Cardio fitness level and guided breathing in Blaze

[melsebaee]

I wonder if there is any plan to have the new cardio fitness level and guided breathing in the upcoming firmware update for Blaze.

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[SunsetRunner]

I have to say that this policy or whatever you want to call it to not include the latest functions to their premium trackers is causing me to consider other companies. I have 3 trackers, Surge which I upgraded to Blaze, and then Charge HR. I have no problem buying a Charge for those times a surge or blaze are too bulky, it is after all a slimmed down surge/blaze.

I found it mildly annoying that they didn't include Reminders to move on the blaze when they had it on the Alta and it obviously should have been implemented on the blaze as well, but I gave them the benefit of doubt (maybe they didn't have time before the release). However, now they're at it again, releasing new functions that obviously should be on the blaze (their most expensive tracker! In 2016, at least) and slapping them on the cheaper product. I can see no reason for them to do this except in hopes people (like me) will buy them both. And hey, I might have bought them both, as I said I like having a non obtrusive tracker for those times a blaze / surge is too big. But I'm not going to buy it in order to get access to functions that should have been on the blaze! Do they expect me to bring both with me and switch on the fly depending on which functions I want to access?? Now I understand if there were actual hardware limitations to blame for this, but that hardly seems like the case here.

I was a bit hesitant when ordering the Blaze because I wasn't too sure they could make a decent smart watch, and to be honest it hasn't really impressed me and I only use it because of the Fitbit ecosystem. (they say it's not a smart watch, but honestly it's just a surge minus GPS that's made more smart watch-y) I'm now starting to think that buying the blaze was a mistake after all, cause us blaze owners paying premium for their "best" trackers have now been screwed over twice (!) in 6 months regarding new functions and upgrades. That's just not acceptable in my book, and I don't give a poop about their "policy" with incremental upgrades. I could understand it if it was the Surge since it's an older model, but they're leaving their highest paying customers with their latest trackers out of new upgrades in hopes that they'll buy new ones to complement their current ones. If this is their policy then it's a pretty darned **ahem**ty one.

[Brad.]

I'm not sure a few customers are enough to make fitbit change it's 'incremental' policy that leaves the owners of their 'previously lastest and greatest' product without the newest features. However, maybe if we tag a fitbit moderator - and ask nicely, they may have access to those who can implement change and highlight the concerns on this thread to them. @DerrickS and @SunsetRunner, Will you be our emissaries 🙂   Asking nicely, with no pressure 😉 

[FerdinandFitbit]

Hi all, I'm happy to see that you're part of the Fitbit Family and it's great to see you all around! 😄

Thanks also for the feedback you're giving us. We really appreciate it and when it comes to the new features that were implemented in the new Flex 2 and Charge 2, I can not say this is for sure but I would say that some of those features will be added to the other models eventually. (Can't promise but that can be a possibility).

Some of the new features have to be tested with the other Fitbit models that were not designed for them specifically. So it takes a while to develop those features to suit older models. If you notice, Reminders to Move were not included on the Blaze but that feature came with the Fitbit Alta and now, we're expecting to see it implemented in the coming update for the Blaze firmware. So in some cases it will be just matter of waiting and being a little patient.

In the meantime, there is a feature request where you can add your vote and comments for having some of those features on the Blaze. As you may know, Reminders To Move started out as a feature request and will soon be a thing so it's worth adding your vote. 

-Guided breathing sessions on Blaze

Couldn't find one for Cardio Fitness Level on the Blaze but you can create your own request in the Feature Request Board.

Thank you all for understanding and if you need any other thing, let me know. I'll be happy to help.

[wxman123]

Ferdinand, I appreciate you dropping in and giving us a bit of hope that the new features will be implemented on our Blazes.  That said, does Fitbit REALLY need us to make a feature request for features that the company already has deemed worthy and implemented?  I mean come on, we're talking about a publicly traded company.  I find it almost insulting to suggest that the reason Fitbit implemented reminders to move was because of a feature request.  Any moderator spending 5 minutes on this board would know that the feature was wanted and that users were annoyed (to put it mildly) at the delay and earlier implementation on a cheaper model.  As to the new cardio check, it appears to me to be a feature on the app/software side that we Blaze users could access right away, if Fitbit wished to deal fairly with the early adopters of Blaze, especially given the issues we have had to deal with since Day 1.  I trust you have or will make management aware of our (or at least my) feelings.  Thanks again for stopping in here and providing input.

[JamiePearson]

I'm a software engineer.  Cardio fitness level and guided breathing are all software/firmware-based features.  There is no reason for Fitbit not to add them to their premium trackers.  We're paying a premium for these devices and we should expect them to get regular feature updates.

It seems Fitbit is just arbitrarily defining features just to try to sell us more than one tracker.

[FerdinandFitbit]

Thank you so much for the input @wxman123 @JamiePearson!

Feature requests are certainly not the only way Fitbit analyzes features to be implemented across different trackers but they surely help to determine the interest in them.

As I said before, I wouldn't say that these features will not be implemented - in fact, I think they will - but, it could take a while for having them delivered to the other trackers while tests are done and while the competent teams verify everything will work properly. I would say, it's matter of giving it some time and waiting for updates on this.

Once again, thank you so much for participating. It's great to see you around!

[steikebiffen]

I definitely hope Fitbit does implement this in the Blaze. I bought this watch half a year ago when it was top of the line, and I pay for a premium subscription. I put the watch to rest since I couldn't sync it with Samsung Health. My colleague then showed up yesterday and shows me the Cardio Fitness function.

Great, I thought. So I pick it up, do a firmware update - but no, his cheaper watch has more sophisticated functions than this top of the line watch synced to a premium account. Go figure.

The lack of these function in the premium-prized premium-branded watch smells like planned obsolesence tactics to make people replace their existing ones. I've been through 4 gens of your trackers already and if this trend continues I doubt i'll be the only customer that will look for alternatives.

[SunsetRunner]

These features are coming to Blaze in Feb: (about 3/4 down the page)

https://investor.fitbit.com/press/press-releases/press-release-details/2017/Fitbit-Adds-Software-Too...

[steikebiffen]

Great news. Thanks