Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Review: Fitbit Ionic is a Decent Fitness Smartwatch Spoiled By Lingering Bugs
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I gave up on sh*tbit products when they started adding 2k+ steps and 10+ flights of stairs climbed on every drive to work, with no real fix.
I complained and they said:
Someone on their forums suggested an option to turn off or disable motion using the button (a three click or something). Nope! They never bothered to fix the problem. Most folks I know with sh*tbit products still deal with this.
Overall bad products IMO. Apple Watch is far more accurate with steps and HR. I’ve literally declined to accept a free sh*tbit Blaze. Junk!
I complained and they said:
- plug in the device while you drive (didn’t help, still counted steps)
- manually add in every drive you take to correct info (didn’t fix steps & flights, and took forever)
- Download this 3rd party app - only available on android App Store (no comment there....)
Someone on their forums suggested an option to turn off or disable motion using the button (a three click or something). Nope! They never bothered to fix the problem. Most folks I know with sh*tbit products still deal with this.
Overall bad products IMO. Apple Watch is far more accurate with steps and HR. I’ve literally declined to accept a free sh*tbit Blaze. Junk!
What I read in your reply:
(see attached)
Also: "I, like many others, abandoned your feeble offerings when the Apple Watch became of age." Nice of you not to bail on Apple Watch after there first attempt was half-baked (I'd dare to guess you probably didn't even own the AW 1 & jumped on the AW 2 bandwagon), yet won't extend such patience on anything not-Apple.
[doublepost=1507595484][/doublepost]
Exhibit: A (red iPhone X)
Exhibit: B (Google iMacs in multi-colour translucent plastic shells; George Lopez Show had one in its kitchen each season)
Attachments
Last edited:
Went through 3 Charge HRs within a year and just after the year was over, the 4th one conked out as well. Nope. Fitbit is done for me. To their credit though, getting the replacements were a breeze. But these things are just damn unreliable.
LOL i don’t work for FitBit. Sorry i don’t like your watch Lol downsizing is whats going on below your waist. 
What's it like working at FitBit? Glad to see you survived the downsizing
You seem to rather disparage against the Apple Watch versus actually make valid points about it's functionality and capabilities. You're tired of seeing the Apple Watch everywhere? What would you expect, it's clearly growing and is a popular product because others are trusting it with fitness and communication.
Aesthetically, I wasn't talking about improvements with the Apple Watch, I'm simply talking about the materials that are used that are much more premium over the Fitbit. For example, The stainless model using a sapphire displaying and 316 L stainless, is much more premium over the Fitbit. There's no match there in terms of comparison of build quality. The red dot on the digital crown has nothing to do with what I was referring to, even if some don't prefer it or not.
There's nothing wrong with you having a preference to the Fitit design. But the Series 3 can do much more than "just make a phone call." You're not taking consideration all the other improvements made since the first generation Apple Watch as well. The smart watch category is Not expected for major improvements every iteration, its incremental . LTE is a standalone feature that gives the Apple Watch a separation from the iPhone. But just because you don't agree with it, doesn't mean that it's something that's laughable, when Apple is obviously leading the smart watch sector.
Last edited:
You’ve lost me. Give me a clue to what your ‘evidence’ was supposed to back up.
Also: "I, like many others, abandoned your feeble offerings when the Apple Watch became of age." Nice of you not to bail on Apple Watch after there first attemptwas half-baked (I'd dare to guess you probably didn't even own the AW 1 & jumped on the AW 2 bandwagon), yet won't extend such patience on anything not-Apple.
You’re totally off the mark. I’ve owned every version of the Apple Watch since release, up to my newest Series 3 LTE. Yeah, the original wasn’t amazing, but like the rest of the owners, we stuck with it knowing that through software updates it would improve. You say it was half baked? I kind of agree, but even that half baked original Apple Watch is better than this Fitbit piece of crap.
‘Jumping on the Series 2 Bandwagon’. You sound ridiculous. And, since when was buying jumping on the bandwagon? GET OVER YOURSELF!
Last edited:
Man this thing is ugly. No care or attention to the design which for a product people wear, is even more unforgivable. Look at the back where th sensors are located! It’s hideous. The Apple Watch sensor housing, particularly the ceramic back, looks nicer than the front of thus Fitbit monstrosity.
WatchOS1 was awful. same for OS2. I have a Series 0 on WatchOS4 and it's pretty decent. Mine doesn't loose bluetooth connection and the screens ok because I am haven't dropped it.
[doublepost=1507631796][/doublepost]
I had a Fitit Blaze and it was pretty decent.
Apart from HR and battery life, everything else is far superior on the AW.
Wow... tough crowd.
On the comment about the original AW, it was the first version of WatchOS that was slow, not the watch itself. I still have an AW Series 0 and wore it daily until a week ago when I moved to a Note 8, so can no longer use it. Sounds like the guy that posted it broke his before he had a chance to upgrade WatchOS.
With all the comments on here, you'd think Fitbit was a failing entity. I believe they are still the market share leader for wearables... could be wrong. Most of their customers traditionally were not the people buying AWs. Apple isn't going to go down to their average Fitbit price point with AW, but I'm sure they still see it as a threat. The watch is a market expansion for them. For someone who has a Fitbit, uses the Fitbit software, and wants a product with a little more capability, then this is who they are probably going to sell to.
My daughter has one ordered, which was some deal through work that I don't think cost her anything. She is an exercise physiologist, so spends a lot of time in a gym on a daily basis. My guess is that here primary use for it will be fitbit type things, but would also want to play music. Sounds like that is a bit of a nightmare to get setup, and as she is currently on an Apple Music subscription, I don't think she'd even be able to download her music to this one. I don't want to discourage her from trying it based on one review, but she might be better off to just resell it and use the money to get an Apple Watch, if that is an option. She has an iPhone 8, so that would probably be a better deal. But, she uses the Fitbit software and would lose that without Fitbit hardware.
Aesthetically, even though I wore the AW for 2 years everyday, I think the AW is so ugly that its cool... but just because its an Apple thing. I was hoping they would have done some visual change to it by now, but several iterations in and its still the same.
On the comment about the original AW, it was the first version of WatchOS that was slow, not the watch itself. I still have an AW Series 0 and wore it daily until a week ago when I moved to a Note 8, so can no longer use it. Sounds like the guy that posted it broke his before he had a chance to upgrade WatchOS.
With all the comments on here, you'd think Fitbit was a failing entity. I believe they are still the market share leader for wearables... could be wrong. Most of their customers traditionally were not the people buying AWs. Apple isn't going to go down to their average Fitbit price point with AW, but I'm sure they still see it as a threat. The watch is a market expansion for them. For someone who has a Fitbit, uses the Fitbit software, and wants a product with a little more capability, then this is who they are probably going to sell to.
My daughter has one ordered, which was some deal through work that I don't think cost her anything. She is an exercise physiologist, so spends a lot of time in a gym on a daily basis. My guess is that here primary use for it will be fitbit type things, but would also want to play music. Sounds like that is a bit of a nightmare to get setup, and as she is currently on an Apple Music subscription, I don't think she'd even be able to download her music to this one. I don't want to discourage her from trying it based on one review, but she might be better off to just resell it and use the money to get an Apple Watch, if that is an option. She has an iPhone 8, so that would probably be a better deal. But, she uses the Fitbit software and would lose that without Fitbit hardware.
Aesthetically, even though I wore the AW for 2 years everyday, I think the AW is so ugly that its cool... but just because its an Apple thing. I was hoping they would have done some visual change to it by now, but several iterations in and its still the same.
As far as I am aware its:
No1: Xiaomi
No2: Fitbit
No3: Apple Watch
I even bought a Xiaomi miband. It's £7. 30 day battery life, a vibration that's silent and actually wakes you up. Sleep tracking. Also, sync'd offline, unlike Fitbit.
An AW for day and Miband at night seems to be the best combo. Oh, and it syncs with the health app.
Mad Mac Maniac
macrumors 601
I love my Apple Watch but there are a few things I’d love for Apple to copy from FitBit
1) 4+ day battery life. I know the series 3 supposedly improved this some but from what I’ve been hearing the battery life on this thing is still more than double Apple Watch series 3
2) Continuous HR tracking. Fitbit has been doing this for a while, as opposed to Apple Watch checking your HR every 5-10 minutes. Continuously tracking would be quite welcomed for me
3) Auto Start workout. There’s no reason Apple Watch shouldn’t be able to figure this thing out. For me personally 9/10 I’d probably manually start one anyway, but it would be nice to have the option to not do so. And maybe eventually I’d manually start them less and less. It’d be especially great if you could retroactively edit this later (to add workout type, or more precise start/stop times, etc)
4) The Fitbit app. This is a really comprehensive app way ahead of Apples, with things like auto sleep detection/analysis.
1) 4+ day battery life. I know the series 3 supposedly improved this some but from what I’ve been hearing the battery life on this thing is still more than double Apple Watch series 3
2) Continuous HR tracking. Fitbit has been doing this for a while, as opposed to Apple Watch checking your HR every 5-10 minutes. Continuously tracking would be quite welcomed for me
3) Auto Start workout. There’s no reason Apple Watch shouldn’t be able to figure this thing out. For me personally 9/10 I’d probably manually start one anyway, but it would be nice to have the option to not do so. And maybe eventually I’d manually start them less and less. It’d be especially great if you could retroactively edit this later (to add workout type, or more precise start/stop times, etc)
4) The Fitbit app. This is a really comprehensive app way ahead of Apples, with things like auto sleep detection/analysis.
Agreed!
1. Battery life is typically 2 days across all the apple watches (I have a Series 0 and it's two days).
2. I miss this from the Fitbit. Much more accurate than the AW.
3. I believe the AW does this. When I cycle it detects I cycle and stops taking my HR rate (since WatchOS4). Automatic activity detection would be great! It's powerful enough to do this.
4. Sleep tracking is missing from the AW. The Watch app is starting to evolve. Any workouts now show a map of the HR rates (since iOS11). So, it's getting better!
Mad Mac Maniac
macrumors 601
Wait Apple Watch does what? It doesn’t do auto start a workout for you. Are you saying that when you’re biking it simply doesn’t record HR (thus incorrectly showing a 120 BMP while “resting”). Because I think this “feature” has been around a while. What I think is happening is the subtle (yet constant) movement/vibration of the Apple Watch prevents it from taking a HR, because it could result in a high error rate. I’ve noticed this sometimes while driving when my car is bumpy.
Yes, with WatchOS3. I would cycle to work from 8am till 8.30am and without doing anything it would record my HR rate. Which is normal. Same for when sitting, walking, etc.
But, with WatchOS4, if I walk or run, my HR rate is recorded (without starting the activity app) but the moment I cycle, my HR rate is blank between those times. Happened only since WatchOS4, so it must be detecting I am cycling and stops recorded the HR. As soon as I stop cycling, walk or sit down, my HR is recorded again.
Mad Mac Maniac
macrumors 601
Gotcha. Something similar was happening for me with WatchOS 3 (when holding the steering wheel in my car), but they must have tweaked the algorithm/sensitivity. As I meantioned earlier I (unfortunately) don’t think this is an intentional “avoid taking HR when cycling” thing, because then why wouldn’t they do the same when running? I think it’s just noticing abnormalities (such as vibrating and tense wrist muscle from grasping the bars) and is thus unable to calculate an accurate HR, so it just doesn’t calculate one. And remember the Apple Watch uses a different HR sensor type for “at rest” and “during exercise”.
Never go to an Apple fanboy page if you want objective comments about a non-Apple device. They'll say Apple products cure cancer and were made by Jesus. I own an Ionic and it is NOT ugly. Not one person who saw it thought it was either. I charge it once a week. The only issue I have with it is the music problem mentioned in the review. It syncs with everything I need, since I'm not an Apple fanboy who refuses to buy anything non-Apple. I was the first person I knew with an iPhone, when you had to have AT&T to have one and they didn't do phone leases. I hated the thing enough to never go back. The iPhone X is the first Apple phone I've considered since, but only because it doesn't look like an Apple product.
I had various Fitbit and all I wanted was a colour surge!
I found one! 45 day+ battery life, always on screen, notifications, HR, GPS, Barometer!
https://www.gearbest.com/smart-watches/pp_962578.html?lkid=12833170