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With motion processor in Iphone 6, do I still need a fitbit?

R

redryder

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 7, 2010
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I'm confused. During the presentation they spoke about the phone being able to track altitude and climbing steps. So does that mean I don't need to wear a fitbit anymore to track my steps and runs?

I haven't gotten my iphone 6 yet, but installed IOS8 on the iphone 5. Healtkit doesn't seem to do anything at the moment. Does healthkit automatically track steps or do I need to install another app?
 
It does it automatically. But only the 5S has the M7 (M8 in the 6) coprocessor to do it
 
redryder said:
I'm confused. During the presentation they spoke about the phone being able to track altitude and climbing steps. So does that mean I don't need to wear a fitbit anymore to track my steps and runs?

I haven't gotten my iphone 6 yet, but installed IOS8 on the iphone 5. Healtkit doesn't seem to do anything at the moment. Does healthkit automatically track steps or do I need to install another app?
Click to expand...

Yes, I returned my fitbit because my 5s tracked the steps for me within the Fitbit App itself too and I can compete and everything. It's essentially like having a Fit Bit in your pocket at all times... you couldn't track stairs climbed nor sleep on the iPhone 5s though.

FYI motion track in the iPhone 6 is broken currently. I think they only allowed it on the 5s so that people couldn't use it on their iPads, it will need an update.
 
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between my fitbit and my phone, my phone usually misses 1000-2000 steps every day. whether that be from me walking without my phone or my phone not picking up my steps. Again with floors my phone usually misses half the floors i go up.

So take that how you want, if you want a general idea the phone will be fine, but if you are about accuracy then keep the fitbit.
 
My 6 seems to be really flaky tracking flights. It gave me credit for only 1 when I know I did many more throughout the day. With steps, it reads a bit high compared to my fitbit, but I'm not sure which is the accurate one
 
Keep in mind that the Fitbit can track sleep, which the iPhone doesn't do and it will also stay on you and keep tracking if you set your phone down. If you always keep your phone on you then that may be less of an issue.
 
MrXiro said:
Yes, I returned my fitbit because my 5s tracked the steps for me within the Fitbit App itself too and I can compete and everything. It's essentially like having a Fit Bit in your pocket at all times... you couldn't track stairs climbed nor sleep on the iPhone 5s though.

FYI motion track in the iPhone 6 is broken currently. I think they only allowed it on the 5s so that people couldn't use it on their iPads, it will need an update.
Click to expand...

That's a silly restriction because iPads don't have an M7/M8 chip.
 
Do you need to load specific apps to track fitness? The Healthkit doesn't seem to do anything on its own -- do the apps then load automatically into the Healthkit app?
 
I haven't worn my Fitbit Flex since I got my iPhone 6. Just not necessary. I'm not really into the sleep tracking part of it. I work a very physical job and my phone is in my pocket all day (not bent!) and seems to be getting the same data as my flex was getting.
 
zorinlynx said:
Then it's odd, because Pedometer++ reports no step data for my iPad Air. There should be at least some from walking around with it!
Click to expand...

Did yo enable it? Apple's homepage clearly states M7 on the iPad air.

Edit:
Quote: "iPad Air was designed to be on the move. That’s why the M7 coprocessor makes so much sense."
 
zorinlynx said:
That's a silly restriction because iPads don't have an M7/M8 chip.
Click to expand...

iPad Air and rMini has the M7.
From Apple's iPad Page

M7 motion coprocessor.
iPad mini was designed to be on the move. That’s why the M7 coprocessor makes so much sense. It measures motion from your iPad mini by pulling data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass. So your apps can give you a better experience based on the movement of your iPad mini. It’s a task that would normally fall to the A7 chip. But M7 is more efficient at it, which saves on power.
Click to expand...
 
Looks like the Fitbit app was updated today to fix MobileTrack tracking with the iPhone.

The free Fitbit app as well as the free Withings app do not track flights of stairs. If this is something you need or want, you may be better off with the Fitbit (or Withings) tracker. You could also take a look at the free Jawbone app, which now tracks steps.

I'm currently using a Jawbone UP24 and really like their app integration. I keep the free Fitbit and Withings apps on the phone but don't use either of those trackers anymore.
 
Might be stupid of me, but one of the real motivation aspects of the Fitbit is the social networking feature where you can see how much your friends have walked... being the competitive bastard that I am... I probably end up walking at least an additional 10,000 steps or so a week because of this.

Does health do this now?

I tried different pedometer apps on my iPhone 5 and they were almost uniformly a disaster... either inaccurate, unexpectedly stopped working, or they KILLED my batt life.
 
colorspace said:
I tried different pedometer apps on my iPhone 5 and they were almost uniformly a disaster
Click to expand...

I don't believe the 5 had a seperate motion coprocessor that (a) was designed to measure this stuff unlike the attitude sensor and (b) was designed to work while the rest of the phone was asleep and thereby not killing battery life.

That said... While the M7 or M8 is a neat thing, it doesn't replace a fitbit or fuelband or whatever else for me.

I don't always have my phone in my pocket. Especially when I'm home. Even more so when I'm doing housework, maintenance, or home improvement projects on the weekends. Nor do I like to carry my phone when going for a run. So while the motion coproc is interesting there are a lot of gaps in data collection due to it being inside a device I don't always have on my person.
 
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