for sleep tracking. Doesn't really matter, though, if you're happy with what you bought.
Hmm.. I wear my Series 0 to track my sleep every night. 
Is Fitbit synced with Health?
Is Fitbit synced with Health?
For someone who enjoys Apple gear, you seem to have a lot of negative posts about Apple...
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While the FitBit's were nice, once Apple announced the Apple Watch I never looked back. But again, different strokes for different folks.
The Charge 3 doesn't have built-in GPS, and that's a dealbreaker for me. Apple Watch does it all including GPS, and that's a dealmaker for me!
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So what you’re really trying to say is, the Apple Watch isn’t for you, and the Apple Watch isn’t meant to be for everyone, which is perfectly fine. You found more value in a fitbit then you did the Apple Watch, but my response would be that I think fitbits are cheap, but they are a decent tracker, but the Apple Watch is an ‘all in one’ multi tool that works for me, but again, as you can see, everybody has differing opinions.
I have worn a Fitbit for 5 1/2 years. Until a month ago my most recent Fitbit was the Versa. Now I wear a Series 4 Apple Watch.
I do understand the attraction of the Fitbit. There are areas where I like the Fitbit better. I feel that the Apple Watch is way offbase with its resting calories. I mean, BMR is surely right, but I think it gives too many calories for what it calls minimal activity. And, active calories are too easy to get. I think the Watch overstates calories by at least a couple of hundred a day. I hope this is alleviated in 5.1.
I also like how sleep tracking is built into the Fitbit. Yes, I use a couple of apps to track sleeping on the Apple Watch but they are not as good in many ways.
A big negative of the apple watch is that you look at stuff on your phone and you can't see things at as detailed a level as a result. You can drill down more into the data in some ways on the Fitbit because I can look at it on my desktop.
And, of course, battery life on the Fitbit is far superior.
That said -- I prefer the Apple Watch. I was working out at the gym today and I only had my watch with me. Being the cellular version I was able to take a call that came in while I left the phone in my car. I listen to podcasts while I work out. I have found that there is a lot I can do on the Watch that make it very useful for me in a way that I can't do those things with my Fitbit.
In a way, if all you want is fitness, then I understand getting a Fitbit. On the other hand, I have found it personally more motivated to close circles on the Watch than I did trying to get X number of steps on the Fitbit.
But, of course, YMMV.
I do understand the attraction of the Fitbit. There are areas where I like the Fitbit better. I feel that the Apple Watch is way offbase with its resting calories. I mean, BMR is surely right, but I think it gives too many calories for what it calls minimal activity. And, active calories are too easy to get. I think the Watch overstates calories by at least a couple of hundred a day. I hope this is alleviated in 5.1.
I also like how sleep tracking is built into the Fitbit. Yes, I use a couple of apps to track sleeping on the Apple Watch but they are not as good in many ways.
A big negative of the apple watch is that you look at stuff on your phone and you can't see things at as detailed a level as a result. You can drill down more into the data in some ways on the Fitbit because I can look at it on my desktop.
And, of course, battery life on the Fitbit is far superior.
That said -- I prefer the Apple Watch. I was working out at the gym today and I only had my watch with me. Being the cellular version I was able to take a call that came in while I left the phone in my car. I listen to podcasts while I work out. I have found that there is a lot I can do on the Watch that make it very useful for me in a way that I can't do those things with my Fitbit.
In a way, if all you want is fitness, then I understand getting a Fitbit. On the other hand, I have found it personally more motivated to close circles on the Watch than I did trying to get X number of steps on the Fitbit.
But, of course, YMMV.
Whatever floats your boat. I went from a fitbit to the original AW in 2015. The Fitbit was fine, but I just wished it did more. I appreciate the extended capabilities of the Apple Watch, but those won't matter to everyone. I'm not sure how you might reached the conclusion that the watch isn't Apple's best showing. It seems like every review of a smartwatch for fitness tracker I have read in the last couple of years has put the Apple Watch at or near the top.
Also, there are many sleep tracking apps for the Apple Watch. I've been using Pillow for years now. I think the thing that drew me to Pillow was that the sleep reports were very similar to what I saw on in the Fitbit app at the time.
Of course the Apple Watch isn't for everyone, and I'm glad Apple has some competition in this area. That's probably the reason the Apple Watch has been steadily improving.
Just an observation regarding calories. BMR is a ballpark calculation that depends on a lot of variables, even muscle mass and stress can affect it. And it gets weird in places people don’t think, for instance, heavy people often burn more calories than lighter people, sometimes by a lot.
I had a Fitbit and the calorie calculations were crazy. I had to set myself as something like 5’ tall, took my weight to the lowest setting and subtracted a bunch of years and it was still overestimating my calories. It should be in the novelty aisle selling for $4.99 given how inaccurate it was for me.
I can’t speak to the AW but I can say that the Fenix is ballpark good enough. I think it overestimates calories but it’s livable. One thing to also keep in mind is that if you do an activity and it calcs at say 300 calories that typically isn’t 300 extra calories, it’s really 200ish because you would have burned 100 calories just living.
Anyways, for me, I know that if I eat under 3000 calories, do some kind of workout 3 or 4 times in a week (I do one serious one on the weekend which burns around 1,000 calories), in a month I’ll be a pound or two less than I was the last month. If I get serious, top out at 2500, plus exercise, I’ll drop an extra pound. I’ve been doing that for several months and to my surprise it keeps working. I always felt like I needed to rush the calories down, no attention span to stay on a diet, but this has worked. The only negative is I eat the same damn food every day but don’t break what isn’t broken.
I had a Fitbit and the calorie calculations were crazy. I had to set myself as something like 5’ tall, took my weight to the lowest setting and subtracted a bunch of years and it was still overestimating my calories. It should be in the novelty aisle selling for $4.99 given how inaccurate it was for me.
I can’t speak to the AW but I can say that the Fenix is ballpark good enough. I think it overestimates calories but it’s livable. One thing to also keep in mind is that if you do an activity and it calcs at say 300 calories that typically isn’t 300 extra calories, it’s really 200ish because you would have burned 100 calories just living.
Anyways, for me, I know that if I eat under 3000 calories, do some kind of workout 3 or 4 times in a week (I do one serious one on the weekend which burns around 1,000 calories), in a month I’ll be a pound or two less than I was the last month. If I get serious, top out at 2500, plus exercise, I’ll drop an extra pound. I’ve been doing that for several months and to my surprise it keeps working. I always felt like I needed to rush the calories down, no attention span to stay on a diet, but this has worked. The only negative is I eat the same damn food every day but don’t break what isn’t broken.
It all depends on how you use it. The activity rings measure only movement, exercise, and standing. There are many apps for counting the number and types of calories consumed, as well as many sleep tracking apps. I have lost weight using both Fitbit and Apple Watch, but only when I’m paying attention to diet, exercise, and sleep. Both wearables are just tools. The work of weight loss is up to the person wearing it.
I will say that I remember Fitbit being more creative with the achievements and encouragement. Apple’s achievement badges are pretty but some might say boring by comparison. As far as gamification goes, I like Apple’s activity rings a lot. They make for a nice visual and closing a ring still feels satisfying even after several years.
In the end the one you enjoy wearing and using is the best one to get. Fitbit offers simplicity, social team stuff, and a wider variety of devices and price points. The Apple Watch does much more, but is also more complex.
As far as the resting calorie burns go, a lot of us have experienced this bug since watch os 5 came. I burn 3000 calories just sitting at home doing absolutely nothing and it’s very noticeable how wrong it is. Hoping 5.1 fixes it later today
I was a long time user of FitBit but devices like the sick and defective Versa broke many from ever buying it again. I do like FitBit's software. They have a horrible hardware QC problem.
For me it is now Apple watch all the way, my new 4's screen is awesome.
i wasnt trying to bash the watch i think apple over thought it and just went too far with it. had they taken the fitbit idea and made a thin band type of device that had a few health functions plus a clock instead of cramming so many features and apps on a shrunken down iphone it would have been better and far more popular product. i like the fitbit for its simplicity and the fact if i lose it or it breaks im only out 150 bucks not 600 for an apple watch. it also to me feels better on my wrist and the fact i can keep it on several days without having to charge it. there are some on here that take any sort of apple criticism as a personal attack. i never got that. apple is a corporation not your sister. i enjoy my windows and i enjoy my apple stuff but will criticize both if warranted.
Your market analysis should take into account the fact that Apple Watch sales have been outpacing Fitbit for several quarters, even before Series 4 came out.
my market analysis is my own opinion. im happy that you are enjoying your watch.
Here is a list of official Fitbit badges https://blog.fitbit.com/fitbit-badges/
I also recall there being some special badges that were funny or related to current events. I remember once being told that I had logged enough miles to have walked from the Shire to Mt. Doom.
Apple's badges are elegant little pieces that look like real enamel. They are beautiful, but some might find them boring compared to the quirky and cartoonish Fitbit badges.
I also remember my Fitbit being a bit more chatty with encouragement... sometimes saying funny and unexpected things on the display.
These are subtle things, but it gave me the impression that Fitbit wanted to give their device a fun and quirky personality. Apple wanted to give their device a more professional feel. Personally I wouldn't choose one or the other based on the achievement badges and words of encouragement, but some people might. Fitbit also has the social network / compete with your friends stuff. Of course there are networks you can join with the Apple Watch as well (like Strava), but it goes to show that the Fitbit's focus is on encouraging you to be more active and fit. The Apple Watch is just as capable when it comes to fitness tracking, but it's trying to appeal to a broader range of use cases. One might buy an Apple Watch with no intention of paying attention to the activity or health features. I'm not sure I would say the same about a Fitbit.
I went through three Versa units, what a joke. If you buy one buy it locally so you. An return or exchange quickly. FitBit’s customer service is understandably overloaded. Even BestBuy said they have had a tremendous number of returned units.
To echo an earlier post, it still sounds like what you are really saying is that the Apple Watch isn't for you. Instead you would prefer to have a simpler device. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the Apple Watch either (which is what your posts seem to suggest). It just wasn't made for you. It was made for people like me: I owned a Fitbit, but wished it did more. The Apple Watch offered more of what I wanted in a smartwatch. I don't mind charging it daily, and I like the larger display size. Based on what I see around me, the Apple Watch has become very popular despite a design approach that you disagree with.