Impressions after almost two weeks

[jresnick]

I purchased the Ionic on the day it went on sale.  I have lived with it for almost two weeks and am very conflicted on whether I am going to keep it.  I came from owning a Pebble Time.  There are several base line things a supposed smart watch should do that the Ionic simply doesn't:

1.  You should at the very least be able to reply to texts with canned messages.

2.  The screen should automatically light up when a text or phone call comes in.  This may not seem like a big deal but the screen does not come on 50% of the time when I raise my wrist; really annoying.

3.  The device could have had a speaker and the ability to dictate answers to texts just like the Pebble Time did (why did they buy their assets if they weren't going to leverage them)

4.  Your events/appointments should come up as a banner on the bottom of the screen just like they did on the Pebble Time.

5.  Complete lack of great apps at launch which is really disappointing.

On the positive side, the Ionic is very light and comfortable to wear all the time.  The multi day use without charging is probably its greatest feature.  Fitbit advertising the Ionic as a smart watch is farily misleading as there is little about it that is "smart".  Still not sure why they didn't incorporate some of the greatest features of the Pebble Time.

I'm fairly certain that firmware and software updates can fix some of these problems. I have been toying with taking it back and getting an Apple Watch 3, but the reality of having to charge it every night seems more annoying than the annoying aspects of the Ionic.  I also found the Apple Watch to be heavier than the Ionic and not that comfortable to wear.  I have the rest of today to decide if I want to take the Ionic back.

[bbarrera]

I’d say try both. Buy AW from a store with return policy and give it a go. I’ve had one for two years and charging isn’t a hassle. Most reviews (AW2 and AW3), and series 2 owners I know are getting two days on a charge assuming you don’t have really long GPS tracking. It couldn’t be easier to put on a take off charger. Just doing that during morning and evening bathroom ritual I’m able to do 24x7 HR and sleep tracking on my series 0. 

Ionic hardware limitations are a bummer if you want smartwatch features. Software will stabilize at some point, but I’m not liking the one app a time limitation of fitbitOS. And the SDK will limit what is possible for apps. Those will likely take years and possibly another hardware iteration to resolve. 

[GCHouston]

A key point to remember about the Apple Watches is that none of them track sleep natively or automatically without 3rd party apps. That is something that the FitBit devices have over Apple. 

My wife tried the AW2 for a week but returned it because of the aforementioned sleep tracking limitations and the need to constantly have it charging.

Everyone is different, though. I do agree that I wouldn't call the Ionic a "smartwatch". It has  potential but it'll require an update in firmware and software.

One of my immediate concerns when I got my Ionic is how the app gallery is handled. FitBit will have to make a change once all of the supposed apps get published from devs. It will be a nightmare to scroll through a ton of apps with no ability to search or filter the apps out. 

[SunsetRunner]

Surely you have to remember that the Ionic is a fitness and sleep tracker first and a smart watch second? That’s the way I see it anyway

[GCHouston]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

Surely you have to remember that the Ionic is a fitness and sleep tracker first and a smart watch second? That’s the way I see it anyway

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Couldn't agree more with this statement. 

[Blackish]

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@bbarrera wrote:

I’d say try both. Buy AW from a store with return policy and give it a go. I’ve had one for two years and charging isn’t a hassle. Most reviews (AW2 and AW3), and series 2 owners I know are getting two days on a charge assuming you don’t have really long GPS tracking. It couldn’t be easier to put on a take off charger. Just doing that during morning and evening bathroom ritual I’m able to do 24x7 HR and sleep tracking on my series 0. 

Ionic hardware limitations are a bummer if you want smartwatch features. Software will stabilize at some point, but I’m not liking the one app a time limitation of fitbitOS. And the SDK will limit what is possible for apps. Those will likely take years and possibly another hardware iteration to resolve. 

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Really bbarrera, just get a life? Your sole purpose in this forum is to point others to the Apple Watch. Day in, day out. You don’t like the Ionic (although u never tried it) and you like the AW series 0. End of story.

I chose the Ionic over AW series 3 because I was disappointed by the battery life of the AW3 (just not a priority for Apple it seems), the lack of native sleep tracking and the absence of auto activity tracking. For me the Ionic is a perfect fitness companion and I’m looking forward to the ‘smart’ features Fitbit will (eventually) implement. Right now it’s just not a smart enough smartwatch.

[SunsetRunner]

Doing a 2hr bike ride with my AW2 was enough to mean I wouldn't see a full 24hr cycle without a top up charge, especially if I was out again the next day. 

[SunsetRunner]

100% Agreed. 

I bought the Ionic on the understanding that this was a fitness tracker. On researching the device (and being a previous Fitbit owner) I think it's made perfectly clear that this is the whole idea of the Ionic. 

Boom. Simple. 

[Bob.indary]

I thought I.m the only one who is disappointed with his Ionic & going to exchange it with Apple 3 or Garmin Fenix 5..

[SunsetRunner]

I went the opposite way.  I came from the Apple Watch to the ionic.  I don’t think wrist wearables work well as smartphones.  I think they are excellent at fitness tracking and motivation.  I love the approach Fitbit took with this watch - fitness first.  The  sleep tracking has really helped me in setting goals. The community challenges and leaderboards and the simple arrangement of the app are just what I needed for motivation.  I love the 4+ day battery life.  The notifications are fine for me, if it’s important enough I grab my phone.  Out on runs or at the gym, I don’t want to answer calls or text.  I found most of the “apps” on AW useless, so I don’t really miss that.  I only used the timers and pay.  I’ve set up the timer as the top right shortcut and exercise as bottom right.  I loaded up about 100 workout songs and it works perfectly with my cheap Bluetooth headphones.  I’m very happy with it, not going back to AW.  This is perfect for me!

[SunsetRunner]

Disappointed in what way?

[Snowcrash]

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@Bob.indary wrote:

I thought I.m the only one who is disappointed with his Ionic & going to exchange it with Apple 3 or Garmin Fenix 5..

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You sound like me.  

I actually really like the Ionic.  But my review would look like:

1). If you want a wrist computer/Phone, buy your Apple Watch already and be done with it.

2) If you love Fitbit ecosystem (devices, app, scale...) the Ionic looks like the best device they have ever made.  No, it doesn’t have all the smartwatch features...  see #1... and no it’s not perfect.  I worry a little about build quality from previous devices, but only time will tell.  It has great potential.  The silent vibration alert is stronger and adjustable, the screen is beautiful, and there are multiple ways to bring your music and money with your watch.

3) If you’re a total fitness data geek, (and I mean that in the best possible way) you need a Garmin.  It tracks far more data natively than Fitbit or Apple Watch.  And it can be expanded with external sensors to collect even more accuarate data.  It’s not much of a smartwatch, you can get texts, and fitness related apps.  It’s a running watch.  No onboard music features, no credit card built in.  The screen is nowhere near as pretty and bright.  Text alerts are less customizable.  “Everything and calls, or just calls or off”. It tracks sleep, but only “awake, light, deep”. It’s built like a tank and has a massive battery life.

Each one is missing something.  Each one has something the others don’t offer.  

Decisions decisions....

[winb83]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

100% Agreed. 

I bought the Ionic on the understanding that this was a fitness tracker. On researching the device (and being a previous Fitbit owner) I think it's made perfectly clear that this is the whole idea of the Ionic. 

Boom. Simple. 

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I disagree. Fitbit has in the past made the Surge and Blaze that are both fitness trackers with smartwatch features. This was actually marketed as Fitbit's first smartwatch. What it actually is for all practical purposes is a Blaze with a built in GPS and some MP3 storage with the possibility to run new apps.

At launch it's marginally better than the Blaze. I can't get it to properly add songs and the songs I do have on there the audio quality streaming to Bluetooth is very poor so for me it's a Blaze with built in GPS considering I'm not paid on Pandora and I don't use Starbucks. As for Fitbit Pay I have a Samsung phone so I earn rewards using Samsung Pay so there's no reason to use Fitbit Pay over that.

I'm probably gonna keep this because I paid for half of it with cash back on a credit card, Best Buy rewards, and gift cards but I wouldn't come out of my pocket $299.99 for this at this point. If you want a smartwatch this isn't the answer. If you want a fitness tracker you can get one even from this company much cheaper.

There's no guarantee this device ever really becomes much better. Maybe some of the software issues do get fixed but who is to say that app developers ever fully embrace this? I'm a firm believer that you buy a tech device like this for what it is not what it may become. Basically if you look at what the device is right now and you're ok with this being the best it gets then it's a good buy for you but if you look at it and hope it gets better it's probably not.

[bbarrera]

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@Blackish wrote:

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Really bbarrera, just get a life? Your sole purpose in this forum is to point others to the Apple Watch. Day in, day out. You don’t like the Ionic (although u never tried it) and you like the AW series 0. End of story.

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Nah, I've got Aria scale, and have kept tracking steps and activities in Fitbit. Seriously thinking of getting an Ionic. People make a lot of negative claims about AW, many without having tried it. I've had Flex, Force, Surge, and Blaze. At some point I'll get an Ionic, just spending time here lately to separate Fitbit marketing hype from reality.

[jresnick]

Made a decision this morning to return the Ionic.  I strapped my Pebble Time back on and realized that I actually want a smartwatch that is a fairly good fitness tracker, NOT a fitness tracker that is trying to be a smartwatch and pretty much failing at it.  I may keep the Pebble for a while longer to see what kind of firmware and software improvements come along for the Ionic instead of buying an Apple Watch.  It's a shame that Pebble went out of business as the Time is a great device! 

[jresnick]

Final Chapter:  Purchased an Apple Watch.  So far, battery life, the biggest complaint has not been an issue.  I'm getting a day and 1/2 on a charge which includes wearing it when I sleep.  I purchased a 3rd party sleep app that works really well.  As I mentioned before, I would have kept the Ionic (longer battery life, lighter and more comfortable on my wrist than the Apple watch) if only Fitbit would have included a few "smart" things that the Pebble Time had.  

[Crazy-Fritter]

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@jresnick wrote:

Final Chapter:  Purchased an Apple Watch.  So far, battery life, the biggest complaint has not been an issue.  I'm getting a day and 1/2 on a charge which includes wearing it when I sleep.  I purchased a 3rd party sleep app that works really well.  As I mentioned before, I would have kept the Ionic (longer battery life, lighter and more comfortable on my wrist than the Apple watch) if only Fitbit would have included a few "smart" things that the Pebble Time had.  

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As far as out right quality and longevity for the money, the apple watch is the better choice.

[SunsetRunner]

You have to remember that this is only the apps available at launch as I’m sure more companies will get on board with Fitbit and crest apps.

Look at the new iPhone software there has already been 3 updates in the space of just under 3 weeks.

[bbarrera]

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@jresnick wrote:

Final Chapter:  Purchased an Apple Watch.  So far, battery life, the biggest complaint has not been an issue.  I'm getting a day and 1/2 on a charge which includes wearing it when I sleep.  

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Thanks for passing along experience with battery life.

[Hesooo]

It all depends on what you want for your money.

If you want Apps and stuff, go with the Apple watch.

If you want a superb activity tracker / sports tracker, go for Garmin, Fitbit etc.

Apple does Activity Tracking somehow okay, but it doesnt go into the little details.