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I bought a Fitbit Ionic

F

Ffosse

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 5, 2012
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Long story. I went into our local Argos intending to buy this Pro Trek watch (it was £200 at the time but has now gone back up to £300. Well, I paid, and needed some links taken out. The shop were happy to do this but were dumfounded when the strap started to collapse as soon as they tried to take a link out - very poor quality control from Casio - it appears they used a really cheap strap although made of titanium.

As I'd already paid the £200, they offered me £20 off any similarly priced watch or a complete refund. There weren't too many on offer that I fancied - and none with the features of the Pro trek.

Then I spotted the Ionic: Now I have an Apple Watch already and knew this wasn't going to be as good but it looked cool and I was accustomed to Fitbit's way of doing things - I thought a simple tracker with some nice watch faces would be a decent investment (while keeping my Apple Watch) so I ended up paying £218 I think it worked out as.

The iOs app is simple and it does a good job of tracking sleep (much better than the AW), but it is of course not as versatile or good as an AW - still, I'm pleased with the new shiny and adding it to my collection. I like the 4 or 5 day battery life too and especially the blue and burnt orange colour. Pity one can install only one face at a time, but I've been having fun with mine - it handles basic notifications, too, of course, texts, weather and a few apps.

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I really like it - it's a simple device but looks great - it lacks the reach and granular control of an AW but makes for a big change, I find.

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I believe it's better as a tracking fitness device because of the years Fitbit have been making trackers; it still can't do much of what an AW can do, though, but I love its looks.
 
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Ffosse said:
I believe it's better as a tracking fitness device because of the years Fitbit have been making trackers; it still can't do much of what an AW can do, though, but I love its looks.
Click to expand...

When it comes to fitness the FitBit and it's app does more. I used FitBit for several years but now a Garmin person for fitness and still wear my AW during the work week.
 
Earlier this year I decided to retire my Fitbit blaze and had my choices down to AW3 or the ionic. I went with the AW3 as I am pretty invested into Apple and also wanted to try something different. As others have said there are drawbacks and advantages to both. There were features that I really liked from Fitbit but gained some new ones with the AW.
 
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It's a pretty good display up close it gets insanely bright - the photos don't do it justice although I agree the AW's OLED is better.

Edit: I mean the Ionic
 
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ZornGottes said:
"I really like it - it's a simple device but looks great"

...and that's where I lost you.
It's hideous, bro.
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In the flesh it's quite nice - I made it clear that it's not as good as an Apple Watch but it does do fitness and sleep tracking better, and has a 4 day battery life (tested and it's true) something which, as a cancer sufferer, makes me happy.
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Newtons Apple said:
It is a cheaper device with no GPS. It should sell well.
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It has GPS on board. The only issue I'm having is putting music on it, which seems needlessly arcane, but I have 200 songs on my AW so may just do with that.
 
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Ffosse said:
In the flesh it's quite nice - I made it clear that it's not as good as an Apple Watch but it does do fitness and sleep tracking better, something which, as a cancer sufferer, makes me happy.
[doublepost=1519927145][/doublepost]
It has GPS on board. The only issue I'm having is putting music on it, which seems needlessly arcane, but I have 200 songs on my AW so may just do with that.
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I was referring to the unreleased FitBit device. https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...bits-upcoming-mass-appeal-smartwatch.2108004

It will cost less and not have GPS.

Enjoy!
 
My bad, thank you. The unreleased one looks a bit bland.
 
Mansu944 said:
Ewww. Very feminine looking.
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If you read the attached article, Fitbit even is allegedly claiming to have this new smart watch reach out more to the female demographic.

“The actual name of the new smartwatch remains unclear, but Fitbit is said to want to appeal more to the female market, which is one reason why this device will be smaller than the Ionic and closer to the dimensions of the original Blaze.”
 
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I was right with Fitbit until they totally opted out of supporting Healthkit and I switched to Withings devices until the S0 Apple Watch came out.

Have they changed their stance on HealthKit now?
 
A rather nifty graphic is one of the watchfaces, the heart pulses visibly, very futuristic looking although I'm sure some would say tacky:


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I haven't had the opportunity of really testing out the Ionic yet as I've been ill.
 
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Ffosse said:
A rather nifty graphic is one of the watchfaces, the heart pulses visibly, very futuristic looking although I'm sure some would say tacky:


IMG_1999.jpg


I haven't had the opportunity of really testing out the Ionic yet as I've been ill.
Click to expand...

That display is actually interesting and I like the graphic that it displays with the different information. The only thing I don’t like, is that design of that specific watch.
 
I quite like the retro look of the Ionic but it’d never be an every day look for me whereas the Apple Watch is (with different straps for different looks).

I like the social side of Fitbit and will stay with the challenges as long as I have a working Fitbit One. If Fitbit would integrate with Apple Health I’d happily pay for Premium membership but I’m not buying another device from them. The One is accurate and reliable (but easily lost, although they often turn up eventually so I have three, I think) but the wrist-based ones I’ve had (three Chareges and a Charge HR; one bought the rest warranty replacements) have been dreadful: they’re not accurate (wildly overcounting some days, not counting at all other days; one in particular reckoned I couldn’t both walk and wear my winter coat) and fall apart quickly (hence those warranty replacements). And customer service is horrible: yes, you get the replacement you’re entitled to but there are usually a few really rude emails to get past first. I remain really cross with myself for not returning the original broken tracker to John Lewis.

Also, for me, Fitbit sleep tracking isn’t great. The Charges and Charge HR typically think I get about two hours sleep a night. SleepWatch and AutoSleep both seem to give a more believable figure with a better picture of how I’m doing. Things may well have improved with more recent Fitbits though. I do miss my Fitbit Aria scales though: they might have given wildly fluctuating readings that meant an average of a dozen or so readings was needed but I’m a good few kilos heavier on the Withings ones. Obviously, I know the Withings ones are more accurate as well as more consistent but I liked the Fitbit numbers better!
[doublepost=1519992984][/doublepost]Also, while battery life is longer than for the Apple Watch it’s also more variable: sometimes two days, sometimes four or maybe even five days, which mean that while my Apple Watch has never run out on me, my Fitbits have.
 
I believe they've improved sleep tracking on the Ionic - it certainly looks about right.
 
Ffosse said:
A rather nifty graphic is one of the watchfaces, the heart pulses visibly, very futuristic looking although I'm sure some would say tacky:


IMG_1999.jpg


I haven't had the opportunity of really testing out the Ionic yet as I've been ill.
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Woooah, that's like Ironman... I want one!!!
 
Here's a pic with the colours more true to life:


IMG_2007.jpg
 
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