Personal views on Blaze after the Charge HR and Fitbit One

[EdNap]

General Background:

I am 55 yeasr old male, a bit of a technology junkie. Like technology that makes life fun. Have been a smart watch wearer since they were first released and my wife descibes me as constant early adopter.

FitBit Background:

My Fitbit journey began several years ago with the FitBit One. Used the device and App to achieve my weight loss & fitness goals (-20kg) by logging calories and exercise. Also purchased the Aria weigh scale. Over the years I have become somewhat "locked in" to FitBit as I have accumulated lots of data I want to keep. Upgraded to the Charge HR a few months back when I found it on duty-free sale at an International airport. With my then current Pebble Time smart watch that meant a device on both wrists.

Decided to pre order the blaze knowing the smart watch aspects were not as advanced as the Pebble Time but willing to give it a try and free up one wrist for something else.

FitBit Blaze Specifics:

Basics Features

Pretty good, steps, distance, stairs, all as consistent with the earlier devices I had.

Heart Rate not clinicaly 100% accurate but neither was the Charge HR. Despite that it is consistent enough to be useful, particulay in monitoring personal performance in gym cardio sessions.

Sleep mode, better than the Charge HR as I don't have to enable it or diable it. Device "detects" sleep by itself. Only down side of that is the loss of the "Time to fall asleep" metric which was a feature in the Charge HR. As the Blaze doesn't receive a manual trigger to initiate a counter that measurement is not included. 

I do like the improvement in activity tracking. THe Blaze is better at picking up things like "Ellipitacl trainer" and going into that tracking mode without my having to do anything. Not so good at picking up some of my other activities (weight training etc.) but it still allows me to enter these in manual.

Screen

Is OK but not brilliant. Easy to see inside, not as good as other devices I have worn when it comes to visability in direct sunlight. Have to cup the device with my other hand to read the display. The size of the actual display compared to the siz of the overal device is small. About 3mm blank area left, top and right and 6mm on bottom. Add another 2mm laft and right and 6mm top and bottom once in the band/frame.

Makes the overall unit bigger than the functional area.

Band

(black plastic version) is OK, like the Charge HR I find my perfect wrist size seems to sit between two holes so I opt for the looser of the two.

Charging.

Not a big fan of having to pop the unit out to charge. I find it annoying and would prefer a means to snap a cable to the back of the device whilst in the band. Add a night stand to charge overnight for those prepared to loose sleep tracking for one night a week to enable a full recharge. In putting the device back in the band after charging I often activate music or other control on my iPhone as my fingers interact with the touch screen of the Blaze when popping it back into the frame. Don't like that at all.  

Battery life is pretty good. 6 to 7 days at a stretch. Consistently 5.

Notifications

These are almost reliable but basic. I receive all text messages, all calendar alerts, most calls. Sometimes the call notification vibrates the blaze but fails to display controls on the unit unles I tap the screen.

I certainly miss the other notification my Pebble Time was able to process. (eg, WhatsApp, FB Messenger, eBay bids etc. etc.) Hopefully FitBit will move towards full notification access in the future

WatchFaces

I have tried these and reverted to the Original. I like that the outer ring of the clock aligns to my step goal and wanting to complete the full circle each day adds encouragement. Ability to tap and cycle through the other metrics displayed at the bottom is good though lack of ability to increase font size is annoying.

Also miss the variety of choices (available via open source ) I was able to download and cycle through on the Pebble. 

Operating System

In my opinion it lacks a lot of customisation and user options I became used to from other devices. Colour settings, order of items on the menu, font sizes etc. In my opinion it relies on doing too much purely on the app rather than the unit itself.For example creating a new alarm. Why not? Some features which I think should be available on both are available on neither. Not even being able to easily obtain a percentage battery strength is a shortfall. I live in hope whomever drives the software side of FitBit will start comparing to other platforms and lift the game as there are lots of opportunities that do not require additional hardware development which could make this unit attractive to more users.

On the other hand the App development (IOS) is pretty good and combined with the wearable is a strong combination.

Wear and tear

I have a screen guard on order, The flat surface has not marked (yet) but I have learnt from other devices that no matter how hard or scratch proof they claim to be bumping a brick wall or similar usually ends with the wall winning.

I have not tested the water resitance other than via regular and decent sweat in the gym.

Summining Up 

I am happily wearing and using the device but admit a major factor in my current FitBit loyalty is wanting access to all the data I have captured over the years. That could end eventually when a smarter device becomes available. A true "SMART" fitness tracker.

Based on my experience with other devices the Blaze is not a smart watch and actually isn't even close to being one. But as a fitness tracker with basic notifications it is pretty good. Does the job and does is mostly well.

Cheers

Ed

[SunsetRunner]

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@EdNap wrote:

... the Blaze is not a smart watch and actually isn't even close to being one. But as a fitness tracker with basic notifications it is pretty good. Does the job and does is mostly well.

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Remembering of course that it isn't sold as a smart watch but rather a smart fitness tracker 🙂

[EdNap]

Exactly, and that's why I bought one.

[AngelaMa]

Hello @EdNap! Thanks for taking the time to post your review about the Blaze, I'm glad to hear you are happy with your tracker. @SunsetRunner It's nice to see you around. 🙂 

Hope to see you around more often! 😉 

[dianatron]

Hi @EdNap your rundown was very informative, as I, like u have progressed through the trackers(flex and One) and have lost 27lbs. I wanted to progress to the Blaze, but dont have a compatible device, which presumably allows for notifications, music etc. I am struggling with the win 10 app. at the moment, talk about slow!! So, do I go for this tracker or not, or am I going to compound the issues I already have??? + if my device(kindle) is not compatible, will I miss out on many of the features you talk about????  Any advice would help!! I rely on the win 10 app for syncing(which it does in its own good time)!, then I log onto the website, just to check how accurate win 10 has been at logging my stats, and I often just log my stats myself, as its quicker, and all the food etc. is there for me to see. You can probably gather I loath the win 10 app, and wish I could put fitbit connect back on my computer, but it wont do it, as there would be conflict! not with me, as I would get rid of it today, but am stuck with it, and hope they get it to be more efficient! Moan over, but would be grateful for advice before 'forking out' £160 on something that looks good, but would in effect be no better than my little One, that I like, but is limited, many thanks

[Rich_Laue]

The Blaze will sync and set alarms through the same devices that yhe Flex and One synced through.
Without a compatable phone there will not be sny access to the connected GPS, you may still use the Fitbit app as you might be doing now.
Notifacations will also not work, everythong else should be fine.

[dianatron]

Hi there thanx for your input on the Blaze. So, as it stands now, I’d be paying for something that my One does perfectly well, but looks better Yes/No???

[bbarrera]

@dianatron at least for walkers, in many ways the One is the best Fitbit. Versus Blaze you get proper step credit for walking when pushing a cart/trolley, higher accuracy when worn on hip or in pocket, longer battery life, and it costs less. Blaze notifications don't work with Windows phone, so those features aren't available to you. 24x7 HR is great for the data obsessed or curious, but I've seen no real practical benefit - there is an argument that it provides better calorie burn estimates if you are counting calories, but I've found that for walkers the Fitbit One does an excellent job (and for me the Blaze/Surge over estimate calorie burn, and unfortunately are not more accurate).

[dianatron]

Hi bberarra(hope that's right)! Thanx a lot for putting me straight on the Blaze. It just looks so cool, after my little One, and I am in my late 60's, so power walking is really all I can do with my dog! I have always been very active, gym 2-3Times a week, but the old knees r showing ware, so can't do aerobics any more, and dislike swimming pools(filthy things)I don't have a compatible device, so would not gain all the 'goodies. I have been raging at kindle(my device) as like Apple and Google,they r not allowing crossovers, they want u to buy their products only, which makes the end user very confused and annoyed. I have an anniversary coming up(45yrs)and thought it an ideal gift, but such a waste of money, just to look good! Thanx again for your input, Dianne

[EdNap]

Since initiating this post I have sold the Blaze and returned to using my Charge HR in com  bination with an Apple Watch. Seriously thinking of actually reverting back to the FitBit One over the Charge HR just to free up a wrist but I admit to liking the HR data from the Charge as it aligns to my fitbit activity which the HR unit on the Apple Watch doesn't sync with.

I found the notifications on the Blaze were rather limited and not as reliable as I had hoped.

Ed

[EdNap]

Hi, I wouldn't spend the money 🙂

[dianatron]

Many thanks Ed. it seems such a pity that such a fine piece of ‘jewellery’ is so useless!! I love my One, but it has given up the calorie display,although it still logs them, but I do like to see it with the steps, and I’ve just looked at it, and its stopped displaying distance too! I reset it but it didn’t help, so I guess the new device will be another One, cheers Di

[bbarrera]

To be fair, its not useless, however it is difficult to justify the price tag when the One works so well. I'm not alone in that assessment, there are a fair number of Blaze reviews on tech websites that conclude with recommending Charge HR or One.  I'm a tech junkie and picked up a Blaze, but 99% of the time just use MobileTrack on my iPhone to track Fitbit steps (phone in pocket, similar to using One) and wear an Apple Watch for notifications and quick weather updates.

[Dairyfarmer]

I have had my HR Charge just 6 months and it's falling apart. Love What it tracks and what it does. But was considering the Blaze in replacing it because of this issue. Looked at reviews and it looks like it's a common problem. The HR Charge was a Christmas gift. So didn't review before purchase.

[Rich_Laue]

@dianatron when you say the gave up the calories, are you saying calories are not shown anymore?  Go to your sevice settings, through app or web. From here you can turn on or off any stat and rearrange them

[dianatron]

Hi there, what I am saying is, the display I normally get from my One, of cals spent,floors,and distance have all disappeared, all I’m getting is day, steps, and alarms(on display), It is still logging them, but I cant see them until the tracker has synced, see what I mean?? Can this be adjusted in the settings? I dont think so, I’ve reset it twice to no avail, so is it time for them to give me a new one, as it isn’t 2 yrs old yet??

[AngelaMa]

Hello everyone thanks for stopping by! @dianatron as @Rich_Laue mentioned you can choose what information is displayed on your Fitbit One, resetting the tracker will not turn them back on, this needs to be done on your tracker's settings. This help article will provide you the steps to review this. @Dairyfarmer please reach out to our support team for assistance. @Rich_Laue, @bbarrera, @EdNap thanks for stopping by! 😉 

Catch you later! 

[dianatron]

Hi Angela thanx for your input. I have sent an ‘e’ to the F.B. team, as I think they, and you need to know exactly what win 10 did! I went to my settings in my account on the web, to find that half of them were turned off. Now, I haven’t been in there since I set the One up 18 months ago, so I am not responsible for that happening! I did as was suggested by Ed (and thanx again for that Ed) and turned them back on, forced a sync, and then tried the settings on the tracker---nothing!! I then went to the settings in the win 10 app, did exactly the same there, and voila! display back! Now I dont know about u, but I think win 10 is taking over the world!! cos, if u dont do it it’s way, it dont get dun! just thought you’d like to know what we r up against here. I was one of the first to upgrade to win 10(worst decision) should have waited for them to stabilize it first. I haven’t been able to open my camera app since Win 10 was installed, that is until recently, when so many people were complaining about this, we got an upgrade, and so far it is holding, but I am not holding my breath, cos it goes, and then comes back again. I must say, I do feel rather pleased with myself, at having sorted this, but feel that Win 10 should not have been forced on us in the current state it is in. What they r doing is using our feedback to rectify it’s faults, so we r the unpaid developers if u like, which is a bit of a cheek really. One other thing u should know, all the automatic updates that go to any computer now is setting it up to receive Win 10(that is from a computer tech)! So it looks like we r stuck with it now, for good or otherwise! I like the idea of Win 10, but not in it’s current state. The amount of feedback I have given , amounts to many hours of trial and error, which is wrong. Happy Tracking, catch u again no doubt, Dianne

[AngelaMa]

Hello @dianatron thanks for sharing! I'm glad to know your One's display is showing the information on the display. 

Hope to see you around more often 

[dianatron]

Hi Angela, don't know what has been done, or what I've done, but the app is now actually responding, although still slow, and the worrying thing is, it is doubling up every entry!! so I think it needs some more work on it!! C u around!! Dianne