Sense- convince me to keep it?

[SunsetRunner]

Very disappointed in having it the last 24 hours. I wouldn’t have purchased it, had I known the ecg app was not already released. The deeper into setting it up discovered I can’t load my music onto it but have to use a 3 rd party app like Pandora or Deezer- both paid applications. I did purchase the extended warranty because I am known to be hard on my watches since I wash my hands constantly at work. It doesn’t seem worth it to keep just for GPS. Anybody want to sell me on it? Premium Fitbit isn’t enough-have a Peloton bike so don’t need the extra exercise features.

[Duc916]

You've laid out a very legitimate argument for you not keeping it so why would I try to convince you otherwise....lol.  I've been more than pleased with my Versa2 that's being replaced under warranty after almost 2 million steps.....I am beginning to question the longevity/"heartiness" of the Fitbit line but my experience of 7 month was great until the watch quit working.

[forthewatch]

For the reference i have Apple Watch 6, Versa 3 & Sense. I got my Sense today even though i already have apple watch 6 i ordered Sense. I wanted the automatic sleep feature thats why i bought AW6 but the problem i found was it does not work if you sleep in the afternoon and take a nap. It records sleep only when you set a schedule i.e 11PM to 7AM. If you sleep outside of set schedule AW6 won't record sleep unless i buy 3rd party app like Autosleep which is only $4 but i want this feature built into the watch by Apple. Sense & Versa 3 detects automatic sleep & naps, it doesn't matter whichever time you sleeps it will detect as long as you have the watch on. Today I took a nap of about 55 mintues and Sense recorded it without any setup. I got stressed from AW that i have to sleep at 11PM and wakeup at 7AM. 

Skin temperature is another neat feature by Fitbit which i like. I am going to wear Sense from tonight for 3 nights to get the baseline. I was wearing Versa 3 for last 6 nights but i have not seen any skin temp reading maybe because its not avaialble for Versa 3.

When I got AW6 i checked my ECG and SPO2 more often but now i am not using much of that feature. For me the most important feature i want in the watch is sleep tracking so i like how Sense & Versa 3 worked. I like how nice these new Fitbit watches looks so i didnt went for Versa 2 or other fitbit models.

[FloppyDrive]

I bought the Sense primarily for the sleep stuff being superior to other watches. It's not perfect. If you lie still it will record it as light sleep. I own a Kardia, so I'm not concerned about the missing ECG, but it would be nice to have it enabled (in Canada). Once you realize you don't have any Afib, the feature becomes pointless.

[Duc916]

I agree, the sleep analytics are excellent and have learned to value the feature over the time period I've owned my Versa2.  I already have a O2 monitor and a cardiologist that I see once a year so really find the Afib feature relatively pointless for me.  I'd suggest everyone see a cardiologist at least once no matter how healthy if deemed appropriate by a primary care physician and get an appropriate examination.....don't entrust your heart health to results that are intended for entertainment purposes.

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks! I’m actually an ER nurse and was looking for a new Fitbit toy until
I discovered what it can’t do. Absolutely see a real health professional!
Even in the time of a pandemic, getting in person care is important.

[SunsetRunner]

I agree. Even with ECG and O2 being tested the first week, you kind of not using it any longer. A Versa 3 would make more sense for cheaper. 

I went to the doc and had ultrasound and ECG and was all fine. But still bought the Sense. Marketing won. 

Yesterday I was thinking about returning it but Android has no better alternative and Samsung sucks, I had it. Only the interface was good and its smartwatch capabilities.

[forthewatch]

off course i just get the rough idea from these smart watches. I recently had a bloodwork and apoointmnet with doctor. One night i ate burger, fries & soda, apple watch started sending me alleviated heart rate signals. I wake up and saw the HR over 100 in resting/sleeping position so it concerned me but there were no symptoms of any kind. I will discuss this with my doctor in my next appointment. 

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks! I’m going to return in the morning and continue using my Versa 2.
Will hope the next Fitbit product features will meet my needs better!

[forthewatch]

Versa 3 reading shows all the stages of sleep when i wake up. Tonight/today lol i will use Sense for sleep tracking plus SpO2 & skin temp.

[SunsetRunner]

They advertised the skin temp in association with Covid-19 . You can just use a simple thermometer and even if it showed higher temperature, you would still take some meds and maybe go to the doc if it becomes unbearable.

Even if you got the covid-19 and survived it, the advertised function is no more useful. Provided it works.

[ConnieL429]

I'm not going to convince you of that. I'm keeping mine and just wanted to say, I don't spend this much money unless I do my due diligence.  I will admit I didn't find out about ECG right off (they had to wait for approval so not really their fault).  All devices have to go thru this process.  All of the things you aren't happy about are readily available knowledge if you had checked. The only thing I did not know until right before I ordered mine was that Google also was not available yet (sometime before end of year).  I too was not happy about all of that because I think they should have waited a bit but I get that this market is very competitive and the holidays are coming up besides.  The issue with music was covered in almost every review of the Sense so no surprises.  I always have my phone so I can just listen thru BT if I need too.  So, after all of this, I still love the thing because 1) It's got a much more premium feel to it  2) It looks and feels very classy  3) As is always the case with Fitbit, it's main focus is on health and fitness (if you want more of a smart watch, then see Apple Watch or whatever)  4) While it doesn't do everything that some other watches do, it excels at what it should - health and well being and 5) While it is the most expensive Fitbit yet, it is still cheaper than a lot of other smartwatches that don't look as good or do as much.  

Last but not least, The market has a ton of smart watches and you need to really figure out what you want/need and then you need to figure out what you don't absolutely have to have. Then you can make the right decision.  One thing I can say with the Sense and others going forward is that if you really want to get the most out of these devices, you need to educate yourself on what all these metrics mean and how to apply them to your own life. If you don't want to do that, then it's pretty much pointless.

[ConnieL429]

I swear, some of you people are so cynical and just looking to validate your decision not to buy this. If you don't want to, then don't.

1. Fitbit NEVER advertises itself as a replacement for a real doctor and in fact, tells you so in many places. 

2. Fitbit ALWAYS states these readings are not a replacement for real tests.  They are merely an indicator of a possible problem you need to check out with (wait for it) YOUR DOCTOR

3.  Don't make me laugh.  Just because you don't Afib now or a fever now, doesn't mean you never will.  We are constantly changing both mentally and physically

4.  Before anyone makes negative comments, they should thoroughly read all the literature so they don't look stupid.  OK, sorry for that one but you'll also find as you get older you tend to speak your mind more.  Fitbit doesn't have a sensor for that one.  😋

[KingConn500]

I certainly should have done better research, however they didn’t try very hard to tell you what it wouldn’t do. I assumed, my mistake, that if you could store music on the previous device, you would be able to on this one. There is no point in built in gps, if you have to carry your phone with you to listen to music. I understand where you are coming from, but Fitbit has some responsibility on properly informing the community with what you are going to get and to follow up with supporting customer concerns after it’s release. It’s already October 3rd, and there has been no new news about customer complaints or an update on the eta of when advertised features will be available. The fda passed the ecg weeks ago, so why is it still not available? I appreciate where you are coming from, but realize that when you criticize other customers complaints, it’s kinda rude. You have no skin in the game ( being you are happy with your sense) and people should be able to voice their concerns to the Fitbit community without your scrutiny. The mistake I made, was that I loved the blaze and it worked perfectly for 4 years: I figured that the newest model would continue to build on what the previous models did and purchased the sense. It’s a lesson learned. I take the bulk of the blame for trusting in Fitbit and for not doing my research, but they certainly own some blame for rushing out a product before it was finished. Obviously, many others feel the same way. 

[AddyRazz]

Me too I love it!

[Longarms69]

I toyed with getting the Sense but settled on the Versa 3. £100/$100 cheaper with all the sensors/metrics apart from ECG/stress. ECG isn’t available yet in UK and every review I’ve read of the stress feature calls it confusing and unnecessary. I have to say that I love the device, having used Fitbits for years since switching from an original Jawbone, but there are a few things which if not fixed in the next month (return period with Amazon) will probably cause me to send mine back. 1) Need to use the SPO2 clock face to record metric (madness!) 2) Inability to load either Spotify playlists or own music for offline listening whilst exercising 3) Need to subscribe to Fitbit Premium to see additional Health Metrics data. 

[sanman202]

The information is available if you look on YouTube. Do your homework. There are plenty of resources on technology and what's coming down the pike along with comparisons. Any generation can do this from Boomers down to Gen Z. There are always reviewers that get these devices days before public release because they have enough followers that make it worthy for different companies to send them a device earlier for reviews, so it's exposure or a form of advertising. There are also many tech sites like CNET and some others that you can follow in your Google feeds or Apple, which i'm sure has something similar. The information is out there such as the ECG feature not being available because they were waiting for FDA approval. Who's not busy these days? Ok maybe the people not working a full time job and don't have a family and kids. Technology is not going away anytime soon and it's a good idea to try to be up on new tech and what's coming out and what the features may be. These devices are not miracle workers. They are good for a general idea on any changes that you may see once you start wearing them daily. The Sense looks like a nice device with a great display .Google assistant is coming soon as well. Being able to answer calls with a Mic is a nice feature. It definitely looks like a nice device that I believe I will pick one up eventually. I knew some of the features would not be available at launch, and that's why i am still with the Versa 2. I also just got this watch about 4 months ago..lol 

[imjrode]

I'm keeping my Sense. I'm not having any of the issues some people are having a week later (short of sometimes questionable HR readings).

I will just echo what @ConnieL429 said a few posts up about Fitbit's claims. She was spot on. The point of a device like this is for you to monitor all of these readings and go to a doctor if you feel like something is off.

Fully understand legit complaints about questionable HR numbers, GPS not working, or the lack of ability to answer calls or use Spotify. But the amount of people complaining about things that were pretty clearly stated at release (mainly referencing ECG and Google Assistant) is baffling. I would advise you to do a more diligent job of reading marketing materials in the future. It was stated in the first release announcement.

[t.parker]

@SunsetRunner Why would anybody try to convince you of doing anything? Anyone here is not you 🙂. You have your own requirements that such a device must meet. Clearly, Sense doesn't meet those requirements hence it would be doing you a disservice trying to convince you to keep it. If Sense isn't for you, get rid of it and buy something that actually has all features (or most, sometimes we need to compromise) that are important to you. It doesn't matter what brand you go with (I find so-called brand loyalty to be a sign of fear of exploration, we tend to stick with what we know). It matters whether the product you buy is for you. Nobody will tell you that, nobody is you 🙂 After my Ionic died, I didn't buy any other Fitbit device because they don't meet my requirements. I could try to convince you of getting the watches I use but only because they are great for me, they do what I want. My advice would have no real value for you because you may need different things. You can see, there are people here who are happy with what they got. Sense meets their requirements because they expect something different than you or me. If eventually, somebody convinced you to keep Sense then you would keep it only for that person's reasons, not yours. What sense would it make? 🙂

[D8veh]

I had a Charge 2 that was faultless, then I changed it for the Ionic, which had all sorts of issues when it first came out. When they finally sorted out the firmware and it started to do what it was supposed to, it got water in it and customer services wouldn't replace it. 2 years later, i bought a used Charge 3 from Ebay. It's been faultless too. I then ordered the Sense on 24th Sept after I saw some promotional stuff and a review on Youtube. neither of those two sources of info explained about the missing ECG or that you couldn't get spot SPO2 readings nor proper tracking. Luckily, it seems that they have lost my order, so I cancelled my pending Paypal payment just now. I might have another look at the Sense when it's all sorted, but by then my health should be back to normal, so I won't need ECG and SPO2 anymore.

I love my Charge 3. I think it's the best out of all the Fitbits. I get 10 days battery life.

GPS in the other watches is a waste of time unless you go for short runs/rides. My rides are normally many hours, which flattens the battery. The Charge uses your phone's GPS, which lasts all day. I can't understand why they didn't give the option to do that with the GPS watches. It made the cycle tracking useless for me with the Ionic.