The redesigned Android Fitbit app is rolling out!

[LizzyFitbit]

Hello everyone!

I would like to announce that the redesigned Fitbit app starts rolling out today! This new app will help you reach your goals, and bring the health and wellness information right on hand.

Check out our latest blog for how to get the most out of the new app. 

Note: Please be patient if you don't see the update right away, as it will take some time to roll out completely.

Happy stepping!

[alice44]

Sadly I have not seen the survey. The longer we stay in this app w/ inferior visualization of data the less value Fitbit has.

[RainArtChik]

Really horrible update. I can't arrange it the way I want and the colours really strain on my eyes. I'm due for a new tracker but I doubt it will be a Fitbit unless some of the changes to the app are rolled back. 

[126569]

They say they are bring back “streaks”, I was with you, butt now I am holding on to their word

[Fittus]

Yeah, so the new UI is terrible. I think that is clear and as a result, management will find a way to make it worse. What I don't understand is why? Imagine the incredible chain of people who had to propose and agree to things like huge amounts of wasted space on a screen, or less information in the graphs. (Fixed one hour step intervals instead of 15 minutes? What idiocy is that?) As users get familiar with your product, their needs become more sophisticated, not less. If I could say one thing to UI designers, your audience is NOT you. It's US. (Also? We're not all 20 year olds with perfect eyesight living in an Apple store.) Some of us want to be productive. Any time someone says "sleek" or "streamlined", punch them. Don't force an aesthetic of stupidity. Treat us like people who can handle more than one thing on a screen at a time. My phone is almost as tall as my head. Trust me, there's room to put all the things on it at once so I don't have to scroll to find what I want. I like high information density. It's effective, efficient, and lets me get what I want out of the experience. I DON'T WANT WHITESPACE. That's not what I bought the Fitbit for. I bought it for information! How is that not obvious? Why have you reduced the granularity of the step intervals from 15 minutes to an hour? That's so much less valuable! You could run literally miles in an hour. (I thought 15 minutes was too blunt, so you can imagine how I feel about 1/4 the information in the same space.) I sure hope the browser version still has 5 minute intervals. Maybe I'll strap my laptop to my back.

[rcfoulk]

@Fittus, I couldn't have said it better.

[Shelleyp]

You've removed the ability to turn on or off hourly step reminders. If they're off, I guess they're off permanently?

[Amstellodamois]

The 250 steps thing?

I just turned it off an on again on my Charge 5

 (Sorry it's in French but you get the idea)

[JohnDough]

@Shelleyp

My hourly step reminder is still on and working. So I guess it's on permanently.

[Coop4u2122]

This new interface is terrible! It's so much harder to read and looks drab and depressing. I used to be able to open the app and at a glance know what my stats were and now you can't. Seems like a lot of people feel this way. And we are not afraid of change, but your change made things worse and not better. Debating on if I'm going to switch to another watch now. I hate to even look at my stats now. The checkmark is so tiny, it's so hard to know if you completed your goals or not. PLEASE PLEASE go back to the old interface or change it again.  

[Fittus]

That's very kind @rcfoulk, thank you! With well over 1100 replies to this thread alone - most of which seem disparaging or at least dissatisfied with the new UI, and at least a hundred silent annoyed people for every vocal complainer, that's a lot of upset people. Of course, being owned by A Very Large Company That Used To Do No Evil means they just have to wait for you to give up. What are you going to do? Use something else?

[TBadbeer]

Good God!  It's been 5 weeks since reported that the keyboard is unavailability to edit an activity name...fix it!

[alice44]

My hourly step reminders show on the watch, but there is nothing but 0 of 0 on the app.

[waynecz]

@Flygirl61  The bots have zeroed in on quite a few "words" now preventing the pasting of the website that has the old Fitbit app version and the video that shows how to get back the previous version of software. 

What's funny though is that anyone who works in a large company that has a substantial sized IT department can relate to this type of change.  Too many businesses are now structured around software rather than the customer.  They often truly making business decisions based on the impact on the software they run, rather than what is best for the business and customer.  

[SunsetRunner]

Since the latest update the app is very clunky. It's not logging anything until it's been refreshed at least twice. Updating food is a nightmare it keeps adding food and you can't delete it. The food you think you have added isn't there. Finding it really frustrating. I much prefer the old version which was no trouble to use. Come on Fitbit get your act together. I live with an incurable health condition and Fitbit has been brilliant up till now for me to keep moving. Disappointed and won't be recommending to friends anymore 

[TobiasF]

@Starr69 exactly!

[jinks]

As a UI/UX designer since the 90s, I have to ask, are you guys OK? No colour contrast, pointless icons where there should be stats, the WRONG stat in headline places with the useful stat (like totals) further down the page in small font, huge wasted space, having to click through to get data instead of being summarised on the dashboard, lack of customisation, etc. - I was hoping Google would sort out the weaknesses with Fitbit but they're getting worse.

P.S. "Material You" design is so your app blends into the user's colour scheme better. You aren't supposed to do the entire app in it.

[TobiasF]

@jinks fully agree

just look at this crap approach of UI/UX design attempt, it's uses way more space as the old UI without showing any more information

there you have on the left side your daily step count: easy recognizable and readable, a colored (full) circle gives you a easy visual aid for your 100% goal, step count is a clear layouted centralized in the middle, any icon and description are secondary and not intrusive

now Google on the right side: 74% more screen space used just for the debut no more information displayed, icon is preoccupying the center spot without any value, the numeric step count goes to the bottom of the element for some strange reason (beneath the whole element)  and the circle for another strange reason isn’t really a circle but a 80% scale for you to wonder where is my 100% daily goal now? Googles babyfied 80% circle has no index mark at all, it's all guess work for here on...

for a little brain acrobatic: see the left circle and the remaining open arc and compare this to Google's babyfied approach on the right :
which visual aid element tell you easily you are at 85% daily goal?

[TobiasF]

@Duckeee hope you didn't; mince your words in the survey!

@waynecz and the just found this out after 5 weeks? So 4 weeks in denial and 1 weeks slightly realizing something is wrong with your app store rating?

"please note at this time there are no plans to change it or revert it to the old one" guess Maria will very much regret have said this in the near future 🙂 they are still do not understand what they are in to...

[SunsetRunner]

Totally agree! Since the update I have lost interest in watching/using my fitbit. Thats why i’m offboarding in spite of having paid one year subscription. The level of arrogance in using my sensitive personal information is staggering. I am apparently not a worthy customer.   

[TobiasF]

@Stormtracker "think we can improve the experience" Google clearly not fully understanding what they are into, I don't want a "improved experience" but the experience from Fitbit I'm used to it before there I bought the Fitbit device with my own money and before Google was ruined it...

@TimCx same for the average and maximum heartrate after an exercise, nowadays and for some strange reason we only get the average heartrate not longer the maximum archived heartrate displayed... utterly nonsense