No built in GPS

[ACT1]

Jeesh - guess the joke's on me I foolishly thought that this fancy new gadget...Supposedly an upgrade from Surge (not!!)- would include this KEY function for runners. What a MISS Fitbit. Major waste of my money. It's sitting on my counter and I use it only for treadmill workouts, or something pretty to wear when going out to dinner. What else would you use it for ??
I literally can't believe that this new tracker- for runners or even walkers, would not include this essential functionality.
#whatwereyouthinking @Fitbit

Moderator edit: title for clarity

[SteveH]

I don't know if it's different for runners but I'm a keen hiker and I don't see a need for GPS (either built-in or via a phone). Having configured my stride length I find the standard distance calculation pretty accurate. Even when I used the Surge I didn't use GPS.

As I say, it may be different for runners, but I'm not sure why.

[Fosse66]

So why did you buy it, then?

Any rational person would have read up on the specifications before purchasing.

[ACT1]

Actually. That is correct
I have three Fitbits!!!
Alternate between them.
Decided to take that one out for a run last week and that's when I found out.
Didn't really think it was a leap to expect it to have GPS. As for that technology - it's been affordable in Garmin and TomTom for years.

[goh]

Honestly, I think the requirement of a phone for GPS capability could be made much more clear.  I happened upon this post while doing a bit of research on buying options, so thought I'd share what different websites state (and I'm sure most of the product details on non-Fitbit websites are provided directly to the supplier). 

To me, "Connected GPS" seems  more a marketing term for Fitbit technology just like "SmartTrack", "FitStar", "PurePulse" particularly when it's described as a "revolutionary feature" and "next-generation" feature, and the caveat of "when your phone is nearby", if the caveat is provided at all, means to me that I might see the map of my run real time on my phone as provided by GPS functionality on the watch connected to mapping on the phone (i.e., because I'm not expecting to see a map on the watch face due to it's small size)

Almost nowhere, in fact, I really can't find it anywhere on the sites below, do I find any real description of what "Connected GPS" means nor any real mention that a gps-enabled phone is *required*. 

If specs are provided, I do not find GPS listed, so that just becomes more confusing, not even an astricked feature notation of *Connected GPS (*utilizes GPS capability of nearby smartphone) or something like that.

So, my verdict, (using the phrasing that CNN uses for the various political debates 🙂 is that the GPS advertising is "True but Misleading".

I would find it useful onboard for my running activities. I won't go near the Surge given what I've read of band issues, display issues, calibration issues and so on, plus it's over 18months old, I'm waiting for Moore's Law to kick in and hoping a replacement Surge2 with some of the features of the Alta (vibration alert) and Blaze (color display, interchangeable bands) and including onboard GPS makes it to market soon.

BTW, I don't know if the market necessarily disagrees with the OP,,, many of those million units are likely going to channel inventory, and "deffinately" the financial market *has not* agreed for some time regarding product and perhaps overall market viability.

BestBuy:
This smart fitness watch instantly recognizes when you are exercising with SmartTrack, whether you are cycling, running or jogging, and the GPS tracks where you are in real-time.

Kohls:
GPS lets you map your route in real time

Fitbit:
Get fit in style with a smart fitness watch built with revolutionary features like PurePulse™ heart rate, Connected GPS, on-screen workouts and more.

Amazon:
Enable Connected GPS to map your routes and see run stats like pace and duration on display (when your phone is nearby)

PurePulse continuous heart rate and multi-sport modes enhance every exercise, while next-generation features like Connected GPS and FitStar workouts on your wrist help you take your fitness to the next level.

Walmart:
Effortlessly and automatically record workouts to your dashboard with SmartTrack
Enable Connected GPS to map your routes and see run stats like pace and duration on display (when your phone is nearby)

Moderator edit: content

[Rich_Laue]

Fitbit already has a tracker with built in GPS, there have been many requests for a sleeker tracker with removable bands, something that is more buismess like. The Blaze is the answer, and by moving the GPS to the phone, as AW does, has allowed to Fitbit keep the profile thin.

The Blaze was never meant to be a replacement to the Surge, but an addition to the Fitbit line to fulfill a much needed gap.

[goh]

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@SteveH wrote:
 

As I say, it may be different for runners, but I'm not sure why.

---

Many runners are nerds, honestly, I couldn't begin to describe the number of spreadsheets I've used tracking pace over interval distance along with some heart rate and even weather data, highlighting pace personal bests over the various intervals for different runs, etc. A bit OCDish, Haruki Murakami's book, "What I talk about when I talk about running" is a good read if you want to learn more about the somewhat obsessive mental aspects of many runners.

[racertempo]

Here is the fitbit website directly:

Moderator edit: content

[racertempo]

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@goh wrote:

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BTW, I don't know if the market necessarily disagrees with the OP,,, many of those million units are likely going to channel inventory, and "deffinately" the financial market *has not* agreed for some time regarding product and perhaps overall market viability.

---

The point of the posts were that the Fitbit stock drop was fear and and an overselling of shares.  It is now rebounding as many expected, up 15% sales are much stronger than predicted.  Yes, of the 1M shipped of course that means they went to channels, but those channels have ordered them based on demand.  EIther way, the GPS issue and not knowing that it had one is a problem of the buyer, and not Fitbit, especially person who is Fitbit Saavy like the OP who stated she had three trackers and just now noticed that it did not have GPS.

As Rich Laue said, it was not marketed and not intended to be an upgrade or a replacement to the Surge.  Ironically, this was the reason for the market fear, that Fitbit was releasing a new product that was $50 lower in cost than their top product.  The fear was that they were cannibalizing their own products, but the sales have been stronger than the "market" expected.

[goh]

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@racertempo wrote:

---

The point of the posts were that the Fitbit stock drop was fear and and an overselling of shares.  It is now rebounding as many expected, up 15% this week and sales are much stronger than predicted.

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I don't know what you are talking about. Fitbit is only up 2.33% this week. 

[goh]

@racetempo

And from Kohls, this chart below, and as I already posted, GPS, those three letters, are mentioned across all sites with nary an explanation of what Connected actually means. e I first saw:

Moderator edit: content

[racertempo]

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@goh wrote:

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@racertempo wrote:

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The point of the posts were that the Fitbit stock drop was fear and and an overselling of shares.  It is now rebounding as many expected, up 15% this week and sales are much stronger than predicted.

---

I don't know what you are talking about. Fitbit is only up 2.33% this week. 

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Up 15%+ from its low which was reached after the Blaze announcement, not this this week.  It is actually up 22% from it low.

[Rich_Laue]

As stated before with a connected phone the Blaze does the gps tracking, not the App, and uses the phones GPS to accomplish this. 

There also is another popular watch that has this same gps setup.

[goh]

@racetempo  I'm not sure what all the overt hostility is about, and I don't have the Blaze yet, and GPS *is* advertised as my direct quotes reflect, and I'm not sure you're even reading before you write.  Sheesh, if Fitbit devices make users this angry in defense of every nitpick detail, and make  them blind to obvious mentions of advertised GPS, and make them defend a financial market currently running against Fitbit, I'm not sure I need to join that kind of community.  I think moderators should hold you a bit more accountable for you severity of response. Just mho.

[Fosse66]

I see no hostility nor snideness from the responses given - the sheer captiousness of the OP is something to behold, however.

Suppose I bought a laptop then 5 weeks later came on to an Acer forum and blamed them for its not having a 1080p IPS screen; can you see how ridiculous that would be?

[JustinX1029]

That's the chart from Kohl's... If I'm going to look into an item that has so many variants and so much competition, I'm going to check the actual makers website. I will check the websites for fitbit, garmin, pebble, etc... Before the Blaze was launched I knew what kind of GPS was going to be on it. It's not hard to read up a little on stuff. Not to mention reviews if you don't get it close to launch, they all talk about the non-GPS of it.

[racertempo]

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@Fosse66 wrote:

I see no hostility nor snideness from the responses given - the sheer captiousness of the OP is something to behold, however.

Suppose I bought a laptop then 5 weeks later came on to an Acer forum and blamed them for its not having a 1080p IPS screen; can you see how ridiculous that would be?

---

Absolutely!

And as Justin said, trusting a Kohl's matrix (which OP never said where she bouth hers, but I bet she bought it from Fitbit directly since she posted about having it on 2/29) and not going to the fitbit esbsite directly.  Especially a person who owns 2 other fitbits.

The funny thing is she said it was worthless for runners and walkers, but if she owns a Surge and one other fitbit (she never named), is the other fitbit worthless as well since it has no built-in GPS.  She just wanted to complain and there is no response that would make her happy but agreeing with her.

It is just like the people who come on here and say, "why isn't this thing waterproof, now I can't swin with it and it is just a bad product and I can't return".  How do you respond to that to make them happy, you can't, the answer is it is not waterproof, and you should have known that before purchase.

[SunsetRunner]

While the functionality was clear to me, I can certainly see how some could pick up the blaze not understanding the nature of connected GPS. Fitbit has a great return policy for anyone who was not clear on this. If one waits until shortly past the return policy to try out functionality they could always call Fitbit and plead their case- I bet they would honor a return.

This said, the Blaze connected GPS functionality is very similar to the approach Apple Watch uses. the market should be fairly educated on the concept by now.

I am loving my Blaze - and still use my Surge for the occasional workout where I don't want to bring my phone along (rare for me.) Multi tracker support from Fitbit works very well.

The Blaze is much lighter and more attractive vs the surge in every day situations.

[AndrewFitbit]

Hey everyone, lets try to keep this a constructive and friendly conversation.

Keep in mind the chart from Kohl's was created by them, which can lead to misinformation or discrepancies. Other errors in Kohl's chart besides showing GPS for Blaze:

- "Reminders to move" is listed for Alta, Charge HR, Blaze, and Surge when it's currently only on the Alta.

- Flex does have auto sleep detection.

Checking Fitbit.com for accurate info is probably best practice.

As a side note, I have to agree with @SunsetRunner on that post. 

[goh]

@AndrewFitbit   I'm spending way more time on this than I should.  But I did find the navigation problem on your website.  If I go to www.fitbit.com and then click on the Bright Pink "Get Yours Now" and click "Fitbit Blaze" which was my route to product information, there is no description of "Connected GPS".  

If I navigate other ways from the fitibt.com homepage (drop down product menu or click the picture of Blaze) then indeed, there is a better page describing product details including a very short, but present, description of "Connected GPS".  

My apologies, I now see that the Fitbit website does indeed have a description if the correct navigation is used.