fitbit or apple watch to track activity
missippibelle
Posts: 153 Member
My trusty fitbit charge HR died a few weeks ago, and I really miss it! My husband is going to replace it for my Christmas gift, and I am really leaning toward the apple watch. Anyone have any thoughts on pros and cons? I know that seeing the steps every day really helped me be more active. I have a desk job, and I need a visual reminder of how much I am sitting on my rear. Some days it has been shocking just how few steps I get at work.
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I went through 3 different FitBits. The first one the band started to come apart so I contacted the company and they sent me a replacement...that one the battery started dying very quickly so they sent me a refurbished one...same thing...I finally decided I was either going to buy a more expensive FitBit model or an AppleWatch since I have an iPhone...I went with the AppleWatch and I love it!! Couldn't be happier with it. I can do so many more things with it than the FitBit. Good luck on your choice.3
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I JUST bought a fitbit, they have a new one out called the Fitbit flex 2 that you can wear as a wristband OR a necklace, which is a huge bonus because I am not always swinging my arms. Sometimes I'm pushing a cart, a stroller, or holding my daughters hand and that entire time my steps aren't counting. I love fitbit because they seem to integrate and play nice with MFP and many other sites/apps, whereas my Samsung Gear S2 ONLY works with their app which is S Health. I can't sync it to MFP at all and I was very disappointed. I also like the weekly report that's emailed to me and the fact that you have a dashboard you can log into, which Samsung doesn't have.
I have zero experience with the Apple watch but I also have no incentive to get one, it doesn't seem to offer anything super special. I would check any apps you want to sync it up with to make sure it's supported before you get it. It's battery life isn't very long at 2 days vs fitbits 5 days which means you'd have to charge it almost every night.
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/feature/wearable-tech/fitbit-trackers-vs-apple-watch-3612954/0 -
I have to charge my Apple Watch every night.
I use it for Apple Pay and even access my Walgreens and other store cards from it and my Starbucks gift card. So I'm not just using it as a fitness tracker.
I've never had a Fitbit so I can't offer any comparison. When I was looking at buying it I was also thinking about Fitbit but decided against it for the usage of the other apps I mentioned. I like the convenience of tech stuff like that.
I also like all the Watch face options.
I currently have it set so that I can see the time, moon phase, sunset time, weather and my activity status all at a glance. What you choose to see at a glance can be customized.
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I've only had my fitbit flex a few months but so far so good with durability. I have to charge it about once a week. It goes into the shower or pool, it has two bands for better sizing...it was exciting when I moved to the smaller band! The 'donkle' is VERY small and easy to misplace and has a stupid name. It's what's used to sync to a pc. I typically sync to my phone and my connection must be perfect. Sometimes I can't sync for days using the phone. I also can't seem to figure out how to make it automatically sync to MFP to count my activity. I believe there are better ones out there, but I can't compare with apple.2
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I think before I really got into my competitions with my friends I would have considered the Apple Watch. Now I don't know!
I don't know how well apple does for the tracking at all.
I did own a jawbone before but it was always catching on things and getting pulled. Which is why I switched to using my fit bit. I liked the dashboard much better with the jawbone. The sleep tracker in my opinion was way better too! I loved the quotes and facts that it spat out.
My Fitbit has its downfalls too! If you are holding things or pushing things like a shopping cart none of those steps register! That's totally frustrating! I've also noticed that it counts arm movements as steps too which is sort of a bummer but I guess that almost makes up for the unregistered steps!
If I could put the two of them together as one I'd probably love it! Lol!0 -
I thought it might be helpful to see the tracking that I find so beneficial.
You can of course get some of this even if you choose Fitbit but I'll start with the activity app that is unique to Apple Watch.
Here is what the main dashboard looks like.
Alternatively, when you slide this different sections over, you get these details
And I love the health app which can get info from all kinds of sources. There's so much that can be tracked on it. They really need to add ketones!
I love how it shows you averages by your selected sort. Like year, month, week or day.
You can see your trends on any info that you're tracking and see where you might want to adjust.
I use a sleep app called Sleep Cycle for sleep tracking. The Watch doesn't have that feature. But, if I were to wear it overnight I would be able to gather heart rate info for that time.
Heart rate data is cool to me for some reason. Lol
And I stopped tracking in MFP at the end of March but it's nice to see your nutrition info graphed like this too. You could even use it to compare to the graph from daily weight tracking to look for obvious trends.
It counts total carbs. You can see I was pretty much carnivore before trying All Animal April. (Avg.10g carbs)
So I guess that's my review of all things Apple health and fitness 4 -
Thanks @Sunny_Bunny_ !
I guess the watch really breaks things down further!!
*Maybe* when my Fitbit makes it to the last notch I may be looking into a change!
I'm also crazy enough to use multiple trackers!! Gotta track my sleep!!2 -
I absolutely love my Apple Watch and Health app -- I have all my health/sleep/meditation programs loading data into it and I can look at trends easily.
Also, now it is possible to share with friends regarding your three rings. It created a healthy competition between my husband and myself while still keeping in mind our own limitations.
I have had a Fitbit and a Jawbone...and hands down the Apple Watch is my favorite.1 -
ProCoffeenator wrote: »Thanks @Sunny_Bunny_ !
I guess the watch really breaks things down further!!
*Maybe* when my Fitbit makes it to the last notch I may be looking into a change!
I'm also crazy enough to use multiple trackers!! Gotta track my sleep!!
I've heard of people wearing a small fitbit like the flex and also wearing another smart watch beside it, so you're not crazy! They are so small that they can sorta blend in as a bracelet. I'll be doing something similar at times I'm sure with my flex 2 and my Samsung Gear S2. My Samsung watch will be mainly used for apps like texting/caller ID/heart rate/blood pressure tracker and of course telling the time and my fitbit will be my step tracker to sync up to MFP.0 -
Great question - I've been looking at buying an activity tracker too.
I haven't worn a wrist watch for over 10 years and I don't particularly like wearing bracelets. Is the Apple watch pretty big?
I like the idea of something smaller, but I also want something to hold me accountable and preferably something that will track more than one activity like walking and biking.0 -
coloradoartstudio wrote: »I haven't worn a wrist watch for over 10 years and I don't particularly like wearing bracelets. Is the Apple watch pretty big?
I've never gotten into the craze enough to purchase a tracker but have found some free apps that serve my purpose which is tracking only when I'm actually engaging in my daily exercise (most often walking).
I've run several apps simultaneously on my cell phone while walking and find Runkeeper and Mapmyfitness to be the most "accurate". Both have a gps and both result the same distance as well as the same pace/mph when used simultaneously. I prefer Runkeeper and just now delactivated the mapmyfitness. It "picks up" bike riding when I'm not on a bike and no matter how many times I have tried to change and save my weight in it, it still shows 194 pounds versus 140.
I have a couple free walkloggers in my phone that show steps. I installed (Walklogger) and the other is LGHealth which came installed with the phone. They're either both wrong or both right because the step count compares 98-99%. Phone is an android.
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coloradoartstudio wrote: »Great question - I've been looking at buying an activity tracker too.
I haven't worn a wrist watch for over 10 years and I don't particularly like wearing bracelets. Is the Apple watch pretty big?
I like the idea of something smaller, but I also want something to hold me accountable and preferably something that will track more than one activity like walking and biking.
I could never wear bracelets either and I hated the idea of wearing a Watch because I'm a rebel and had issues having "time" strapped to me. Lol
I know... kinda crazy.
Anyway, I wanted a tracker pretty badly because I was so bad about exercise and I thought it would help keep me aware of my lack of activity more than anything. I first bought a cheap Jawbone and I made myself get used to it because I really wanted the data.
Months later it started having issues and I decided to go for the Watch and I'm glad I did.
I have a small wrist so it looks kinda big on me. I bought the small one. It's really not that bad though. Penny for scale
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@kpk54 - I currently use Strava for walking and biking but I think it over estimates calories burned for walking. It would like me to run, but I'm not ready for that, lol.
@Sunny_Bunny_ thanks for the photo and penny for scale! I am an apple girl, so it would sync with my other devices which would be good. Do you sleep with it to track zzz? I like the rose gold - really cute!1 -
ProCoffeenator wrote: »I think before I really got into my competitions with my friends I would have considered the Apple Watch. Now I don't know!
I don't know how well apple does for the tracking at all.
I did own a jawbone before but it was always catching on things and getting pulled. Which is why I switched to using my fit bit. I liked the dashboard much better with the jawbone. The sleep tracker in my opinion was way better too! I loved the quotes and facts that it spat out.
My Fitbit has its downfalls too! If you are holding things or pushing things like a shopping cart none of those steps register! That's totally frustrating! I've also noticed that it counts arm movements as steps too which is sort of a bummer but I guess that almost makes up for the unregistered steps!
If I could put the two of them together as one I'd probably love it! Lol!
This is why I got the flex 2 - you can wear it on your bra or as a necklace to count steps. I don't always swing my arms so unless I start wearing watches on my feet there's no other watch that will work for me, lol.
Here's what the Dashboard looks like for fitbit - it's pulled what I've logged in MFP for my lunch/dinner and already entered the calories for me in the fitbit Dashboard so I don't have to go back and forth filling in both apps. When I update my weight lost in MFP it will update that in the fitbit dashboard automatically as well.
At the end of every week you get a nice summary of how well you did:
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coloradoartstudio wrote: »@kpk54 - I currently use Strava for walking and biking but I think it over estimates calories burned for walking. It would like me to run, but I'm not ready for that, lol.
@Sunny_Bunny_ thanks for the photo and penny for scale! I am an apple girl, so it would sync with my other devices which would be good. Do you sleep with it to track zzz? I like the rose gold - really cute!
You're welcome. I asked the same question when I was trying to decide what to buy. It's good to get as much info as possible on such a big purchase.
I use a phone app for sleep tracking. Sleep Cycle.
My watch needs to be charged every day. By the time I'm going to bed, it has only about 25% battery left. Unless I'm missing something, it doesn't track sleep. Unless there's a Watch app you can download or something. I've used Sleep Cycle for years so I've never looked into any other sleep tracker. I've always been happy with it.1 -
I've had 3 Fitbits (and the Aria scale). I also have a Samsung watch that does tracking etc but it is too heavy to wear all day. I just recently got a Samsung Galaxy band, I think I like it best out of all the things - it has a curved glass (plastic?) display on the face, keeps a good charge but it falls off. I bought some fasteners just made for it on Amazon. It is light enough to wear all day without being irritated by it. I like the Fitbits for that but over time I found they kept holding less and less of a charge especially if you kept pushing the button to check the time that seemed to run them down even faster.0
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Wow! Thanks y'all for all the great advice. I am an apple girl too, so that is why I am leaning toward the apple watch. I had no idea it had information that detailed. With the fit bit I will miss the social aspect of it because I have challenges with a lot of my family, and I will miss the vibrating alarm to wake me up. Overall, I think the apple watch is going to win. I also am interested in the guided breathing that it has and the reminders to get up and move more.
After having the fit bit for a year, and now, living without it, I know without a doubt seeing the numbers makes me move more. I miss it so much.
I also am interested in getting text messages while I am working (we have strict rules on phone usage), so the extra apps and functions will be nice I think.
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missippibelle wrote: »Wow! Thanks y'all for all the great advice. I am an apple girl too, so that is why I am leaning toward the apple watch. I had no idea it had information that detailed. With the fit bit I will miss the social aspect of it because I have challenges with a lot of my family, and I will miss the vibrating alarm to wake me up. Overall, I think the apple watch is going to win. I also am interested in the guided breathing that it has and the reminders to get up and move more.
After having the fit bit for a year, and now, living without it, I know without a doubt seeing the numbers makes me move more. I miss it so much.
I also am interested in getting text messages while I am working (we have strict rules on phone usage), so the extra apps and functions will be nice I think.
Apple Watch - I like the Pillow app for tracking sleep and the vibrating alarm. Calm is a great free app for meditation and guided breathing.1 -
missippibelle wrote: »My trusty fitbit charge HR died a few weeks ago, and I really miss it! My husband is going to replace it for my Christmas gift, and I am really leaning toward the apple watch. Anyone have any thoughts on pros and cons? I know that seeing the steps every day really helped me be more active. I have a desk job, and I need a visual reminder of how much I am sitting on my rear. Some days it has been shocking just how few steps I get at work.
I love my Apple watch! It has so many pros, no cons for me. The visual Activity is a real motivator.1 -
I like the Apple watch. I had a fit bit zip for awhile but I never changed the battery out.
The one thing I miss about FitBit is the social aspect. That is the one thing Apple Watch is lacking.0 -
I thought about an apple watch, as I have an iPhone. A couple of people at work have them. But aside from being expensive, they do things that my phone does and that seems overkill to me. They're also bulky and seem more of a novelty that will wear off pretty quick.
I have a fitbit. It's okay, does what it's meant to but it's ugly, and it's not waterproof. It's also uncomfortable when you rotate your wrist as it's so wide and flat. And the rubber sometimes causes a rash.
I recently bought a misfit shine. It's a small, brushed metal disc. It's light and comfortable to wear. It's waterproof. It looks nice. It comes in several colours. It tells the time, it monitors your sleep and activity. If you get the Shine 2 it has vibration alerts, text and call alerts etc. The app is great. If you connect from the misfit app to MFP it works seamlessly (doesn't seem to initially connect the other way). The syncing is spot on. None of the weird discrepancies I used to get with the fitbit app. I've only had it a few days but it's the perfect device - and I've tried a few (I have a fitbit charge HR and a fitbit flex lying in the drawer at home).
Oh ... and you don't need to charge it. It has a battery (like a watch) which lasts 4 to 6 months. A BIG plus for me, I have so many things that need charging it's annoying.0 -
Totally agree with posters above. I've fallen in love with my Apple Watch, it's just the perfect size and fits me unlike other watches I've owned in the past. Apple has released a quality product that is in sync with my use of my IPhone.
Because I'm wearing it, I workout more, stand more
, try for 10,000 steps a day much more often and I also use the "breathe" function which encourages deep, healthy breathing.
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