Fitbit Inspire 3 first impressions

[barakgodi]

I'm truly enjoying this tracker so far, so I wanted to offer a breakdown for others who might be considering it. Before this, I used the Inspire HR, then the Inspire 2 (both for a year). I've had this tracker for four days so far. It's been a nice upgrade with no major gripes.

Battery life: currently at 69% (nice) so the 10-day battery life claim definitely appears to be accurate if extrapolated based on my four days of use. Especially since I've been monkeying with it way more than usual, as I play with settings, watch faces, and explore features.

Display: the screen is very nice to look at, and is night and day compared to the Inspire 2. You can actually read the display in sunlight, even when display is set to 'dim', which was a major pet peeve of mine on previous versions. One disappointment is that there is no 'stat heavy' watch face currently available. I don't care so much about a pretty looking clock vs getting my data--hopefully more faces are released in the future. Right now, the most detailed watch face only displays time, date, day of week, and ONE health stat which you have to cycle through to see what you want by tapping. A nice feature was noticing current run stats were visible during my runs, which helped me see how I'm performing and whether I want to adjust my pace, etc. There is a lot of bezel on the tracker, but I understand a bigger display would just mean worse battery life. There appears to be what I assume is a light sensor, so I think it adjusts brightness, but not sure about that yet.

Controls: the tracker swipes left and right for menu options as well as up and down, which I prefer because one 'swipe' always means passing through one menu item, instead of sometimes landing halfway between two menu items. The double tapping to turn on the screen actually works consistently on this product unlike prior generations. There is an 'always on' display option, but this seems like a waste of battery, so I don't plan to use it.

Comfort: the Inspire HR was a disaster in terms of comfort because the bottom (where it makes skin contact) was 'pointy' and poked at your wrist in a concentrated area. The Inspire 2 was an improvement on this, as it was more flat, and this seems to be about in line with the Inspire 2 in terms of comfort. The band seems slightly more soft and comfortable than previously (I may still swap for stretchy cloth band which are the height of comfort for these trackers, although no accessories are for sale yet on Amazon).

Tracking and stats: these seem to be on par with prior generations in terms of features (nothing really new)--the big difference being blood oxygen levels are now visible. This isn't really useful to me or probably most people but may be interesting to see how it changes over time/what lifestyle factors affect it.

Overall, so far I'm glad I upgraded from the previous generation, mainly because the display is so much more useful, visible, and pleasing to look at, and the display is way better to navigate. It feels far more premium than prior Inspire generations, enough to avoid dinging or scratching the display up, whereas before I really could care less as the display wasn't nice in the first place. Overall I think it's worth the upgrade. Let me know if you have any other questions about it, happy to answer.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[NellyG]

Hi @barakgodi Thanks for your findings on the Inspire 3 so far - very interesting!

[Den726]

Is the irregular heart rate notification on the face with a vibration,  or do you need the premium app?

[Ata1anta]

Thank you for the detailed review. I am currently using an Inspire HR and while I really like it as a tracker, I really HATE trying to charge it. My question to you: is it easier to charge? Charging my Inspire HR inspires me to use bad language while I futz with getting the connection right to charge. 

[Jcr3]

Thank you for your detailed description.  My objection to the Inspire 2 is that the timer counts hours and minutes, not minutes and seconds, rendering it useless for timing my exercises.  Has this been changed.  If I can have minutes and seconds, I would consider upgrading.

[Ata1anta]

I'm not sure about the Inspire 2 but the Inspire HR has a stopwatch function that does minutes and seconds.

[kathyR8]

I’ve had Inspire HR for a few years, liked it, and so far I like Inspire 3, however anybody know why charging cord is so short? And it does not stay attached. If cord dangles at all from wall plug, it unattached and charging stops. Big inconvenience. And not easy to change bands. 

[colddonkey]

After 65+million steps since Dec. 2013 my Fitbit One is acting really bonkers of late :^( .

Time to replace soon.

I really only give a hoot about steps and sleep, is there any really worth while difference in the Inspire 2 from the newer Inspire 3 in those 2 categories? The Inspire will live in my pocket with the clip not on my wrist.

Hard times require hard choices the Inspire 2 seems to be half the price of the Inspire 3. But also have no desire to be disappointed because I wanted to save a few bucks.

[Jcr3]

I upgraded to the Inspire 3 because of the timer. The 2 counts down in hours and minutes; the 3 counts minutes and seconds. This makes a big difference to me. I use it to time my stretching exercises.

I chose the Inspire because of the body-worn option. You should know, however, that it will not track sleep unless you attach the straps and wear it on your wrist overnight. Removing the straps is easy, but I find attaching the straps to be difficult. I wish there were an easier strap attachment.

Unless you are interested in timing things in seconds, I think you will find little difference between the Inspire 2 and Inspire 3.


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