Apple Watch series 4?

emilysusana

While everyone is asking about fitness devices, I’ll add to the mix.

I’m turning 40 this summer and am thinking about getting myself one for my birthday! I run, walk, and lift weights. I swim sometimes and might train for a triathlon on the next year or so.

Currently I have an old Fitbit flex2. I’ve enjoyed not having to track my walks or runs manually. I’ve never had a device with. HRM before. I’m currently losing weight (by my b-day this summer I’ll probably still have 10-15 lbs to go), and then I am going to stay fit and active and maintain!

AW series 4: Who has one? Do you like it or not? Why?/why not?

shadow2soul

I have one and so far I love it.
I actually got it because of all the problems I had with my Fitbit Ionic (out of all the Fitbit’s I’ve owned this one has been the worst) and the fact that Fitbit CS wouldn’t do anything about the issues I was having. One of the issues with my Ionic was fixed with a Firmware update 11 months after I bought it. Then I had a syncing issue that took 3 factory resets (not the soft reset that you usually see suggested) to fix and it even got stuck during the first factory reset, but since it did eventually start syncing Fitbit isn’t going to do anything. To me, having to do 3 factory resets in a row says there is a problem with it. The smart watch features don’t even work all the time.

It does everything my Fitbit did and more. That said I would expect you will see a slightly higher calorie burn with Apple, because it will have the HRM where your Fitbit does not. For me the calorie burn is very similar between the 2, but my last couple Fitbit’s all had HRM and the ones that didn’t would underestimate my calorie expenditure. You will likely see less calories on MyFitnessPal though, because the way the two apps communicate is just strange. I am actually logging in a different app because the issue here would have me undereating by a lot. Other apps that sync with Apple Watch don’t have this problem.

The one thing I do miss is the challenges and community Fitbit has. I have thought about buying a new charger for my old Fitbit Flex and using that just to compete in challenges on Fitbit. They are only about $6, so it wouldn’t be a huge investment. I just wonder how it would look on my wrist next to the Apple Watch.

Duck_Puddle

I have one. It’s a phenomenal smart watch and an OK fitness device. It tracks the same stuff as Fitbit and seems to do just as well with it.

My caution is that if you’re looking to train for a triathlon (or any running/biking/etc endurance type event), the training metrics on the AW are extremely limited and the battery life may be inadequate.

If smartwatch features are your priority, then the AW is a phenomenal choice.

If fitness features (or battery life) are your priority, then I would suggest looking at Garmin.

For the battery life comparisons-I ran a 4 hour race. My AW was pretty much straight off the charger to start and was at 27% at the finish and needed to be on the charger again within an hour (then regular charging on top of that).

I went on vacation with my Garmin. Charged it while I was in the shower in the AM. Went on 2 separate 4-6 hour hikes in the same day, putz around for the rest of the day, drove across the state, went to bed-my Garmin was at 32% when I put it on the charger when I took a shower the next day. And I have minute by minute comparisons of pace, elevation, HR, temperature, etc-and some really cool satellite maps.

However, AW wins the smartwatch battle in a massive landslide.

Azdak

It’s a great watch. It is an average fitness tracker (at best).

emilysusana

Hmm... maybe I just need a good fitness tracker and not a great smart watch. I’ve lived without a smart watch so far and am not entirely sure what I need one for...

Thanks for all the details everyone!