Fitbit Ionic vs Apple Watch

[MultiMartin]

I’m looking for some honest reflections. I used to have an Apple Watch (Series 0) years ago and eventually got a Fitbit Surge and now have a Fitbit Ionic. I’ve had the Ionic for about 15 months and have had no major issues with it. I got it when the App Store hadn’t been launched and the only way you can add music was over wifi from iTunes (before Deezer launched in the UK).

My insurance company are offering me a discounted Apple Watch Series 3 or 4 if I actively log exercise on it and I wondered how others feels the Ionic compares with the newer Apple Watches. I don’t feel like comparing my Series 0 to the Ionic or newer Apple watches is helpful so would value your input.

I originally bought the Ionic because I was excited to see what Fitbit would do with the watch after acquiring Pebble. (I don’t think the device has matured the way I expected). I also enjoyed using my previous Charge 2 and Surge devices to track my health and fitness. I also think the Fitbit app is very good - especially in comparison to the iOS offerings. Hence why I chose the Ionic at the time.

I generally use my watch for health metrics including sleep (although I wish the Ionic had a smart alarm which wakes you up according to your sleep cycle). It generally serves its purpose at the moment.

What I like about my Ionic:

- I like the tracking of heart rate and the way it is presented in the app. It would be nice if the watch used all of the sensors it has - I believe some are switched off

- I like the sleep tracking - although as stated a smart alarm is lacking

- I think the exercise tracking is generally good and present data in a good way

- Fitbit App

- I like the integration with Strava

- Excellent battery life

What I don’t like about my Ionic:

- I can’t access music easily. I pay for Apple Music and can’t easily use my own music on the watch. I currently have a free trial to Deezer but this expires in January.

- Lack of interaction with notifications and messaging on iOS

- App quality, quantity and multitasking - there are few decent workout apps which actually record activities on the app. For example if I used an interval training running app, I can’t use the Fitbit exercise app at the same time so the activity doesn’t get recorded within the app with GPS data included

- Apps require a sync to load new data

- Lack of calendar sync

I know that the Apple Watch has dreadful battery life in comparison to the Ionic but I wondered if anyone could offer any reflections on which device would best suit my needs - or if the device I want actually exists!

Thank you in advance!

I was also annoyed when the Adidas version was released and I couldn’t get the Adidas workouts as I would have really liked them.

Moderator Edit: Merged User's Posts

[SantiR]

@MultiMartin I hope you're doing well! Thanks for taking the time to post on this board to ask for users feedback regarding the watch and other devices. Thanks for showing all the details and for your interest in the Adidas version.

I'd recommend keeping Fitbit Ionic. This is because if offers a lot of features, clock faces, and apps you can download that makes this a great fitness watch. There will be more apps and features in the future so it is worth to keep it.

Keen to hear some other user's feedback regarding this?

Keep me posted! 

[MultiMartin]

Thanks Santi! But the Apple Watch offers more clock faces and apps than the Ionic?

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@SantiR wrote:

I'd recommend keeping Fitbit Ionic. This is because if offers a lot of features, clock faces, and apps you can download that makes this a great fitness watch. There will be more apps and features in the future so it is worth to keep it.

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[Ridgewoodau]

@MultiMartin I don’t think the device you and I are looking for exists yet. You inadvertently answered a question I had about the Apple Watch, regarding battery life. It doesn’t sound much better than what I’m experiencing with my Ionic. I run a couple marathons/half marathons a year. I was excited as a loyal Fitbit user to have the ability to listen to music and track my runs all without having to take my phone. I got my Ionic in June and was disappointed last week during a half marathon when my Ionic died at mile 12.5. I get that using the gps and music in tandem is going to drain the battery faster, but if it can’t make it through a long run/race it kind of defeats the purpose. While we have different issues with this device it seems like we have a common issue in that the device we are looking for just hasn’t been created yet. I’m considering the newest Apple Watch my self, but like you I enjoy a lot of the features the Fitbit app offers for the same reasons you mentioned. The watch works great if you’re not working out/running more than a few hours. I too have issues with message notifications. Sounds like giving a discounted Apple Watch a try would be worth the effort. If I try it first I’ll come back and post how it goes. 

[MultiMartin]

@SunsetRunner Thank you for your reflections! I haven’t experienced the crashes yet but that’s mostly because I log extended cycling with my Garmin bike computer. Although the forum is filled with lots of horror stories. It is concerning that it crashes.

I also get what you’re saying about feeling abandoned - I have got that impression since the Versa was released.

I also get a discount on Garmin devices. However, I’m not sure their app is as good as Fitbit’s!

[SunsetRunner]

@MultiMartin in terms of app I expect certain degree of analysis of my workouts. For example if you take for example S-Health for Samsung Gear trackers/watches, every run is broken down into pace analysis, HR analysis etc. There is a lot more fine detail and the app pairs with other sensors, too. Fitbit is so behind with features and makes very closed environment that for me it is not enough. First I look for decent fitness tracker then optionally smart watch. Ionic doesn't deliver in my opinion, at least considering my requirement. All the bugs don't make the picture looking any better and lack of company's response when issues arise is very upsetting. I am not sure about Garmin but as I said, I would do lot more careful research before buying my next device. I am less about brand and more about capabilities and reliability.

[SunsetRunner]

Due to certain reasons, my previous reply has been deleted. I edited it so hopefully, it won't be removed ( I'm hoping I removed and edited the right part of the reply 😞

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I just lost part of my workout because Exercise app crashed again. I was lucky I divided it into smaller chunks, otherwise, I would lose everything. A critical bug that's been there for a couple of months, reported by a number of users and still there.

@MultiMartin I can't speak for AppleWatch as I've been using it only for a very short time as developer alongside with other iOS devices but I know one thing - Fitbit Ionic is a joke not because the device is bad but because the company doesn't care. There are bugs which can't be fixed, there is no response from developers on the status of resolving the most critical ones ( like Exercise app crashing - there's nothing more frustrating than losing all the workout ). Having plenty of work on the device the company seems to be more interested in pushing new devices to the market leaving users with the feeling of being abandoned. I wouldn't probably pick AppleWatch as I don't need smartwatch that much but reliable fitness tracker. So I could live without decent apps ( you won't find them in Fitbit, it's mostly because the SDK is too simple to allow making anything more serious ). With Charge 2 I could forgive a lot as it wasn't bad for the price range but with Ionic - it's one of my greatest regrets about wasting money. At least I learned to be careful making such choices and double or even triple check what I am actually buying.

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As of today, the crash happened again during tracking Workout so I stopped using any tracking on Ionic. I log it manually using data obtained externally Therefore, I can't recommend Ionic due to the problems I described.

[bmw54]

@MultiMartin:

I couldn't determine from your letter if you're a competitive runner, but if so my experience with the Ionic might be of interest. After six months of terrible pace and distance errors, as well as routine loss of GPS connection, it seemed to be improving.

But when it comes time for 'the big race' Ionic continues to fail.

Here's its results for the two full marathons I ran this year:

Boston Marathon, as measured by fitbit Ionic

Ocean State Marathon, as measured by fitbit Ionic

In both cases I completed the full marathon; in both cases the Ionic was useless in providing pace information during the race. Fitbit products are valuable to people making sedentary-to-active lifestyle changes, but the company is unwilling to commit the resources to make a competitive product for athletes. I wish they'd get honest and state it outright.