Former Ionic owners- how does this one compare?

[Ericws]

Hi-  looking for some feedback as I consider my next smartwatch.  My Ionic died a sudden and shocking death a few weeks ago.  

Any comparisons and reviews available?  Thank you!

[Mateos]

it is an upgrade in many ways. The watch is more responsive and fluent. Activity tracking is as you expect from a Fitbit and works just the way that you are used to.  Besides a more fluent experience you will get a brighter screen. Also you will get some extra health features that are nice.  

there is one drawback that makes me less enthousiastic about the watch and might persuade me to sell the watch and go for the Charge 4; the HR sensor is inaccurate. This is a major issue for me that I hope Fitbit can fix. Otherwise the ideal successor of your Ionic with much more battery life. 

[Mannbrad]

Why wont fb recognize the heart rate issues?!?!  Its all over this forum and all over the internet.  Is it a harware issue fitbit?? Or is it a software issue??  If its the ladder then let your customers know that its a known issue and ur working on a software fix. If not we are to assume its a hardware issue and need to return our sense back to the retailer. Please respond!!

[BCPacificRunner]

Same issues, wayyyy off on the heart rate calculation and recording me basically resting while I’m smashing out a huge cardio workout and then randomly recording my heart rate in the 130 bpm’s when I’m cooling down/walking it off

[Ericws]

Thank you!  Is there built-in GPS like Ionic?

[Mannbrad]

Yes

Sent from my iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

I wore the Sense and my Garmin Venu both for the first few days and whenever I looked the HR on the sense was within 1-2 bpm of the Garmin.

[Mannbrad]

was this during a workout or just walking? Mine is fairly accurate while just sitting around or walking but as soon as I get my heart rate up it goes  10-20 bpm higher Then it should be. I’m wearing my polar H 10 Cheststrap. At the same time.

[MattJ71]

I moved from an Ionic to a Sense.  Overall, I liked the look of the Ionic better from an aesthetic perspective.  It just looked more rugged and serious.  The Sense is more comfortable to wear than the Ionic.

From a performance perspective, both have roughly the same battery life, around 4 to 5 days.  The UI on the Sense is more polished and fluid, with an overall better experience.

The Sense collects more useful data and I believe is more accurate in calculating heart rate from my experience, so it's definitely an upgrade from a technological perspective.

If Fitbit released the Ionic 2 with all the technology of the Sense, I would go for the Ionic 2.  Otherwise the Sense it a better device that will only get better with OS updates.

[SunsetRunner]

I haven't worn them both on a run (I've been too lazy to run lately). Here is the data I got for a walk I took on 12/28:

Fitbit Sense:1.14 miles, 126 calories, Avg HR 106bpm, Max HR 116 bpm, Min HR 99bpm, average pace 24'01", elevation gain +56

Garmin Venu: 1.22 miles, 119 calories, Avg HR 109 bpm, Max HR 123bpm, Min HR 99bpm, average pace 22:30, elevation change +43' / -148'

Obviously Garmin offers more data, and the advanced health metrics don't require a subscription like they do with Fitbit. If you're actually serious about your fitness, stick with Garmin or Polar. The social aspect isn't as good, but I trust the data more. Fitbit is only great for "general health" IMO. After I bought the Sense, I realized why I stopped buying fitbits even though I was using them since their very first clip on. I like the look of the Sense and I thought it would suffice since I'm not training seriously anymore, but I'm having my doubts. I do love the look of it, though.