Feedback for App Gallery

[MarandoPSU]

Blunt truth time: the apps available for the Fitbit OS are a joke. It's not difficult to understand why, since you have to go out of your way to secure third party developers to make things special for your devices.

Look no further than this forum and the most popular/frequent topics. Game Golf, for example. The Fitbit version sucks and it only works with the Ionic. If the Versa was a compatible Android Wear device it would not only have a functional golf app... but tons of choices. Hole19, SwingxSwing, GolfPad, etc.

Here's what Fitbit fans want out of their fitness smartwatch: a tracker capable of syncing with the Fitbit app, and capable of running the apps they already have. You will never get there by trying to develop your own app ecosystem and partnering with third parties to get things developed for you special. How do we get this feedback to the people who matter?

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[supersmart01234]

Okay, they have their own OS. They say it saves battery life. I choose to believe that. If you're criticizing their OS, that's a problem. They aren't forcing you to buy a product you don't like. Most of the Fitbit Ionic reviews call it "buggy software". I'm sure Fitbit wants something original that's focused on health and fitness. If you want your great apps, I'm sure you can look further than this software that's not even a year old yet.

[Rich_Laue]

Nobody is stopping you from writing your own apps for the ionic. Most of the apps have been written by Fitbit users, not Fitbit. 

Why does Fitbit have their own ecosystem? Because Fitbit users have been requesting. 

[Giampi71]

The fact that Ionic (and Versa) uses a proprietary OS rather than Wear OS (formerly Android wear) is what makes it my favorite smartwatch. 

So please add a "in my opinion"to your post and don't speak for all Fitbit users.

[Rich_Laue]

Will fitbits hardware support android wear, and I wasnt speaking for all fitbit users, just the ones who voted for the suggestion. 

However it looks as if the Ionic and Versa are your favorite watches because Fitbit has a propriatary OS. 

---

@Giampi71 wrote:

The fact that Ionic (and Versa) uses a proprietary OS --- cut --- (is) what makes it my favorite smartwatch. 

---

[Giampi71]

@Rich_Laue: I was actually answering to @MarandoPSU, sorry for confusion.

Owning both an Ionic and Polar m600 (Wear OS) I can say that I decided to buy the Ionic because of very disappointed by Wear OS system and found it much better. Hence my post.

[MarreFitbit]

Hey there @MarandoPSU, thanks for stopping by and for the thorough feedback for the Fitbit devices, apps, third-party apps and so on. This has not gone unnoticed and be sure that I will pass this along.

We don't want to create frustration in our customers. Fitbit has been designed to provide motivation and help you to reach your daily goals to success. Please know that we provide feedback to our team based on community posts and we are always working on improving our devices and overall environment based on that feedback.

To all of you, I'd like to say that I understand that this is an important topic to the everyone in this thread, but I'll remind you that our Community Guidelines ask for civil discourse on these forums. Please refrain from inflammatory posts and personal attacks. Just keep this in mind guys!

As it has been mentioned by you @Giampi71 @Rich_Laue and @supersmart01234, Fitbit Ionic and Fitbit Versa include the ability for developers to create and upload apps to the Fitbit App Gallery. To get more information about this, check the article: How do I develop new apps for the Fitbit App Gallery?

Also, Fitbit Labs is a Fitbit Research initiative focused on developing and testing potential Fitbit features in the form of experimental apps and smart clock faces designed to motivate users and help drive behavior change. For additional information about Fitbit Labs, visit the Fitbit blog.

Although we don't provide specific troubleshooting or support for Fitbit Labs apps or clock faces at this time, we welcome user feedback as we look for new ways to deliver smart, insightful and motivating experiences. Share your feedback through this form.

For future references, with third party apps, note that Fitbit doesn't own or maintain third party integrations. It's up to the owner of the third party app to implement or update features for their app so in this case is recommendable to contact the third party developer to learn more about future implementations. 

To contact the developer please open their app on the Fitbit App Gallery, scroll/swipe down and under "App Details" you will find the information.

For general troubleshooting tips for apps and clock faces, see How do I set up and troubleshoot apps on my Fitbit watch?

Rest assure we are working to deliver better options to our users, so once again thank you for your feedback as this help us to continue our work. 

I'm happy to hear most of you are enjoying your Fitbit Ionic and Fitbit Versa! 

[MarandoPSU]

@Giampi71 wrote:

@Rich_Laue: I was actually answering to @MarandoPSU, sorry for confusion.

Owning both an Ionic and Polar m600 (Wear OS) I can say that I decided to buy the Ionic because of very disappointed by Wear OS system and found it much better. Hence my post.

Understood, however looking around this section it would appear you are in the minority. The Game Golf thread has over 500 comments at this current time, and all of them are "this doesn't work and there are no alternatives". The Polar M600, using your example, has 14 alternatives available by my count.

That is a trend with Fitbit apps. If it doesn't work you are out of luck, and I don't think "write an app yourself" is an acceptable solution. 

I fully understand where I am posting, and that the opinions of people with 30,000 comments here will come out and say the contrary. However for those of us without our heads in the sand, we want choices. Choices that work. And in my opinion, walling off the hardware is not the way to get there. That is my feedback, whatever it is worth.

[supersmart01234]

Hello, I'm back again to post on this forum. Firstly, some people support Fitbit in their decision to make Fitbit OS. It doesn't drain the battery as much as Wear OS(Android Wear). Somehow, the Ionic and Versa get about 4 days of battery life running Fitbit OS. Just give Fitbit some slack. The Apple Watch had(what, like 6 months) to develop the apps....before the actual Apple watch was released. Besides, Google and Apple have about a 3 year headstart on Fitbit. Cut them some slack, please.

[MarandoPSU]

---

@supersmart01234 wrote:

The Apple Watch had(what, like 6 months) to develop the apps....before the actual Apple watch was released. Cut them some slack, please.

---

The Ionic has been out for 10 months. How much slack would you think is appropriate to give them? 

[Giampi71]

Apple Watch is based on iOS, not a completely new OS.

[SantiR]

@MarandoPSU I hope you're doing well! Thank you so much for your feedback. It is very important for Fitbit. 

There are a couple more alternatives you can try if an app is not working properly:

• If it is a third party app you can contact the developer directly to provide feedback and get it fixed or implemented. In most cases they will have their contact details displayed under "App Details" at the Fitbit App Gallery.
• If it is a Fitbit Labs app you can send your feedback through this form.
• If it is a Fitbit App you can post on this board (in which you can try uninstalling the app and then re install) or you can contact customer support directly to get a fix.

@supersmart01234 @Giampi71 Thanks for your participation and help on this thread. 

See you around! 

[P38]

I see all kinds of posts about Game Golf on the forum but I cannot find it in the Fitbit ap gallery.  Where is it and how do I get it on my ionic?

[Giampi71]

Hello @P38

You have 2 options:

1) All Apps -> Lifestyle -> View all (it's the 14th listed)

2) in the gallery All Apps press the magnifier on top right and write golf

Let us know if it doesn't work for you. Happy golfing!

[SantiR]

 @P38 Welcome to the Fitbit Community! Thanks for your interest on installing the Game Golf GPS app. 

Please follow @Giampi71's instructions in order to find this app. I will leave a picture of how it looks for you:

Game Golf GPS RangeFinder

@Giampi71 Thanks for your awesome help on this thread.

Hope this helps. See you around!  

[P38]

Thank you @Giampi71.  

I went to all apps and chose lifestyles and there it was.  It is on my ionic now and tomorrow I will be going out to see if it works.  It will be the second time I will be going out with Game Golf.  The first time was Saturday, using my iPod Touch and I kept forgetting to tap the club before I hit.  At the end of the day I had no usable results to help me out.  I will be more diligent tomorrow and I will hopefully see my position on the course as I play and have useful results when the round is over.

P38

[SantiR]

@P38 Thanks for your reply and for providing those details. I'm glad to read that you were able to download the Game Golf GPS App. 

There is a new update for that app that was just released, feel free to update it as soon as you can. 

See you around!