Regain Lost Features Android Dashboard

[Poo]

Hi.

I am disappointed that the new dashboard involves losing functionality and that the upper half of dash is isolated from the lower half so tiles can't be moved and also previous day's data is only visible in the upper tiles.

I am a Beta user and gave endless feedback in the thread started by @ErickFitbit for us to give our views but the release seems to have gone ahead without any being considered (we don't get told that bit). That thread is pinned in Android forum wil lots of useful ideas from us all.

I prefer the old dash but can cope with the new if it does the same things - this one doesn't and has been a massive disincentive since using it in both IOS and Beta. 

Please please consider those who use tiles other than those in the top fields and who also look at historical data and want to see a day in it's entirety not have to access every tile and graph individually, write hte data on papaer and then figure out how things are going!

Moderator Edit: Added Labels

[JRBKennesaw]

I was going to post exactly the same request.

1. Top portion should be customizable without limitation to which tiles are shown.

2. It would also be helpful to have the option of NOT having the single large tile.

[wkrahn]

I really dislike the tile set up. The simplicity of the old mobile app dashboard is so much easier. I set up my phone where I can easily see my most important info while I do an indoor workout. This way I can see heart rate, etc while in the middle of a set of burpees without having to stop and toggle view to find info on my watch. The tiles grouped together in a set are too hard to read at a glance.Very disappointed that you are taking the mobile app dash in this direction. I specifically avoid the desktop version because I hate having to visually search for the info I want. The mobile app dash is beautiful because it is so easy to read while you are MOBILE!. The desktop tile dash is fine if you're standing still but otherwise a total pain!!!

[SunsetRunner]

I actually was soo used to red, yellow, green tracking that I dont like the new app because the colors are changed.

[Wiedy]

I am OK with the new dashboard on the Android except that it sometimes takes hours (not kidding) for the step count to reflect actual step count. I had almost 6000 steps before the dashboard decided to update my 46 morning steps to the actual.

All other features seem to work when a sync is done except for step count.

[Justin_S]

I made a forum account just to chime in on the new Android dashboard... I get that it's more in line with the web interface now, but there's a reason I don't use the web interface.

A few issues of particular note:

- It is no longer possible to just swipe left and right to see all stats for previous days. Now it is necessary to tap the little arrow to go between days.

- When viewing a previous day, not all stats are actually from that day. The top part seems to be, but the bottom part is just the stats from today. This is not helpful.

- The new dashboard does NOT update as effectively as the previous dash. Today it had not updated the step count for approximately 12 hours and "syncing" did nothing. Switching back to the old dashboard updated the step count immediately.

Overall, I find the new interface clunky, not as useful for "snapshots" of past days, and, most importantly, less accurate than the old dash. I can't imagine any minor tweaks to the new dash that would make it preferable to the old one in my opinion. Hopefully Fitbit will allow us the option to continue using the old dash if that is our preference (and hopefully without the prominent pink banner pestering us to "Try a preview of the new dashboard".)

[Alegrya]

I'm adding my support to many aspects identified above. I prefer the wholly customisable current dashboard. If tiles are in my app future then there's a few modifications I'd appreciate.

Note I tend to avoid using the website because I don't find it adds more value for getting meaningful information than my mobile dashboard. Clicking through for the information I'm actually seeking on the website requires more clicks and it takes longer to load than obtaining it on my mobile does.

Thoughts on the new app redesign.

Treating the small tiles under step count exaclty the same as the editable ones. I don't care for 3/4 of the options I can enable or disable below step count. To enable the 1 I want will use a lot of screen real estate on blankness, that can be better served by displaying the tiles that follow up higher.

Removing the split screen and treating the step-count tile the same as all the others enables the closest user experience to what current Android users have. The ability to rank what tracking features are the most important to plays heavily into individual goals. Especially where step count may not be the primary focus; water intake or quality of sleep are sometimes more important than steps (at least in my case).

I noticed no additional delays in responsiveness of updating step count, including exercising with bluetooth on and watching the step count climb.

I don't mind the colour scheme nor the the circular step goal dial. I know I'd get used to seeing the dials for sleep, exercise and water.

I really like seeing the sleep breakdown in that tile.

Not a fan of removing detail from the exercise tile to instead show weekly activity count instead of the details of exercise that day.

Not a fan of only being able to access step count (and I suspect other 'upper screen' information) when going back through previous days. I'd also like to be able to see the other tiles for that day such as water, food intake and sleep.

[Phillyt2k]

Im just going to echo what people are saying here but in short...

1. Swipe left and right to see days

2. See past days stats on the lower tiles (currently only on top tiles)

3. Make all tiles fully customisable, size, location etc.

[RLieberfarb]

Allow me to put in my vote for a fully customizable set of tiles.  I like the new look but will only find it effectively useable when i can move the tiles that mean the most to me up top so i see them as soon as i sign on.

[naath]

The new look I could get used to, but it *doesn't work*. Do you not have QA over at fitbit HQ? the forum is full of bug complaints! Putting aesthetics ahead of functionality is ludicrous.

[jjmcgaffey]

I prefer the bar graphs to tiles, but can stand it. IF the tiles have the same functionality as the bar graphs, which in the current "preview" they do not. I don't track calories or water, but I do watch my sleep - I want to be able to see how I slept _each_day_ along with the steps and stairs I got that day.

So my requests are: make all tiles show data for the day displayed. Make all tiles movable to any location (I suspect these two are related), so that I can see at a glance all my important information.

I don't care much about tapping an arrow vs swiping - though the tap requires more care and precision than the swipe, and is therefore not as useful on a mobile device. The colors I'll get used to (actually, I always thought going orange just before green was weird - orange is closer to red, should be at the beginning). Ditto arcs instead of bars. But losing functionality in order to look prettier is NOT the way Fitbit should be going, if it wants to keep established users and get new ones.

I also listed a couple bugs in the thread pinned by @Poo . I'll also put them in to Support directly, since you don't seem to be noticing the posts in the thread asking for feedback (and no idea if you'll pay any attention here, either). I'm getting the slow update of step count (it's syncing just fine, I can see it if I tap all the way down to the day's graph - but it doesn't show on the dashboard. Which the old one used to do too, but the new version is even worse at it). And the weight tile text is completely wrong - it says I gained all the weight I'm above my goal weight since last week!

[wkrahn]

That's exactly what I think!!! Glad I'm not alone on this....

[G1234]

Really really really dislike the new dash!! Yes, works well on PC. No, not good on mobile.

[PureEvil]

Note:  There is already a similar feature suggestion for iOS, we should combine the two.

[Poo]

@PureEvil

Hiya, that's a good idea - I didn't know that could be an option. Does a Mod need to do it?

Thanks,

Helen

[Elena_Iv.]

Adding my voice to the arguments above. The new design is less functional, more cumbersome and fiddly.

[Cannonbrit]

I agree with the comments above. Also, don't decrease the number of tiles that are available on the dashboard. It is a huge step backward to have to navigate to another page to view data that is clearly available on the current set up. It would be one thing if the tiles were just not the default ones and could be added, but they are simply nowhere to be found. This is a huge step backward and is making me rethink my future fitbit purchases.

[ljea]

I agree with all the above.

Plus I cannot find any way of accessing my badges on the new dash other than reverting to the old one!

[MichaelTanel]

Agree with the above. Not only does the loss of daily info in the lower tiles make me LESS likely to use the app, but eliminating things like swiping makes this more like a PC interface than mobile. Thats SO BACKWARDS. We're using this product on the go, full functionality on devices should be the focus.

[Macaldana]

I agree. I don't know what's behind this change, but the end result is chaoric, rigid and inefficient. I don't even look the color pattern. It looks half baked.
The thing Fitbit is forgetting is that many people have many priorities in using the app. While some may get a high looking at their feats, others may be in competition with friends, etc. I like looking at my calorie expenditure and intake against weight. This new dashboard forces me to navigate and not really see either very clearly. It is not intuitive at all.
Also, if your fingers linger a little, it tends to mess up the arrangement.
The final question is why change something that worked so well for so many.
Anyway, I went back to the old dashboard, but I still have the annoying message wanting me to do the preview, which by the way stopped working today. That's why I abandoned it.
Fitbit is been great for me, but this antics make me wonder in what direction is the company driving?

[Rich_Laue]

Probably the same force behind this change, is the force behind the last time the app dashboard changed. At that time there was many reasons why the dashboard you like is completely unusable. Half the problem is in the design, the other half is in that change is not wanted. 

Part of this change I think is to make the experience uniform across the plateforms. 

[BrittLew]

Bring back the progressive color-changing wheels, please. They were a simple visual motivator.

[BrittLew]

But thank you that the calories tile has been updated to reflect on the mobile device what is seen on the desktop device!! The old dashboard on my tablet says "start a food plan", but on the new dashboard it shows "calories eaten", which is what I want to see!!

[Liam_G]

I'm going to quote wkrahn above because they expressed my exact feelings, and I would add, please keep the Android Dash Reversible - I really don't like the new layout, for these reasons:

"I really dislike the tile set up. The simplicity of the old mobile app dashboard is so much easier. I set up my phone where I can easily see my most important info while I do an indoor workout. This way I can see heart rate, etc while in the middle of a set of burpees without having to stop and toggle view to find info on my watch. The tiles grouped together in a set are too hard to read at a glance.Very disappointed that you are taking the mobile app dash in this direction. I specifically avoid the desktop version because I hate having to visually search for the info I want. The mobile app dash is beautiful because it is so easy to read while you are MOBILE!. The desktop tile dash is fine if you're standing still but otherwise a total pain!!!"

[Poo]

Just to add that I have switched back to the old dash having used the new on IOS and Beta Android.

I will be honest and say that the change in graphics back to the old doesn't seem lots better etc. and I don't care which I have on that basis, I just need it to do what it used to do.

I understand the wish to retain the option for old dashboard but suspect it's not realistic sadly, see the IOS threads for that old chestnut.

All I'm asking (begging?!) for is to keep the features which made this device invaluable and efficient rather than it's latest iteration which is neither and has taken all the fun away. 

Helen

[pudnpie]

Hi  - I would just like to echo what other people have said. I prefer the old dashboard because I could have the tiles I wanted to see visible where I wanted to see them and also could view data that was of interest to me without having to drill down past another tile - for example I can see my last exercise logged at a glance for today whereas on the new one I have to drill down past the goal tile. I also much prefer the swipe. Have returned to the old dashbaord and will do so for as long as necessary. I think I might start looking at other trackers to see how their dashboards compare becase this just isn't doing it for me now. It's just too complicated to see what you want to see.