Should I return Surge, get Ionic?

[debrag]

I have been wearing a fitbit device for 4+ years now and I generally thing they are the best fitness tracker out there. My trouble is I got the Surge and have been having trouble (like many) with the strap so switch to Garmin (f235).

Now the Ionic is coming out and has a changable strap & built-in GPS I am very tempted to return to Fitbit. I just can't make up my mind

Moderator edit: edited title for clarity

[CopperWolf808]

Which do you think you be a better fit for you? Outweigh the pros and cons. Then you'll have your answer. If you got the money, you could  buy the Ionic and see how you like it then return it if it isn't right for you. FitBit has a 45 day return policy.

[datalore]

I think it really depends on your needs. Do you have a need to track lots of data and activity? I was at a Sprint Triathlon today and almost all of the athletes wore garmin watches. They have a need for the kind of data garmin records. I find the software approach of garmin to be lacking, but that's just personal taste. I'm the tech guy among my friends, so a mutual friend asked me about the ionic, and I told her it isn't out yet, so who knows? I do think the open software of the ionic will allow fitbit to close the gap with garmin as far as triathlon training. I'm sure we'll see an app for that soon. Long winded way of saying let your needs decide what you get. I personally love the fitbit app and the fitbit approach to health and wellness. I was at a crossroads before the ionic was announced; I'm training for a long swim and need to track my pool sessions. If the ionic wouldn't have been announced I would have been almost forced to get a garmin. I'm thrilled that didn't happen as I said I think the garmin software is a hot mess. I also love the sleep tracking of fitbit; they're miles ahead of everyone in that aspect of the software. Sleep is recovery and any endurance athlete will tell you sleep is as important as training and nutrition. I can't wait to get an ionic. 

[DramaQueenDiva]

What are you looking to track?

[datalore]

I've started training for a long swim and I really need to track my sleep. I just think the fitbit software is much more intuitive to use than other apps. Most endurance athletes will tell you that sleep is just as important as nutrition and training. The SDK is what really has me excited and I'm looking forward to exploring what can be done with this open platform. 

[MarX77]

Same situation for me. I prefer Fitbit approach to data and the app. I used Polar and Garmin because Surge had not the possibility to turn off bluetooth so I returned to Fitbit. Now that Ionic was announced I really think I'll buy it. I was deciding between Suunto Spartan Ultra or Trainer or Garmin FeniX5. Some days ago I heard about Ionic. And I am relly happy to hear about that product. I think I'll return in Fitbit 'family' soon! 😛

Hey community.. Bad news today. I had news from customer service. There will be no ability to turn off BT as always.. Our request were disappointed.

Just Pre-ordered Apple watch3 today... 

Moderator edit: merged reply

[shipo]

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@MarX77 wrote:

Hey community.. Bad news today. I had news from customer service. There will be NO ABILITY TO TURN OFF BT AS ALWAYS.. OUR REQUEST WERE DISAPPOINTED.

JUST PRE-ORDERED APPLE WATCH3 TODAY... 

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I don't consider it bad news at all.  Why? The low powered Bluetooth is pretty irrelevant when it comes to battery life; I think this is much ado about nothing.

[MarX77]

Unfortunately it's not true that it's irrelevant.
There's no study that demonstrates that BT is safe for health.. And fitbit should take attention to this..

Inviato da iPhone

[shipo]

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@MarX77 wrote:
Unfortunately it's not true that it's irrelevant.
There's no study that demonstrates that BT is safe for health.. And fitbit should take attention to this..

Inviato da iPhone

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Ahhh, so due to the lack of a positive, you assume a negative.  Is that wise?

[bbarrera]

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@shipo wrote:
Is that wise?

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@shipo why do you argue against a reasonable expectation that we can disable radios for power savings, health reasons, or reduce interference (e.g. possible airline regulations)? 

The facts: cell phone use has been classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans, because of exposure to radio frequency (RF) emissions. The evidence is inconclusive, and more studies need to be done.

We all hope near-body RF exposure from cell phones doesn't become like tobacco or asbestos, where we were told it was safe for years and then much later it was proven otherwise.

Fitness trackers and smartwatches are putting RF very close to your skin, increasing exposure and concentrating the energy on a single body part (your wrist).

If Fitbit really cares about health and battery life, why isn't there an option to disable radios on trackers? In particular for those folks that take a conservative approach to dealing with all the RF in our lives?

[MarX77]

Life is beautiful when everyone can decide about their lives and do what they consider healthy for them 😉

Inviato da iPhone

[shipo]

Sorry guys, I just cannot get into the whole sky is falling/hand wringing thing; there are just way too many important things to worry about.

[SunsetRunner]

What I'm intrigued about is that although Fitbit say there's no ability to turn off Bluetooth, the SDK has a User-setting airplaneModeEnabled, which indicates whether the device is in airplane mode, or not. What is this airplane mode?

[bbarrera]

=== https://dev.fitbit.com/reference/device-api/user-settings/ ===

airplaneModeEnabled

boolean

Indicates whether the device is in airplane mode, or not.

=== https://dev.fitbit.com/reference/device-api/user-settings/ ===

@SunsetRunner Thanks!

Good to see Fitbit plans to have an airplane mode. Reasonable to believe it works like airplane mode on phones, meaning it shuts off the radios.

[MarX77]

Probably only gps but not Bluetooth. I've asked to the customer service. They told me once that airplane mode could be enabled but after that, when I asked if I could have turned BT off they said no. And this was officially... 😕

Inviato da iPhone

[bbarrera]

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@MarX77 wrote:
Probably only gps but not Bluetooth. I've asked to the customer service. They told me once that airplane mode could be enabled but after that, when I asked if I could have turned BT off they said no. And this was officially... 😕

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1. GPS is not part of airplane mode on cellphones because it doesn't transmit. Thats right, turn on airplane mode on your cellphone and GPS still works.

2. Customer service often just reads from scripts. They are not the experts.

While I think the AW3 has real benefits over Ionic (3rd gen, more useful all day long, better apps), if you are Fitbit step challenge addict or really really want the Fitbit app then Ionic is the only smartwatch to buy.

[MarX77]

So please be more explicit (I'm Italian so my English could be not good).. as I love Fitbit app but cannot stand the fact to have Bt turned on even while I sleep... as I understood you are a software developer and in the software of ionic there was the possibility to turn on the airplane mode!?
Did you really test it on your own!? Or do I misunderstood what you wrote in the post before?

Inviato da iPhone

[bbarrera]

Fitbit app developers can ask Ionic if Airplane Mode is enabled or disabled. An app for Ionic can ask "is airplane mode on?" and the Ionic will respond yes or no.

App developers cannot turn on or off.

[SunsetRunner]

With all due respect to Fitbit CS, they sometimes don't know their base from their apex. The have been many instances where people have come on these boards saying something told to them by CS which hasn't actually been the case.

Think I'll wait and see 🙂

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks for the clarification @bbarrera. You posted just before me.