help menu

Join us on the Community Forums!

  • Community Guidelines

    The Fitbit Community is a gathering place for real people who wish to exchange ideas, solutions, tips, techniques, and insight about the Fitbit products and services they love. By joining our Community, you agree to uphold these guidelines, so please take a moment to look them over.

  • Learn the Basics

    Check out our Frequently Asked Questions page for information on Community features, and tips to make the most of your time here.

  • Join the Community!

    Join an existing conversation, or start a new thread to ask your question. Creating your account is completely free, and takes about a minute.

Not finding your answer on the Community Forums?

Cancel
Turn on suggestions
Auto-suggest helps you quickly narrow down your search results by suggesting possible matches as you type.
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Replying to notifications

ANSWERED
Replies are disabled for this topic. Start a new one or visit our Help Center.

‎10-05-2017 22:38

‎10-05-2017 22:38

So far, every Ionic review I have read criticizes the fact that there is no way to reply to notifications. It seems to be the ionic's biggest failing. I haven't seen any reply from the company other than to reiterate that this is not possible with the ionic. Has anyone heard anything about fitbit or a 3rd party provider providing this ability for the ionic?

Best Answer
1 BEST ANSWER

Accepted Solutions

‎10-06-2017 06:43

‎10-06-2017 06:43

I don't think third party can provide this ability as notifications are controlled by the watch itself and there's no third party API in the Fitbit SDK to amend this feature. My understanding is that we should wait on Fitbit to rise to the occasion.

 

There's no reason why Ionic can't handle phone interaction better. Competing products like Garmin Vivoactive 3 have ability to send pre-canned replies to text messages and calls and dismiss notifications. Pebble, which probably passed some of its DNA onto Ionic, shined in that regard too. So, it all comes down to Ionic software team. The hardware and phone part of the equation are definitely there.

View best answer in original post

Best Answer
0 Votes
11 REPLIES 11

‎10-06-2017 06:43

‎10-06-2017 06:43

I don't think third party can provide this ability as notifications are controlled by the watch itself and there's no third party API in the Fitbit SDK to amend this feature. My understanding is that we should wait on Fitbit to rise to the occasion.

 

There's no reason why Ionic can't handle phone interaction better. Competing products like Garmin Vivoactive 3 have ability to send pre-canned replies to text messages and calls and dismiss notifications. Pebble, which probably passed some of its DNA onto Ionic, shined in that regard too. So, it all comes down to Ionic software team. The hardware and phone part of the equation are definitely there.

Best Answer
0 Votes

‎10-06-2017 07:06

‎10-06-2017 07:06

People have to realize that developing for software for a new platform can be difficult.

 

i believe Fitbit emphasized the fitness apps and features first while benching the smart watch functions. Sure it may not be ideal, but give it time and I’m sure welll get those canned responses soon.

Best Answer

‎10-07-2017 04:45

In response to NickAK

‎10-07-2017 04:45

Since it has a touchscreen, you'd think they would have made it possible to "handwrite" messages and replies, like the Apple 3. I like using the microphone on my Pebble Time in a pinch, but would consider the handwriting feature an acceptable tradeoff for the mic-less Ionic.

Best Answer
0 Votes

‎10-07-2017 04:51

In response to SunsetRunner

‎10-07-2017 04:51

One would hope. The Ionic should have been message-capable from the beginning though. It's the one thing that gets it continually panned in the reviews and the one thing that I consistently see as a deal-killer among people in forums. I was considering buying one because my Charge is starting to fall apart, but don't want to spend the money until it has this crucial feature. If it doesn't by the time the Charge becomes unwearable, I'll probably go Samsung, since it can already to most of what I want.

Best Answer

‎10-07-2017 11:53

In response to SunsetRunner

‎10-07-2017 11:53

@SunsetRunner wrote:

People have to realize that developing for software for a new platform can be difficult.

 

i believe Fitbit emphasized the fitness apps and features first while benching the smart watch functions. Sure it may not be ideal, but give it time and I’m sure welll get those canned responses soon.

I get why people are saying this, but this is a major commercial product and it isn't going for a low price.  "emphasised the fitness apps" is a different scenario from "only developed fitness apps to the total exclusion of basic smartwatch features".

 

I've got an Ionic now, and it is a massive step backward from the 80% less expensive Pebble Time I've been using.  Fitbit bought Pebble and abruptly shuttered them.  Fitbit cannot say "We're releasing a real actual smartwatch!  Give us your money, and then wait and hope that we'll eventually give you smartwatch functions!".

 

At this point, that's essentially the bargain Fitbit seems to be trying to make.  Admittedly, not everyone is coming from Pebble and not everyone wants those specific features.  But insofar as the major point of a smartwatch is not having to pull your smartphone out of your pocket to do smartphone things... the Ionic simply falls flat.  Why should anybody be willing to pay up and then give Fitbit time to deliver what it promised from day one?

Best Answer

‎10-21-2017 04:39

In response to Escodaiichi

‎10-21-2017 04:39

The Ionic has been out for about a month now, and every review I've seen or read points out the lack of the ability to reply to messages as a singular failing. Has anyone heard anything about whether or not fitbit plans to correct this?

Best Answer

‎10-21-2017 05:58

In response to Escodaiichi

‎10-21-2017 05:58

I think you are clearly looking for reviews that mention the inability to reply.  I am GLAD that it is not possible, and many others on the forum have said he same.  I have seen a few reviews that mention this, but I have seen just as many that don't mention it at all...... or simply say that you cannot reply, but don't indicate that as a negative, like this one. 

 

Even if the majority mention it, that does not necessarily mean it was a miss from Fitbit.  I want a fitness watch, not a phone on my wrist.  If I wanted that I would get the apple or Samsung. 

 

 

 

Best Answer

‎10-21-2017 07:10

In response to racertempo

‎10-21-2017 07:10

"I think you are clearly looking for reviews that mention the inability to reply."

 

No, actually, I'm reading the reviews that are floating to the top whenever I search for "Fitbit Ionic."  And with pretty much all of them, they say that it is a negative. Some go as far as to say that this failure disqualifies it as a smart watch. 

 

"I am GLAD that it is not possible, and many others on the forum have said he same."

 

While your personal opinion is personally valid, you're in the minority, and for fitbit to become profitable again as a company, they need products that include the broader market. If they had included this *one*single*ability, their reviews would have been far more positive, and people like me would have already bought the Ionic.

 

As it is, these forums are rife with people returning the Ionic and switching to other smartwatches.

 

"Even if the majority mention it, that does not necessarily mean it was a miss from Fitbit.  I want a fitness watch, not a phone on my wrist.  If I wanted that I would get the apple or Samsung."

 

It's a miss, clear and simple. If the feature existed and you didn't want to use it, you could simply disable it. As it is, those who need the feature don't have it as an option with fitbit.

 

Your statement about getting an Apple or a Samsung is exactly what fitbit users are starting to do, and that is no good for fitbit. They need to keep who they have and bring new people in, and that's not what's happening. 

Best Answer

‎10-31-2017 07:24 - edited ‎10-31-2017 07:25

In response to Escodaiichi

‎10-31-2017 07:24 - edited ‎10-31-2017 07:25

The above includes me.  Return of my Ionic has been initiated and I'll be shipping it out tomorrow.  The Charge 2 does everything the Ionic does at a lower price point and in a less pretty way, which I would personally prefer.  *IF* I even bother to get another Fitbit device it'll be the Charge 2.

 

The superficial phone / notification / communications on the Ionic is a deal-breaking miss which has definitely lost me as a Fitbit "smartwatch" customer but may also lose me as a Fitbit fitness tracker customer because it suggests such profoundly tone-deaf development.  I can't be bothered to pay premium prices to a company with cutting edge R&D but who doesn't seem to know I exist as a customer.

Best Answer
0 Votes

‎12-27-2017 21:20

‎12-27-2017 21:20

Vote here to get fitbit's attention!

 

 

Best Answer
0 Votes

‎12-28-2017 06:26

In response to Bejammin

‎12-28-2017 06:26

This is a rediculous statement, the charge 2 dues not have gps, is not water proof, does not have dozens of faces, and cannot store and play music.

 

So the ionic does not do 1 feature you want.... No device will be 100% to 100% of the customers.  The statement that the charge 2 does everything but at s lower price is just silly.  You might not care about those differences, but most users do. 

 

@Bejammin wrote:

 The Charge 2 does everything the Ionic does at a lower price point and in a less pretty way, which I would personally prefer.  *IF* I even bother to get another Fitbit device it'll be the Charge 2.

 

 

Best Answer