Add heart rate tracking to Ace Series for sleep tracking, Relax feature & HR data

[SunsetRunner]

Edited for clarity on 10/22/18, since my original post seems to have been misleading:

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Several months ago, my 8 year old participated in an important all-day assessment. Leading up to the big day, she was experiencing symptoms of anxiety. On the day of the assessment, we let her wear a Charge 2 and taught her to use the relaxation breathing function on her own. It was an invaluable tool  in guiding her breathing and refocusing her attention. It gave her the confidence she needed to take on a scary day when we couldn't be with her. It didn't even fit her properly and the function still worked perfectly fine for her. 

I am sad to see that the Fitbit Ace does not have something similar to the relax feature. Please add it!!! Today’s kids are more anxious than any previous generation and most of them already know the benefits of mindful breathing. 

Many people have said that I am asking for something that can't be done without heart rate sensing. This is not the case. I believe Fitbit could easily create the code for a simple timed-breathing exercise to guide children through regulating their breathing that would not require heart rate sensing IN ANY WAY. They key to the feature's success is the visual cues for inhaling and exhaling at regular intervals. Kids LOVE the circle growing and shrinking around the heart. 

Still others have said that Fitbit is focused only on getting kids more active. If that's the case, I'm very disappointed. My Fitbit Charge2 does a lot of things for me besides getting me more active. I would hope that FitBit's goal for a device for kids would be a little more robust and ambitious than a Bluetooth enabled pedometer. The Ace, as it is currently designed, is just that and therefore not worth what Fitbit is charging.  

Moderator Edition Labels & title

[Ade6827]

The tracker doesn’t need to guide based on heart rate. A key mechanism for kids is to have tools that they control and can trigger that can help them when situations get tough. Some parents help their kids to visualise blowing out a candle, some help them by getting them to visualise blowing up a balloon slowly. What I’m asking is for a mechanism for kids to trigger themselves that help them to breathe in and out slowly. An easy way to do this is by inhaling and exhaling to counts of 5. The kids absolutely love ensuring they reach their 10k steps a day - they are motivated by this. How powerful a tool it would be for kids to be motivated to activate a tool that counts with them to slow down their breathing. If triggered by heart rate it’s not teaching them to control their own emotions but rely on something else.

Sent from my iPhone

[Valery9]

We are discussing as an added feature in the future.  The disagreement is weather a heart rate monitor would be necessary because it would add unnecessarily to the cost.

[SunsetRunner]

@Valery9, heart rate sensing truly would NOT be necessary. @Ade6827 is right on the money. This feature would be most useful as something that is triggered by the user, offers the 2 or 5 minute option, and then guides a time-based breathing exercise. 

I could download one of a hundred apps for meditation or mindfulness but my child doesn’t have access to a mobile device all day long. The coding is out there. It just isn’t in a device that is affordable and wearable. The Ace is the PERFECT avenue for a device that could deliver what I’m looking for, which does not, does not, does NOT require heart rate tracking!

If FitBit could deliver this, I’d be willing to spend the $100 the Ace is currently listed for. 

[Valery9]

 @SunsetRunner exactly!  Its more than possible and I can't beleibe FitBit missed the mark by not including it as a function on the Ace

[Rich_Laue]

It could also be because there is no buttons on the Ace and only a tap control. Realistically there is no way to put the ace into any mode simply by tapping 

Do we really want to have to use the app to start a function on the Ace?

First thing would be is a way to start the breathing control by only tapping. But how does the Ace determine if the tap is for breathing, or simply to scroll through stats?

[overcher]

If the Ace had the relaxation feature and the timer feature I would have bought it on day one. For my ADHD child and my Type A child they would be great. My daughter takes my Blaze whenever she's feeling anxious so she can breath into a calmer state. Sometimes she just takes my hand and uses it on my wrist. Being user HR specific would be unnecessary. 

Mindfulness is such a hot topic right now I was actually surprised it wasn't included up front. As soon as this is added I'll buy one. I won't buy in advance and hope for an upgrade because I did that with the Blaze and was disappointed. But that's for another thread.

[Mazza_99]

Please add the relax feature. It’s one of the only reasons I bought a Fitbit ace for my daughter only to realise it has not been included. She often uses the breathe app on my Apple Watch to help her feel less anxious.

in todays society this is a necessity for our kids

[Ade6827]

Totally agree with you I’ve tried but it’s fallen on deaf ears. FitBit are unwilling to consider options outside of their already designed products!

Sent from my iPhone

[Joshysquirrel]

Please can you add the heart rate to the Fitbit Ace. My son has a new Ace today but it disappointed they he can’t get some of the options that he can see on my Fitbit, specifically his heart rate. It’s so educational for children these days to understand.  

Many thanks

[AlexandraFitbit]

Good idea, thanks for taking the time to share it with us @Joshysquirrel! We look forward to hearing what other community members think. 

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi everyone thanks for sharing this suggestion. This is being discussed although I do not have a firm commitment or timeline at the moment. Do continue to vote for this feature suggestion whilst it’s under consideration. Please note that if something is under consideration and chosen for development, it can be a while until it's released or until I have any news to share. Please watch this space for any updates! Thanks for your patience.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi everyone thanks for sharing this suggestion. This is being discussed although I do not have a firm commitment or timeline at the moment. Do continue to vote for this feature suggestion whilst it’s under consideration. Please note that if something is under consideration and chosen for development, it can be a while until it's released or until I have any news to share. Please watch this space for any updates! Thanks for your patience

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi everyone, thanks for sharing this suggestion. We're always striving to enhance Fitbit products and services, and we appreciate all of the input we receive from our customers. We do not currently have plans to release this feature. You can learn more about how Fitbit decides what suggestions get released in our FAQs. For now, we will leave this suggestion open for votes (and closed to comments) so that we can continue to track community demand over time. Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback with us and we will let you know if anything changes.

[RavenNevermore]

Wouldn’t it be so much easier to just allow a child account to be made with ANY Fitbit device? I got a new Fitbit charge HR and wanted to give my daughter my old one. It was really disappointing that the Charge HR is not compatible with a child account. She has severe sleep issues and I was hoping I could use the sleep stage tracking to show her doctor. No need to make a new device with HR capabilities for kids when you could simply allow any existing device to a child’s account. 

[AdiktiveWear]

I COMPLETELY AGREE with this!! I posted this comment a while ago and since then I attempted to give my son an Alta HR and it wouldn’t allow me to put his actual age!! I don’t understand that at all. So I lied about his birthday, and I guess it just assumes he’s a little person because I used his actual height and weight. Fitbit is too busy making new things when they need to fix the issues with the ones they have. New products + same issues. It’s ridiculous.

[Jimci]

Please add breathing exercises to help children calm down to the ACE2.

[LuciaFitbit]

Hi @Jimci, thanks for taking the time to share your feedback regarding Ace 2 with us. This feature suggestion already exists so I’ve moved your post here. At the moment it is not planned to implement it. Nonetheless you can still add your vote.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi everyone, thanks for sharing this suggestion. We're always striving to enhance Fitbit products and services, and appreciate all of the input we receive from our customers. We do not currently have plans to release this feature. You can learn more about how Fitbit decides what suggestions get released in our FAQs. For now, we will leave this suggestion open for votes (and closed to comments) so that we can continue to track community demand over time. Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback with us and we will let you know if anything changes.

[Dperatt]

 Hi, I know that the best Fitbit for kids is the Ace series. However, the Ace has the basic sleep tracker but does not include deep sleep/REM sleep tracking which is what we really need due to our 10-year old’s sleep issues. I know the other fitbits that have the deep sleep function have an age requirement, so I am at a loss as to which product would be best. Please add an advanced sleep function to kids’ fitbits.

Thanks in advance!

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @Dperatt. Thanks for taking the time to share your idea about adding sleep stages feature to the Ace trackers. This feature suggestion already exists, so I’ve moved your post here. While this isn't currently planned at this moment, we have left voting open so we can keep tracking this request overtime. To learn more about how Fitbit decides which suggestions get developed, visit our FAQs.

[Robert76]

Please add the heart rate feature to Fitbit Ace 2

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @Robert76. Thanks for sharing this suggestion about adding the heart rate function to the Ace 2 with us! While we don’t currently have plans to release this feature, we always appreciate the passion and creativity that comes out of this Community. Since we know this idea is important to many of you, we have left voting open to continue tracking interest and will post another update if anything changes. To learn more about how Fitbit decides which suggestions get developed, visit our FAQs.

We're always striving to enhance Fitbit products and services, and your input is a big part of that process. We truly thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us.

[Stacy63691]

Thanks

[tashalynea]

Obviously I didn’t compare trackers very well. I bought my son the Ace 2 for Christmas and was quite dismayed at finding that it doesn’t track his heart rate. 

[EdsonFitbit]

Hi @tashalynea, thanks for taking the time to share your feedback about adding heart rate to the Fitbit Ace 2 with us, this feature suggestion already exists so I’ve moved your post here as it is not currently planned.