Apple Watch vs. FitBit

rosepeppercreek
rosepeppercreek Posts: 160 Member
edited October 2017 in Fitness and Exercise
I've been a FitBit person for well over 3 years now. But I'm kind of tired of the device its self. The bands don't last long, there aren't a ton of options, I'm kind of tired of how it looks in general. I do love, however, how well it tracks heart rate, sleep, and exercise. And I love the FitBit app. I love all the features of the interface. I love how well it syncs with MFP.

My fiancé wants us to move to Apple Watchs, which I love the look of, but I'm worried about how well it actually tracks all the fitness stuff. For me, the primary use really is all about fitness. Already, I know it doesn't track sleep, which is a bummer.

Anyone move from FitBit to Apple Watch and have feedback?

Thank you in advance!!

Replies

  • kevinkehres7
    kevinkehres7 Posts: 13 Member
    I had a FitOne that I used for more than 4 million steps, then a Surge HR, followed by an Apple Watch, which I just replaced after 18 months. The AW is great, tracks activities well. It’s very intuitive, especially when paired with the iphone. You WILL charge it every night. That’s the biggest limitation. If you hike and want to use the GPS function, get a different watch. Other than that, though, the AW is way better than the Fitbit.
  • rosepeppercreek
    rosepeppercreek Posts: 160 Member
    @kevinkehres7 Thanks!

    Any other thoughts?
  • citygator
    citygator Posts: 10 Member
    Had both. Like the apple watch much better (I have second generation). I find it tracks steps and running miles very accurately. It also looks better and has way more bells and whistles plus the native apps on the iphone are easy. I almost always have my iphone with me but recently started running with just the watch. Measured distance perfectly. I hike but never without an iphone.

    Charging nightly isnt a problem for me and if I forget I can have it 75% charged by the time I leave for work if I plug it in when I get up.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    edited October 2017
    I switched from a Fitbit Charge HR to an Apple Watch 3 maybe three weeks ago after using the fitbit for a bit over two years. I had trouble syncing my fitbit (probably my fault) but find the watch's activity tracking works great and is generally very easy to pick up. I'm pretty sure the watch won't track sleep (it probably doesn't have the battery life) but I genuinely like getting text and email notifications in addition to the call notifications my old fitbit had. The watch will track steps but doesn't total them up for you the way the fitbit does, which is taking a little bit to get used to in terms of goal-setting, but I can handle it. The watch 3 also has independent cellular capability, which is a big safety plus for me as an outdoor runner who would rather not carry a phone.
  • GemstoneofHeart
    GemstoneofHeart Posts: 865 Member
    Question...does the GPS only Apple Watch track a run without your phone with you, and then sync back up with your phone when you get home? Trying to find something that I can use on a run and not have to take the phone.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    @GemstoneofHeart all Garmin watches work exactly the way you described.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    GemstoneofHeart wrote: »
    Question...does the GPS only Apple Watch track a run without your phone with you, and then sync back up with your phone when you get home? Trying to find something that I can use on a run and not have to take the phone.

    Yes

  • CajunTess
    CajunTess Posts: 268 Member
    I was a fitbit user, mine broke and I decided to get the apple watch 2nd generation. While I liked the look of it better, and thought I would like all the extra bells and whistles...I didn't. I brought the watch back, and upgraded to a newer fitbit. My advice is that if you want it solely for fitness features, stick with fitbit as it is just simpler and made for fitness. If you want some fitness features, and all the other apple features, try the apple watch. For me, I have an iphone, and the apple watch is basically just an extension of my phone, which is nice, but unnecessary. It's a matter of preference really.
  • jakeeichert9344
    jakeeichert9344 Posts: 2 Member
    The Apple Watch is the superior to FitBit. The Watch will track your steps and all of your activity, will give you a daily report of how many calories you burned all day, both active and passive. It constantly measures your heart rate and reports to the Apple HealthKit.

    It tracks your exercise minutes even when you're not in a 'workout' which for me is a huge thing because I have a physical job and can see through out the day how much of my day has actually been exercise. It will learns and adapts to you as time passes, the more you use it the more accurate it is at tracking your activity and exercise. There are a lot of apps that you can use for HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) which is really cool. HIIT workouts are the 7-8 minute exercise routines that are actually more effective than going for a 30 minute run.

    If you want to listen to music when you work out or go for a walk/run you can load music onto the watch and it will play on paired bluetooth headphones so you can leave your phone in the locker and still enjoy music and exercise tracking. The Watch uses both GPS and GLONASS so it is very accurate when you are on a walk/run. GLONASS is the Russian version of GPS and because of *boring technical stuff* the combination of the two yields exceptional accuracy for location and distance.

    You can use it to track your sleep, there are several different apps to choose from, I use one called Pillow.

    All of that stuff plus Apple Pay and fantastic integration of texts and phone and so much else. There is a slight learning curve when moving from a FitBit to an Apple Watch because the information is displayed differently but once you learn what the three rings signify and where your step count is displayed and begin using app complications on the watch faces you're golden.
  • jakeeichert9344
    jakeeichert9344 Posts: 2 Member
    MegaMooseEsq wrote: »
    I switched from a Fitbit Charge HR to an Apple Watch 3 maybe three weeks ago after using the fitbit for a bit over two years. I had trouble syncing my fitbit (probably my fault) but find the watch's activity tracking works great and is generally very easy to pick up. I'm pretty sure the watch won't track sleep (it probably doesn't have the battery life) but I genuinely like getting text and email notifications in addition to the call notifications my old fitbit had. The watch will track steps but doesn't total them up for you the way the fitbit does, which is taking a little bit to get used to in terms of goal-setting, but I can handle it. The watch 3 also has independent cellular capability, which is a big safety plus for me as an outdoor runner who would rather not carry a phone.


    The Watch does have the ability to track your sleep quality and patterns. If you open the App Store through the watch control on your phone you can find loads of apps for it. Just find the one you like. When it comes to keeping a running total of steps, although the Watch doesn't do that natively there are literally dozens of apps that will do it, I recently started using the UA Record app because of it's links to MFP and so far I like it.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    I went from Fitbit to AW and really like the AW. It is FAR more durable and full of features. It's not as focused on step goals as Fitbit but it does count them. The Watch absolutely does track sleep. It has a slew of health and workout apps to get you the metrics you want, if the pretty great native Activity app isn't enough for you.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    edited October 2017
    jakeeichert9344 wrote: »
    When it comes to keeping a running total of steps, although the Watch doesn't do that natively there are literally dozens of apps that will do it,

    The AW does keep track of steps, the day's are in your Activity app (scroll down on the watch) and the totals are in your phone Health app along with all the other cumulative data.
  • fuzzylop72
    fuzzylop72 Posts: 651 Member
    edited October 2017
    The bands on the fitbit (specifically charge and charge 2) used to give me rashes, which I didn't like. Until the S3 of the AW, though, things like stairs climbing wasn't so great on the AW (no altimeter) although that's no longer the case with the series 3. I still do prefer fitbit's web site, and the way they handle challenges -- forcing you to share your phone number of email address to do challenges seems terrible to me.

    Battery life isn't a huge deal for me personally, but if you're coming from a fitbit, the AW battery life is way shorter which can be a factor if you like to use sleep tracking (I never found it all that useful on my fitbits).

    Finally, fitbit's refusal to sync with apple health (thereby letting a lot of other apps have access to my fitbit data) basically made something like the ionic impossible for me to support.
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
    The ionic looks like its adopted some of the AW features. I was thinking of holding out for reviews of that. I had the surge and it looks like they changed some of my biggest grips about it, still worried about the size of it though. The price is a smidge too high for me at 300 but hopeful that it will come down.
  • shaunshaikh
    shaunshaikh Posts: 616 Member
    As an apple watch user, my only gripe is that it's kind of a poor heart rate monitor. I've read that it only refreshes every 10 seconds or so, in order to save battery. I'm used to using a polar watch with a chest strap, so you can say I've been spoiled. I have many runs where my apple watch gets "stuck" on a certain heart rate for several minutes at a time or can't pick up my heart rate at all. I'm planning to buy a bluetooth chest or wrist strap whenever I can save up the money to do so that will sync with the Apple Watch. However, everything else the apple watch does is top notch.
  • aee69
    aee69 Posts: 8 Member
    rosepeppercreek wrote: »
    I've been a FitBit person for well over 3 years now. But I'm kind of tired of the device its self. The bands don't last long, there aren't a ton of options, I'm kind of tired of how it looks in general. I do love, however, how well it tracks heart rate, sleep, and exercise. And I love the FitBit app. I love all the features of the interface. I love how well it syncs with MFP.

    My fiancé wants us to move to Apple Watchs, which I love the look of, but I'm worried about how well it actually tracks all the fitness stuff. For me, the primary use really is all about fitness. Already, I know it doesn't track sleep, which is a bummer.

    Anyone move from FitBit to Apple Watch and have feedback?

    Thank you in advance!!

    I moved from a FitBit to an AW about 6 months ago. I LOVE my AW. I am able to track so many different exercises. I can set my calorie and workout goal at the beginning of each week, and I do love how sleek it looks. I also love how all of the data transfers straight to my phone. And the great thing is that it also syncs up with MyFitnessPal, so all of my burned calories automatically accumulate in the app. I do not regret my switch!
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited October 2017
    besaro wrote: »
    The ionic looks like its adopted some of the AW features. I was thinking of holding out for reviews of that. I had the surge and it looks like they changed some of my biggest grips about it, still worried about the size of it though. The price is a smidge too high for me at 300 but hopeful that it will come down.

    Very thorough review of the Ionic: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/09/fitbit-ionic-smartwatch-in-depth-review.html


    As to the OP, I used an Apple Watch for two years. I think it's a great watch, but a so-so fitness/workout tracker - mostly crippled by Apple's fitness software that it syncs to (and this is coming from a huge Apple fan who owns many of their products). I moved to a Garmin 935 about a month and a half ago and like it much better. Much more data, better access to it, and I also love the fact that I only have to charge it every week and a half or so rather than nightly.
  • kimkrat2008
    kimkrat2008 Posts: 3 Member
    HELP! I recently switched from a FitBit blaze to the Apple Watch. I use MFP to track what I eat and get the activity data from the Watch. However, the amount of calories adjustment I am getting from the AW is much less than the amount I was getting from the FitBit. My activity level, etc. has not really changed, all the personal data is the same and I would have expected the calorie allowance to somewhat close between the 2 devices. However, the AW is giving me a lot less of a calorie adjustment. Has anyone else faced this issue when changing between the devices?
  • Dinow
    Dinow Posts: 113 Member
    I love my Apple Watch series 2 I switched in March from Fitbit Alta I like it much better
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    It sounds like you really want a garmin.
  • Goal179
    Goal179 Posts: 314 Member
    edited October 2017
    Hi OP;

    I would strongly suggest that you read all the different Comparison reviews on the apple vs. the entire fitbit series. You will find that apple is cool and does some fancy things, but it has some issues with accuracy and doesn’t compete with the detail analysis and data aggregation that fitbit provides. Especially if you have grown accustomed to that level of detail.

    Have you looked at the fitbit Blaze?

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    It is less than half the price of the apple and many people think it is actually an apple watch. I can get email, texts, control music, change the faces, etc. The BEST part is that there are 100’s of bands you can buy at about $10.99 each to keep the look new and fresh. This is a huge upgrade from the previous fitbit models. No need to ever sync with your computer. Everything runs through the app.

    Now I will be honest, I still sometimes think about going apple just because of the synergy between the apple and my phone. I just can’t get over the price. It seems like I will be getting less features for twice the price. My sister just made the jump and she LOVES the new apple. For now, I am sticking with the fitbit.

    I am clearly biased because I love the Blaze and have had it for about 3 years now. But do what is best for you. Any device that allows for tracking and biometric data is a good choice regardless of the brand.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    kimkrat2008 wrote: »
    HELP! I recently switched from a FitBit blaze to the Apple Watch. I use MFP to track what I eat and get the activity data from the Watch. However, the amount of calories adjustment I am getting from the AW is much less than the amount I was getting from the FitBit. My activity level, etc. has not really changed, all the personal data is the same and I would have expected the calorie allowance to somewhat close between the 2 devices. However, the AW is giving me a lot less of a calorie adjustment. Has anyone else faced this issue when changing between the devices?

    I ran two side by side for a while and the Fitbit always had me 1-200 cals wealthier than just MFP and AW. That said, I am maintaining by using the AW numbers, so it's correct for me.
  • TheHobbit2017
    TheHobbit2017 Posts: 96 Member
    Myself and family have had 6 fitbits between us and 5 have been replaced on warrenty, some more than once. I’m considering moving away from them. Only bonus is they do replace fault fitbits no problem no hassle it’s just annoying losing some activity records etc

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