Ionic review...Day 2

[glenncarp]

OK, had Ionic for most of day yesterday and into this AM. Here are my findings:

REALLY tough time getting it to sync first time, update out of box took 45 mins, there was another one later last night, took 38 minutes then failed twice, then finally went through. Seems like there is a communication issue as of now.

No pay set up yet so no Starbucks app to use as it won't allow card to be added. Could not get music to Ionic, called support, they told me after 24 minutes on hold that my laptop had to be an Apple or running Window 10, I run 8.1, they told me to upgrade. Lol. Then found link on here to install Fitbit connect. Only able to choose playlists created in Itunes, not any other music. Can't play music on watch, has to be only through a connected bluetooth player. 

I first read about Ionic and almost all review said it revivals or beats Apple Watch. I am not an Apple fan, trust me, however my wife has the Apple watch and it is the only Apple product I REALLY want. Lets stop comparing the Ionic to the Apple WAtch, they are like comparing apples to oranges.Lol

Apple watch accepts phone calls, Ionic shows them, can't do anything with them. Apple watch lets you accept and respond to text messages, Ionic only lets you see them. Apple watch even lets my wife write on her screen with her finger and somehow Apple watch translates that to text almost perfectly. Ionic...Not a chance. Apple watch lets you place ALL of Apps on your phone on watch and use them. Ionic has VERY limited apps to date, all to do with Fitbit, no news app, no stocks, no other pay apps. VERY limited. 

So, in my limited use and opinion, the Ionic is as great fitness tacker...I think, have not used it to excerside yet, but comparing it to an Apple watch or even my Andoid Gear??? Not even close. 

[SunsetRunner]

Yep, on my second day and trying not to compare with my AW2. But 

AW - can reorder apps as desired, Ionic fixed order 

AW - configurable areas on watch faces for things like weather, date, HR, and many other widgets. Which also launch related app, Ionic - maybe one day through user designed faces 

AW - voice response to texts (really missing this), Ionic - no interaction with texts (or any other notification 

AW - Siri via voice, Ionic - err... no chance 

I could go on but I'm trying not to compare the two. AW is a smart watch, the Ionic a smart tracker. I need more time with the tracker elements to justify its place on my wrist, which is why I bought it after all.

[GySgt_Seidell]

Not to defend Fitbit, BUT you all are not comparing equal products.  Look back when the Apple Watch "1" was released and then compare the Ionic to THAT device, then you will have an equal comparison.  When the Apple Watch "1" first came out it was plagued with issues and complaints, but Apple reacted quickly/swiftly and slowly rolled out fixes and firmware upgrades.  Now they have the Apple Watch "3" and their OS is version "4".

So, why did I make this post.  Well, fairness!  Almost ALL pre-ordered devices have initial issues, at least in my experience and I'm kind of a techie.  That being said, what needs to be considered is how well Fitbit handles those rough spots and how reactive they are to fixes/addressing those issues.  So far they have rolled out their first firmware update, and that was pretty quick.

So, in conclusion, I think people just need to take a breath and relax.  Lets allow Fitbit time to react to ALL of US and than breath.  Let them evaluate what is happening and do the right thing.  Whatever happens, remember, you bought the Ionic because you had high hopes of a really cool device, that has NOT changed, it still is and will remain so, The Ionic!!!!

EDIT:  I also wanted to say one more thing (and then I promise to get off my stool, LOL).  Remember, the folks that come to forums and post issues is only a SMALL fragment of the people who made a purchase.  I have served on a lot of roll outs and what is happening right now is nothing new, it ALWAYS happens no matter who.  For every issue, there are hundreds without any!  PERSONALLY, I have NOT had a single glitch.  Of course, this is just MHO......  Thanks for listening!

[bbarrera]

Its a bit unfortunate that Fitbit management pushed out Ionic before the software was finished, it seems they prioritized investors (full quarter of sales) over users.

Once past the growing pains, the Ionic will be a nice high-end tracker for Fitbit faithful. Its a bit too expensive to recommend to a new user, personally I steer folks to MobileTrack or Flex2 or Charge2. My AW0 is about due for upgrading, the Ionic is long on promises and TBD. I'm mostly disappointed that Ionic hardware is so limited, and I think it will be another 2 years before "Ionic 2" is released to catch up.

[CopperWolf808]

Well said @GySgt_Seidell people are forgetting the FITNESS tracker part comes first. & remember we preordered it and it's the first watch of Fitbits kind it so we need to give it some time. If later on down the road it doesn't get fixed and/or stays the same with no increase in smart watch function or apps then yes we can do a better review of it but for now it's still too new to judge.

[Jorkal]

I agree fully

[bbarrera]

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@glenncarp wrote:

I first read about Ionic and almost all review said it revivals or beats Apple Watch. I am not an Apple fan, trust me, however my wife has the Apple watch and it is the only Apple product I REALLY want. Lets stop comparing the Ionic to the Apple WAtch, they are like comparing apples to oranges.Lol 

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@glenncarp Only the ZDNet review said it beats AW, all the others I saw said the opposite ("not an apple watch killer"). Fitbit stock dropped after lackluster reviews:

https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/20/lukewarm-ionic-reviews-knock-fitbit-down-a-notch.aspx

The Fitbit dashboard (both app and web) looks great, I love the look. Its good at the basics, but also missing some of the basics. And missing a lot on "fitness" - by that I mean tracking trends of your personal fitness level for running/cycling/swimming/etc. Lots of general health tracking - water, food, resting heart rate (its wrong), and sleep. Most of my friends that love Fitbit are focused on step challenges, and don't use the rest. I use my iPhone as step tracker (MobileTrack).

Agree, the devices are very different. This is the Fitbit CEO's vision of a smartwatch. Give it a couple years and I think his vision will change. Because all that other stuff on AW is actually very useful and practical and in my experience used more consistently than the activity tracking.