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Apple Watch series 2 or Fitbit ?

alisonkuan
alisonkuan Posts: 20 Member
in Debate Club
Which one better consider all factors except cost ? For tracking running and swimming.
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Replies

  • Tabbycat00
    Tabbycat00 Posts: 146 Member
    I've had (have) both and I've found the Apple Watch gave me a more realistic calorie burn. I know this because I've maintained my weight for a long time and eaten the same number of calories long before getting either device.
  • AdamAthletic
    AdamAthletic Posts: 2,985 Member
    I consider myself a huge apple fan, almost every product I have is apple - MacBook, iPhones, etc.
    I also for a short period of time owned the Apple Watch.

    I hated it.

    I now happily own a selection of HRM / trackers and my trusty Fitbit Surge - it never lets me down. I love it!

    Everybody is different though and I think that I just prefer the way that the Fitbit gives me the stats.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    you could always look into garmin too, they have some nice triathlete watches, but that level of watch is a pretty penny. IMO garmin is better than fitbit if you are training. If its just casual working out then fitbit may be your better fit.

    I don't know much about apple wearables
  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,868 Member
    I have a Fitbit Blaze watch. I love it for walking and counting steps, telling time and letting me see texts, but it's horrible at tracking my HR when I bike. Maybe one day out of 5 it reads my heart rate for my full 34 min ride. Sometimes it doesn't read accurately for 19-20 minutes. I've used a chest strap monitor to get a feel for my HR.
  • kieranar
    kieranar Posts: 57 Member
    edited August 2017
    It really depends on your activity type , I'm a big cyclist now and I find the Apple Watch hopeless , I ended up with the garmin vivosmart something to consider if your doing multi activities
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »
    you could always look into garmin too, they have some nice triathlete watches, but that level of watch is a pretty penny. IMO garmin is better than fitbit if you are training. If its just casual working out then fitbit may be your better fit.

    I don't know much about apple wearables

    ditto.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    I'm obsessed with running, and also love swimming, hiking, walking, and yoga.

    I got the Garmin Fenix 5 in early July, and could not be happier.

    If the price is a problem, get as many family members as you can to chip in for a group birthday or Christmas present, and add as much as you can yourself.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    I love my Garmin Fenix 5X.
  • heal130
    heal130 Posts: 23 Member
    Apple Watch series 2 I switched from Fitbit- Apple extremely accurate and motivating definitely series 2 battery life is very good
  • Polo265
    Polo265 Posts: 287 Member
    I currently have a Fitbit Alta (no HR), but I wear it very loosely- to my wrist bone. How tight do you have to wear the HRMs in order to record? I fear if it had to be snug, I wouldn't care for it.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    I have the Garmin Fenix 5S (same features as the Fenix 5, but slightly smaller and a shorter battery life). I love it.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    Polo265 wrote: »
    I currently have a Fitbit Alta (no HR), but I wear it very loosely- to my wrist bone. How tight do you have to wear the HRMs in order to record? I fear if it had to be snug, I wouldn't care for it.

    It doesn't have to be tight but the sensors can't be right on top of your wrist bone. I wear mine relatively loosely and low on my wrist in every day life. When it's time to run, I just push it up my arm a bit to ensure good contact for the sensors.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    Downside to the Garmin Fenix 5 is the price tag...
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    alisonkuan wrote: »
    Which one better consider all factors except cost ? For tracking running and swimming.

    Neither. Go Garmin.
  • Bluetail6
    Bluetail6 Posts: 2,984 Member
    I have a Fitbit Surge. It has been perfect for my needs. One of the things that has kept me loyal to Fitbit is their customer service. It is beyond excellent. This includes calls from setup to some basic function question that I couldn't find an answer to on their website.

    I have friends who love their Garmins or Apple watches. I can't speak about those platforms. I would say to figure out your budget, and research, research, research. As, hopefully, you will have whichever you choose for a long time.

    Fitbit is coming out with a new model, the Ionic, in a few weeks. Good luck.
  • CigarCityNole
    CigarCityNole Posts: 6 Member
    edited September 2017
    I stopped using the fitbit flex because the thing always over calculated how many steps I take in a day ..... only track my walks on a tom tom spark 3 now
  • BrianAWeber
    BrianAWeber Posts: 82 Member
    I like the Apple Watch. I think it's pretty accurate, and gives you plenty of information.
  • NJoyce13
    NJoyce13 Posts: 6 Member
    I had a Fitbit for years and for awhile I loved the product! I just currently switched to Apple Watch because I've notice my heart rate was insanely inaccurate if it showed up at all. Many times when I worked out it said my heart rate was over 200 or close to or it didn't register at all. This through off how many calories I would eat and either over eat because I thought I burned more or under eat a little because I didn't burn as much according to it. I found the Apple Watch is more reliable with how many calories burned and I even started losing weight even though I haven't had it very long. Every experience is different but that's mine from using both! Hoped this helps!!
  • NurseKristi81
    NurseKristi81 Posts: 90 Member
    I had the fitbit charge and then the blaze and recently within the last couple months I switched to Apple watch and it took some getting used to but I love it now!
  • ryenday
    ryenday Posts: 1,540 Member
    I'm very happy with the Apple Watch most of the time. It has been a lifesaver for tracking my swim distance, I find the heart rate monitor very accurate and it definitely helps me stay motivated.

    Downside is the outdoor walk and outdoor cycle activities are totally borked up. A bunch of folks seem to have this problem, but none of the googled fixes work for me. If I want a calorie count or if I want the exercise minutes to count on the watch I have to set the activity for the indoor version. Annoying but not a deal breaker. Note, these activities track fine on my husband's and my MiL's watches so this isn't a problem on every series 2 watch.

    (Today I biked about 3 miles. Set watch to outdoor cycle knowingly b/c I wanted to record my route. It recorded 5 exercise minutes and 35 calories. I know I'm slow, but it was a 25 minute ride and I'm positive the burn had to exceed 35 calories! ).
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    ryenday wrote: »
    I'm very happy with the Apple Watch most of the time. It has been a lifesaver for tracking my swim distance, I find the heart rate monitor very accurate and it definitely helps me stay motivated.

    Downside is the outdoor walk and outdoor cycle activities are totally borked up. A bunch of folks seem to have this problem, but none of the googled fixes work for me. If I want a calorie count or if I want the exercise minutes to count on the watch I have to set the activity for the indoor version. Annoying but not a deal breaker. Note, these activities track fine on my husband's and my MiL's watches so this isn't a problem on every series 2 watch.

    (Today I biked about 3 miles. Set watch to outdoor cycle knowingly b/c I wanted to record my route. It recorded 5 exercise minutes and 35 calories. I know I'm slow, but it was a 25 minute ride and I'm positive the burn had to exceed 35 calories! ).

    Does it have it's own gps receiver or is it using your phone's? If the latter, it could be the phone (rather than the watch) glitching or running low on memory and killing the accompanying phone app.
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    edited September 2017
    Yesterday the front of my friends applewatch face popped off.......she said it was the second time it's happened. Otherwise she seems to like it.

    I have a fitbit blaze, I like it for the most part but found it doesn't count steps accurately and lags on that. So that's kinda irritating. I took it back and this one does the same thing, talked to others and they said the same thing so I guess it's across the board for fitbit blaze.
  • shaunshaikh
    shaunshaikh Posts: 616 Member
    I get frustrated with my apple watch for logging my heart rate while I run and do other exercises, because the refresh rate is low and it often gets stuck or doesn't read depending on how sweaty I am or other various mysterious factors. I'm used to exercising with a chest-strap HRM and a Polar Watch, which actually only got better and more accurate the sweatier and wetter you got. There are a million options out there on wearables, depending on what you want the watch to do. My suggestion is that if you're going to spend the money, do the research to find what matches your needs best, and give the chest strap HRM capability some serious consideration.
  • sbklt
    sbklt Posts: 2 Member
    I used Fitbit Surge for 2years, the first year I had to replace it the strap fell off, second year I couldn't swipe anymore. After reading similar problems in their FAQ's I decided to go with the Apple Watch. It's well worth the extra money I paid.
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
    Garmin.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited September 2017
    shaunshaikh wrote: »
    I get frustrated with my apple watch for logging my heart rate while I run and do other exercises, because the refresh rate is low and it often gets stuck or doesn't read depending on how sweaty I am or other various mysterious factors. I'm used to exercising with a chest-strap HRM and a Polar Watch, which actually only got better and more accurate the sweatier and wetter you got. There are a million options out there on wearables, depending on what you want the watch to do. My suggestion is that if you're going to spend the money, do the research to find what matches your needs best, and give the chest strap HRM capability some serious consideration.

    You do know that you can pair your Apple Watch with a HRM strap, right? And just about any current fitness/workout tracker can pair with ANT+ and/or Bluetooth HRM straps.

    To answer the original question I'd say neither. Garmin would be my choice. I had an Apple Watch for 2 years, just switched to a Garmin 935 and am very happy with it so far. The Apple Watch is a fantastic smartwatch, best one on the market IMO, but there are much better fitness trackers.
  • shaunshaikh
    shaunshaikh Posts: 616 Member
    I honestly did not know that @AnvilHead, I'll look into it. Thanks for raising that to my attention.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    emmydoodles83 wrote: »
    Yesterday the front of my friends applewatch face popped off.......she said it was the second time it's happened.

    I had my (Garmin) Fenix 3 on when I got hit by a car that was doing 35 to 40 mph. I thought the impact broke the arm the watch was on, it must have taken a big hit. I was I'm thee ER and ICU until the next night. Not a scratch on the watch and it worked every bit as well afterwards. Took me three months to ride a bike again.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    Once you go Garmin, you'll never go back.
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    emmydoodles83 wrote: »
    Yesterday the front of my friends applewatch face popped off.......she said it was the second time it's happened.

    I had my (Garmin) Fenix 3 on when I got hit by a car that was doing 35 to 40 mph. I thought the impact broke the arm the watch was on, it must have taken a big hit. I was I'm thee ER and ICU until the next night. Not a scratch on the watch and it worked every bit as well afterwards. Took me three months to ride a bike again.

    Do the garmins register calorie burn? I was looking at them but I didn't see one that did calories. I was just reading brief descriptions though.

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