Why Does the Sense 2 Feel Like a Beta Product?

[Phade]

Hey Everyone,

After owning the Fitbit Blaze, Versa, and Sense over the years, I’ve recently upgraded from the Sense to the new Sense 2.  My expectations for the Sense 2 were along the lines of: a physical button, a few additional features, a slightly better UI, a slightly better processor, a slightly better battery, and a slightly better screen all while keeping existing base features of the Sense.  Overall, I was expecting just an incremental upgrade.  

However, after using it for almost two weeks, the Sense 2 feels like a beta product to me compared to the Sense.  Here are some things I've encountered:

• Unlike every other Fitbit or mobile device I’ve used, notifications display and swipe up from the bottom of the screen instead of down.
• New notifications show up twice from the bottom of the screen, thus taking 3 seconds before the notification is calm enough to be readable
• Unlike the Sense, the Sense 2 cannot collect snore reports
• Snore reports collected from my Sense are no longer available; ~1 year of data appears to be gone
• When viewing a tile, there are no swipe up or down actions, just the tile data
• The Weather app does not reliably update
• A UI bug is preventing me from setting a 4-digit pin (required for Google Wallet)
• Heart rate monitoring consistency seems to be off, showing wild fluctuations in heart rate while performing the same exercise routine monitored smoothly by my Sense
• Unlike the Sense, selecting an exercise to track immediately starts the clock rather than waiting for the GPS to connect before starting (ex. Biking)
• Other announced and expected features are not yet implemented (ex. Google Maps)

I know other users have discovered different issues. Still, the sheer number, severity, and frequently encountered issues that have affected me make me feel like the Sense 2 is a beta product, nowhere near ready for production release.  Unlike the joy I received from every other Fitbit upgrade I have used over the years, I feel like the Sense 2 is a significant step backward in features, performance, and overall usability.  I feel so strongly about it that I am seriously considering returning it and using the Sense. 

Am I the only one who feels this way?  Am I the only one feeling constant frustration of features that worked smoothly compared to my previous Fitbit Sense?  Are my expectations for the Sense 2 unreasonable?  Does Fitbit believe their newest flagship device is actually a robust and solid flagship device?

I just feel frustrated, disheartened, and disappointed.

[EGC128]

Sense 2 is a downgrade from Sense. Just read the reviews from many tech websites like Android Authority. Fitbit is going down the toilet. Fitbit app for windows 10 no longer works. I still use Versa 2, Charge 2, Aria and Sense.  Never buying another fitbit ever again.

[t.parker]

@Phade  "Unlike the Sense, selecting an exercise to track immediately starts the clock rather than waiting for the GPS to connect before starting (ex. Biking)"

This one is a very confusing design decision. Basically, when you start your exercise from the shortcuts tile (you see 3 recent exercises) then it won't wait but start immediately. You need to start your exercise from the Exercise app, either by pressing a button, then selecting Exercise and the activity you want or from the shortcuts tile by tapping the "All" button (same, it will just open the Exercise app). Very strange decision made by Fitbit, one of many. Lots of users find that confusing.

[Phade]

It feels like a VP from the Marketing department came up with some buzzwords and catchphrases, handed them to the product director, and said, “Make this.”  The director then created a detailed bulleted list, handed it to the lead developer, and said, “Make this.”  The lead developer then broke the bulleted list into individual tasks, handed them to the general developers, and said, “Make this.”  The developers said, “Here ya go, boss” who handed them to the director who handed them to the VP who said, “Yay!  A wonderful product!  Launch it.”

It feels like nobody on the product team field-tested the Sense 2 or even wore it daily as a primary smartwatch.  It feels like nobody on the product team understood what end users wanted or even needed.  It feels like nobody on the product team wanted to make a great product but instead just wanted to get their task done and move on. 

It feels like nowhere along the line did anyone take personal ownership of this product to ensure it was useful, practical, reliable, and performed better than its predecessors.  It feels like nobody said, “This is not good enough.” or “That’s not a practical way to do it.” or “Why are we doing it this way?” or “This doesn’t work quite right.”  It feels like everyone along the production team took the task they were given, did it exactly what they were asked to do, and put no other thought into what they were doing.

What has Fitbit said about the Sense 2 development, their goals, and their satisfaction with the released product?

[sgbednar]

I used to do software development and quality assurance for a courseware development house.  Nothing this crude would ever have gotten past our QA department.  I don't think it is even ready for beta testing.  It is ready for it's first pass through QA, where it will be bumped back to programmers with a long list of things to fix before it is submitted for review.  

Using quality software should be intuitive.  You should not have to work at figuring out how to get what you want.  Plus, obviously, promised features should actually be there, and should work.

I have little experience with fitness trackers, and none with smart watches.  I used an Inspire 2 for less than a year, then went to Sense 2, hoping for better accuracy and a few more features.  I am disappointed.  It has a pretty color screen with some fancy graphic effects, but accuracy is not so good for basic functions like heart rate.  It can be confusing figuring out how to get from here to there, and it is certainly not intuitive!  The stress management tools are more of an annoyance than a help, interrupting me in the middle of activities to question me about how I felt earlier.  No insights result.  They put the little emojis on a line.  Gee, thanks.  

I would hope that any product produced by Google would be functional.  This is not.  

[Ixxtabb]

I want VERY MUCH to love my new Sense 2, and have been as patient with support as I can humanly be, but at this point I completely agree. I *HOPE* this is beta, because it means we can expect improvements, but the support I've received thus far is abysmal. Canned replied to uninstall and reinstall, log out and back in, turn it off then on again, etc.... but no one actually taking responsibility for the completely broken "features".

I can wait if there are fixes coming, but all this silence (I haven't received a reply from support in a week!!!) is really turning me off of Fitbit and Google entirely....

[Phade]

Well, today was the last straw.  I took the Sense 2 for a bike ride on a trail that I've run many, many times without issue with my Sense.  The Sense 2 had multiple GPS connection failures along the route.  I've already had GPS "getting started" issues with the Sense 2, but repeatedly losing connection under clear skies is completely unacceptable.  

I'm returning my Sense 2 and going back to the Sense.

@sgbednar If you're looking to go from the Inspire 2 to something more smartwatch-ish, the Sense is actually not bad and I'm happy to go back to.  Like I posted earlier in this post, I got the Sense 2 as an (expected) incremental upgrade to the Sense.  I'm likely to keep the Sense until the Sense 3(?) comes out, which I will look at VERY closely before considering or committing to a purchase.

[BAR-72]

I've only had my Sense 2 for a week & already wish I hadn't bothered, my Versa 2 was much better! Very disappointed with the product but received it as a gift so not sure I can return it. 😔

[Phade]

@BAR-72 I got mine at Amazon and the return policy is through January.  You may be able to do the same thing if purchased directly from Fitbit.  Hopefully this helps you. 

[BAR-72]

Ooh, I think my sister bought it from Amazon, I'll ask her to check. Thanks
for the heads up. 😁

[Phade]

@BAR-72 Be sure to tell her other long-time Fitbit users are having similar and worse issues, it's not her fault, she is a wonderful person to get you such a thoughtful gift, and you'll be getting the more reliable original Sense instead.  She sounds wonderful.  😊

[sgbednar]

Fitbit team has said nothing whatsoever about their plans.  I've seen no apologies for missing and non-functional features, no news about planned updates, no apparent effort to fix bugs.  Just silence.

To their credit, when I complained to customer service about it, they did send me a replacement.  I was hopeful that perhaps I had just gotten a lemon.  But the new one is not much of an improvement. 

I am thinking I will hang in there for a while and see if they start fixing things.  If nothing improves, I will probably look for a non-Google product.  I am not sure I would trust them again.  I had to send my first Inspire 2 back, then the replacement immediately broke.  Now this.  

[EGC128]

Why did everyone accept google buying fitbit? Google did this to eliminate a competitor to its own smartwatches. Now they are violating the privacy of users by ending Fitbit accounts in 2025. When they bought fitbit, they made a promise to keep fitbit data separate from google.

[eeyaah]

Hello.

I decided to upgrade to Sense 2 (from Inspire 2) cos they launched it at the same time my 1yr free trial for Fitbit Premium expires. I was "sold" to the idea of cEDA and other features like Afib. I call myself low-tech and I only do sports intermittently but since I am highly stressed person, I thought cEDA would help me improve my life. Also this costs a lot of money! But WOW. I'm already disappointed in the first 24 hours of using it!!! I never expected such level of failure! I live in Dubai and some features doesnt work! And the issues continue..... No sleep tracking for 2-3 nights, watch freezes during sport activities, and a whole lot more! The only reason that I am still using it is the free 6 month premium which will end in April. I cannot wait to get rid of this! And I will NEVER BUY FITBIT EVER AGAIN!

[SassyBobbie]

I too have been a long, long time user of Fitbit.  I received a Versa 4 for Christmas because it was on sale to replace my Sense.  I immediately told my husband it was a mistake because it didn't do what I thought it should, especially on the Hourly Activity and I loved my Sense more so we returned it for a Sense 2.  Two days of total frustration and several calls to customer service today.  One of the main features I use is the 250 steps an hour for 13 hours a day.  Suddenly I quit seeing the number of steps needed during an hour to reach that 250.  I have spend almost 2 hours working on it and twice with a nice lady at customer service trying to fix the issue.  I agree this is a disaster.  So disappointed.  ;(

[PPerryman]

Fellow dissapointee.

I too am dissapointed.  In theory it's working great and it does 75% of the week
But i'd have to ignore the following
- Not all steps counting

- Randomly wanting to stop in the middle of exercise even tho im moving
- Step counter keeps freezing, requiring a restart several times a week, and you wouldn't know it had unless you were looking
- Notifications are hit and miss

With the previous i had, Charge 2, i can't remember having any of the step issues, it just was **ahem** at recording exercise which i used a Polar for.

[Svitlana]

I bought sense 2 couple days ago and it is completed disappointment for me. I’m not demaning user, never the less i fill like google wants to destroy fitbit completly and replace it with their watch.

In my case it is one BIG frustration.

Bank card does not attach

3rd party apps does not work

I can not even customise 4 shortcurs, and replace them with alarm clock for example.

I want yo return this watch and forget complitely about google and fitbit NEW products.

Alternatively buy versa 2.

It is this filling when google complitely destroyed the products which you love.