Add ambidextrous to wrist placement options

[amymurray122]

Right now, the only wrist placement options are dominant and non-dominant. However, this is a disservice to ambidextrous people. My dominant hand of the day depends 100% on what I'm doing. Adding ambidextrous as an placement option can account for this.

Moderator edit: Clarified subject and updated label

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @amymurray122, and thanks for taking the time to share this product feedback about adding ambidextrous to wrist placement options on the Fitbit app with us. We rely on feedback like yours to help us develop products and features that we know our community wants to see. If this product feedback receives votes from other customers and gains popularity, it will be shared internally with various teams at Fitbit. To learn more about how Fitbit decides what product feedback is developed, visit our FAQs.

Watch this space for status updates. In the meantime, try visiting Health & Wellness to talk with other members about all things health and fitness.

[amymurray122]

@LizzyFitbit How are votes counted? By the number of comments?

[Guy_]

Hi @amymurray122 - the notion "dominant"  really means the hand that is being used the most is considered dominant.

You can change the setting to suit on which wrist the watch is currently being used.

It only makes a slight difference to arm movement counting anyway, with the idea of filtering out unwanted random arm movements from the counting.

The minimum to start count arm movements at a time is only a couple of movements different so doesn't make a big difference overall.

[amymurray122]

That's my point though. A person who is ambidextrous doesn't have a dominant hand, and in my case, I don't use one more than the other. I'm frequently doing different tasks with each hand simultaneously. Changing the setting could happen several times a day, depending on the task. This can affect counts upwards of 1000 to 2000 "steps" per day, based on my experience. Having an ambidextrous setting could filter this discrepancy out by viewing both hands the same, resulting in more accurate "step" counts.

[Guy_]

Thanks, The solution for you is to use the dominant setting. It generally won't make a difference of anything close to even 1000 steps a day and you will get a consistent comparison.

When walking, for instance, it makes absolutely no difference which setting is used or on which arm you wear it.

[amymurray122]

Unfortunately that doesn't line up with what experience says. I've tested it before, and like I said, it can be 1000 - 2000 steps' difference depending on the tasks I'm doing, even if I'm not actually walking. This would still be a good option to consider in the future so that even we weirdos who use both hands equally can get consistent step counts.

[Guy_]

@amymurray122 - a watch only measures arm movements. In general it counts one arm movement as one step and that is fixed.

If you use your arm on which the watch is placed for other things it will measure those movements instead of steps.

It's up to you to wear it on the arm that most closely ressembles steps.

But that is not the whole story. The idea of measuring steps is to get a basic reading of activity (amount of effort expended) and type of activities.

You can choose which you want to measure as either steps or movements by wearing it on the appropriate arm and interpret the results accordingly.

Example, if you do a lot of sawing with your left hand and wear the watch on that arm it will measure how much sawing you did (not steps), if you wear it on the other arm during that time it will measure possibly nothing or very little.

Conversely it doesn't matter on which arm you wear it if you are pushing a trolley for an hour it will measure hardly any of those steps accurately.

Only you can choose what it measures by selecting on which arm to wear it at any given time.