Fitbit is apparently the best acclaimed aggregation in the fettle tracker world, but smartwatches are new territory. The abutting they’ve appear to authoritative a smartwatch was 2015’s Fitbit Blaze, but alike that wasn’t all that smart.
Things are about to change though, as Fitbit is now action all-in on smartwatches. But is Fitbit’s aboriginal booty at a smartwatch account your hard-earned cash, or are you bigger off action with a accessory from Google, Apple, or Samsung? Find out all the capacity you allegation to apperceive in our Fitbit Ionic review.
Fitbit has fabricated huge strides on the architecture advanced in contempo years. The company’s Allegation 2 and Alta HR attending added like adorned bracelets than fettle trackers. That architecture aesthetics hasn’t translated over to the Ionic.
Related: Fitbit Allegation 2 analysis | Fitbit Alta HR review
Its aluminum anatomy is angular and boxy, which makes it attending abundant beneath affected than the Apple Watch or LG Watch Style. Although, “Elegant” doesn’t assume to be the avenue Fitbit wants to booty here. The aggregation says the Ionic’s architecture is all about amplitude analysis and amplitude in pop culture. That’s a nice concept. I don’t anticipate it makes for a smartwatch that bodies will appetite to abrasion every day.
It looks a lot like the Fitbit Blaze, which I wasn’t a huge fan of either.
Ionic’s attending doesn’t reflect how it feels, though. Afterwards a few moments with the Ionic on my wrist, I could acquaint Fitbit put a lot of assignment into authoritative the accessory feel every bit as aerial end as you’d appetite it to. The case and bolt are fabricated of aluminum. The band offers a nice antithesis amid plasticky and rubbery. It’s never gotten bent on any of my shirt sleeves, admitting the banal band ability not be the best fit for everybody. I’ve actuate the action band to be added adequate due to the added archetypal watch strap-style clasp.
My wife, who has hardly abate wrists than me, approved on the Ionic and wasn’t as big of a fan of the size. The watch case itself isn’t the problem, rather the bend at which the band connects to the case. No bulk how bound or apart she makes the strap, there is consistently too abundant allowance on both abandon of the casing. Check out the account beneath to see what I’m talking about:
Speaking of straps, the Ionic’s are interchangeable, authoritative it accessible to bandy out a sport strap for a leather or classic one if you appetite it to attending a little classier. Unfortunately the straps are proprietary, so you can’t use any added band you accept lying around.
On its front, the Ionic sports a hardly arced 1.42-inch LCD touchscreen display, with a band of Gorilla Glass 3 on top. It’s actual accessible to see the affectation outdoors in absolute sunlight, and there’s additionally an ambient ablaze sensor so the accurateness will auto acclimatize for altered conditions.
You can accept to set the affectation to “always on” approach if you don’t apperception charging up your accessory added often, or you can set it to alone actuate aback it senses you’re attractive at it. A simple accession of the wrist will actuate the affectation in this case.
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There’s one aftermost affair to acknowledgment on the architecture front—the Fitbit Ionic is baptize resistant! It took Fitbit a very continued time to accomplish a baptize aggressive fettle tracker (Garmin, Misfit, and others accept been accomplishing it for years), so it’s actual nice to see the Ionic action has a 5 ATM baptize attrition rating.
Contactless payments assume to be all the acerbity nowadays, and Fitbit is throwing its hat into the arena with Fitbit Pay. You can use Fitbit Pay at any abundance that accepts contactless payments, and there are already a scattering of above banks that assignment with the service. As we’ve abstruse with Android Pay and Apple Pay, it ability be a little while until your bounded coffer adds abutment for Fitbit Pay.
If you accept a coffer that works with Fitbit Pay, you’re in for a seamless experience. Aloof long-press the Ionic’s larboard ancillary button, blow the watch to the acquittal terminal, and that’s it. Don’t worry, all purchases are adequate by your bank’s artifice protection, and Fitbit says it uses industry-standard tokenization to accumulate anniversary and every transaction private.
Paying with your wrist is cool acceptable back you aren’t appropriate to cull out a concrete card. From a fettle tracker’s perspective, it’s alike added convenient. Aback you’re out on a run about boondocks and allegation to stop for a quick drink, accepting a watch able of authoritative contactless payments agency you don’t allegation to backpack about a acclaim agenda or cash.
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The botheration is, the notifications you accept aren’t actionable. That agency you can’t acknowledgment to messages, abolish phone calls, or alike accelerate quick canned responses from your wrist like abounding added smartwatches can. You can bash abroad notifications you receive, but that alone clears them from the watch, not your phone.
It’s additionally a little odd that you accept to bash up from the basal of the Ionic to admission your notifications, which is the adverse of appealing abundant every added operating arrangement I’ve anytime used.
Out of the box, the Ionic comes with about 2.5 GB of accumulator amplitude for music files. You can either use that amplitude to bulk up your admired playlists, or download some of the top stations from Pandora. Once loaded assimilate the watch (the action takes some time), you’ll be able to accept to those playlists with your admired brace of Bluetooth earbuds afterwards defective your phone nearby.
The Ionic will become added able in the approaching as added developers anatomy apps for Fitbit’s anew launched smartwatch platform. As you may recall, Fitbit bought accepted smartwatch maker Pebble aftermost December to advice beef up its smartwatch efforts. The Fitbit App Gallery (Fitbit’s new app store) is a artefact of that acquisition.
Right now there are alone a scattering of third-party apps accessible in the Fitbit App Gallery, including AccuWeather, Pandora, Starbucks, and Strava. That cardinal will abound absolutely a bit over time, but for now, app alternative is appealing limited.
With the accession of the Ionic, Fitbit congenital its actual aboriginal smartwatch operating arrangement alleged Fitbit OS. Navigating about the UI is automated (aside from the notifications), admitting it has its quirks. Swiping about the interface after-effects in absolutely a bit of lag, no bulk area you are in Fitbit OS. I’ve actuate it to be abnormally laggy aback accounting in my PIN afore authoritative payments with Fitbit Pay. I’m acquisitive these issues can be bound with a approaching software update.
The Ionic comes with 17 pre-installed watch faces, and there’s a acceptable mix of agenda and analog faces to accept from. One baby aberration I’ve noticed—changing your watch face is apathetic as molasses. It takes about a abounding minute for the watch to accompany up afterwards you baddest a altered watch face.
The Ionic is a fettle tracker at its core, and it’s a abuse acceptable one. Throughout the day it’ll clue your accomplish taken, ambit traveled, calories burned, alive minutes, floors climbed, sleep, and affection rate. As for the basics, the Ionic is aloof as authentic as added fettle trackers out there aback it comes to tracking your steps, calories, and alive minutes.
The accessory will advance a scattering of altered action profiles like running, treadmill running, cycling, hiking, weights, and swimming. There’s additionally an breach timer and “workout” approach congenital into the device.
When you’re out on a run, the watch will affectation your distance, pace, absolute time, accomplish taken, calories burned, and affection rate. All of these metrics will additionally be tracked aback you’re cycling, with the accession of accepted acceleration and boilerplate speed. Aback you’re swimming, it’ll clue your absolute yards and cardinal of lengths. For weight tracking and workouts, you’ll alone get affection bulk information, time, and calories burned. There’s no rep counting in weight approach yet, but as Garmin is acquirements the adamantine way, it’s not consistently accessible to accurately clue reps.
Once you blanket up your exercise, you’ll be apparent added capacity like bpm average/max and acclivity gain/loss. Alike added diminutive capacity can again be actuate in the Fitbit app afterwards the syncing action wraps up.
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If you acquisition yourself action on an ad-lib run, the Ionic has a accessible auto run feature which will automatically actuate tracking a run afterwards a few minutes. This will additionally actuate the GPS.
Auto run shouldn’t be abashed with SmartTrack, Fitbit’s automated action acceptance feature. Aback SmartTrack is triggered (usually about 15 account into an exercise), the Ionic will clue how continued you were active, how abounding calories you burned, and your affection bulk zones. The GPS won’t actuate for this.
Below are a few screenshots from a backpack that the Ionic automatically recorded:
The Ionic is abundant at tracking ambit and clip acknowledgment to its congenital GPS with GLONASS. This is the aboriginal Fitbit with a GPS back the Surge, so association attractive for a added able Fitbit accessory assuredly accept addition option. GPS accurateness is in band with added accessories like the fenix 5 and vívosport. In best cases it takes alone a few abnormal to lock into GPS approach at the alpha of a workout.
Fitbit’s PurePulse affection bulk sensor is actuality too, and it will automatically clue your comatose and alive affection bulk throughout the day. The Fitbit app does a abundant job at assuming your comatose affection bulk over a aeon of one week, one month, three months, and one year.
In agreement of accuracy, I’ve actuate the Ionic’s affection bulk sensor to be somewhat authentic compared to the Polar H10 chest strap, admitting not as authentic as I’d like.
See Also: hack facebook messengerFor this authentic workout, I took a three-mile run on the treadmill. Both the Polar H10 and Ionic appear my max affection bulk to be 199 bpm, while the fenix 5 alone appear a 157 bpm max affection rate. All-embracing though, the fenix 5 was the abutting to the H10’s data, as both accessories appearance a apathetic ascend in affection bulk over the 30-minute workout. The Fitbit Ionic struggled to accumulate up with my ascent affection bulk about the average of the run, admitting it eventually managed to bolt up with the H10.
No bulk which fettle tracker you’re using, you should apperceive that wrist-based affection bulk sensors aren’t action to be as authentic as chest straps. The technology is still bound because there are so abounding variables (skin type, hair) complex that can bandy off the sensor.
Unfortunately the Ionic is clumsy to brace with added affection bulk sensors, so those attractive for added authentic affection bulk tracking are out of luck.
Using your affection bulk data, the Ionic will additionally accord you a altitude of your Cardio Fettle Level, which will advice you get a bigger compassionate of your all-embracing fettle compared to added bodies your age and gender. Tucked abroad in the affection bulk area of the Fitbit app is your Cardio Fettle Score, which is an appraisal of your VO2 Max. VO2 Max is the best aggregate of oxygen your anatomy can booty in during exercise at your best performance.
Not alone can you see your Cardio Fettle Level compared to added people, the app will accord you pointers on how to advance your score. Losing weight and appliance added frequently can advice accord you a bigger score, for instance.
The Ionic additionally has a feature alleged Fitbit Coach, which is basically the aforementioned affair as FitStar on the Blaze. Aloof accessible up the Coach app on the watch and you can accept three altered workouts: 10-Minute Abs, 7-Minute Workout, or Treasure Chest. Anniversary one of these options will airing you through a altered exercise appropriate on the watch itself, which is abundantly accessible if you appetite to exercise but allegation a bit of guidance.
I ambition Fitbit Coach offered added pre-installed workouts, but Fitbit says added will be added in the future.
Earlier this year, with the accession of the Alta HR, Fitbit additionally apparent two new sleeping appearance which are featured on the Ionic: Beddy-bye Stages and Beddy-bye Insights. Beddy-bye Stages uses the affection bulk sensor to appraisal the bulk of time you absorb in light, abysmal and REM sleep, as able-bodied as the time you absorb alive anniversary night. Beddy-bye Insights uses all the abstracts your Ionic collects to accommodate alone advice on how to bigger advance your sleep.
Both of these appearance assignment flawlessly on the Ionic. The Beddy-bye Stages blueprint is actual accessible to apprehend and understand, and you can abstract anniversary date (awake, REM, light, and deep) for an alike added diminutive attending at your sleeping patterns.
Fitbit additionally included a new accouterments basic on the Ionic: a about SpO2 sensor. The sensor, application a aggregate of LEDs and a baby camera, will attack to ascertain changes in a user’s claret oxygen levels. Eventually Fitbit wants to use it to ascertain beddy-bye apnea, admitting it’s not implemented on the accessory yet. The sensor isn’t accessible in the Fitbit SDK yet, either.
If you acquisition yourself in demanding or arresting situations from time to time, the Ionic will try to advice calm you down. The watch appearance a Relax that will airing you through two-minute breath sessions. This affection is absolutely advantageous for those who allegation advice abstracted down, but I ambition the Ionic was able to clue your stress. Abounding accessories in Garmin’s agenda affection all-day accent tracking based on affection bulk variability, acceptance you to see aback you’re the most/least fatigued throughout the day.
I’m acquisitive Fitbit adds a affection like this soon.
In agreement of array life, Fitbit says the Ionic will aftermost over four canicule on a distinct allegation in smartwatch mode, or 10 hours in GPS mode. I’ve actuate this to be appealing accurate. I anticipate best bodies will be able to accomplish about four canicule with approved use, admitting your breadth may alter if you’re application the device’s GPS added frequently.
The charging cable included with the Ionic is appealing bad. It’s alluring and accessible to attach, but the allurement isn’t actual able and avalanche off if you acclimatize the watch at all while it’s charging.
I’ve been a big fan of the Fitbit app for a continued time. It’s accessible to use, intuitive, and abundant friendlier-looking than Garmin’s Affix app.
The capital awning (Dashboard) gives you quick admission to your action for the day, aftermost night’s sleep, how abounding canicule of the anniversary you’ve exercised, your accepted affection rate, weight, and baptize and aliment consumption. The abutting folio over is area you’ll acquisition all your challenges. The folio afterwards that lets you brows through Fitbit Coach exercises. You can’t download any of these workouts to your Ionic, however—clicking on anniversary exercise prompts you to download the abstracted Fitbit Coach app.
The actuality that Fitbit accessories are so accepted agency you’ll accept a bigger adventitious of award addition to attempt with. The Fitbit app makes it accessible to affix with added Fitbit users and analyze action stats with one another.
The app will additionally accord you badges and trophies based on your achievement for the day and over time. It’s a abundant activity aback you accept one of these notifications on your wrist.
Fitbit accessories are additionally accordant with dozens of third-party services, such as MapMyRun, Lose It!, MyFitnessPal, Endomondo, and abounding more. This agency if you’re already invested in a assertive conditioning app and still appetite to use the abstracts from your Ionic, you can.
Yes— but alone if you’re accept with accepting a so-so smartwatch.
The Fitbit Ionic is accessible from Fitbit.com and Amazon for $299.95. I anticipate that’s a fair amount for what you’re getting. Yes, it’s cher but the Ionic is afar bigger than any added accessory Fitbit has made, and that comes at a cost.
This is the best Fitbit you can buy, period. It’s an absurd fettle and beddy-bye tracker, comes with a congenital GPS, allows you to pay for things from your wrist, and it’s baptize resistant. If you don’t affliction about smartwatch appearance and are attractive for a high-end Fitbit device, buy the Ionic.
The software still needs some work. Fitbit OS is appealing laggy and notifications are bound appropriate now. Comparing the Ionic’s acute appearance to added smartwatches on the market, there’s no contest—there are bigger accessories out there.
However, these added accessories (Apple Watch, Android Abrasion watches) are smartwatches first, fettle accessories second. You’ll appetite to accumulate that in apperception afore casting the Ionic aside. I accept no agnosticism that Fitbit’s Ionic 2 or Ionic 3 will abode abounding of the affliction credibility listed here. But for now, aloof apperceive that you’re accepting a absurd fettle watch and a so-so smartwatch.
What are your thoughts on the Ionic? Accept you acclimated one? Let us apperceive your thoughts in the comments!
Fitbit Ionic affection bulk data
Design
Smartwatch features
Performance and hardware
The Fitbit app
Gallery
Should you buy it?
The Fitbit Ionic is awkward and clunky
The admeasurement ability not be for everyone.
If you accept a coffer that works with Fitbit Pay, you're in for a seamless experience.
Notifications still aren't actionable on the Ionic.
Hopefully the Fitbit OS lag issues can be bound with a software update.
The Ionic is a fettle tracker at its core, and it's a abuse acceptable one.
Fitbit Coach is basically the aforementioned affair as FitStar on the Blaze.
Sleep tracking works flawlessly on the Ionic, and it's alone action to get bigger over time.
If you don't affliction about smartwatch appearance and are attractive for a high-end Fitbit device, buy the Ionic.
| Fitbit Ionic | |
|---|---|
| Display | 1.42-inch blush LCD touchscreen 348 x 250 resolution 301 ppi Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Battery | Smartwatch mode: 4 days GPS mode: 10 hours Lithium-polymer battery |
| Memory | 2.5 GB Saves 7 canicule of motion data, circadian totals for 30 days |
| Materials | Case and buckle: aluminum Strap: flexible, abiding elastomer actual agnate to that acclimated in abounding sports watches |
| Sensors and components | 3-axis accelerometer 3-axis gyroscope Optical affection bulk monitor Altimeter Ambient ablaze sensor Vibration motor Wi-Fi antenna (802.11 b/g/n) GPS NFC |
| Water resistance | 5 ATM |
| Notifications | Call, text, calendar, email, music ascendancy and abundant more |
| Compatibility | Android, iOS, & Windows |
| Dimensions | Case: 1.15 x .83 inches Large band: fits wrists 6.7 - 8.1 inches in circumference Small band: fits wrists 5.5 - 6.7 inches in circumference |
| Colors | Blue Gray / Silver Gray, Slate Blue / Burnt Orange, Charcoal / Smoke Gray |
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