Sense issues reported by reviewers

[Rinopopo]

I've read 7 different reviews and every single one says that this device is half-baked. I'm really worried about this. Anyone at fitbit could tell me if they are aware of those issues and if are going to be fixed in a day one firmware update?

- slow OS

- slow animations

- not so accurate HR readings when exercising.

- no spo2 readings if you don't enable the spo2 watchface (WTF FITBIT!!)

- no voice responses from alexa
- no voice calls at all.

- Lack of information about stress management data.

[Attak_Reload]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

I just watched the DC Rainmaker Youtube review and would agree with that. Issues so far for me (using Iphone 11 - IOS14):

Inaccurate HR, steps and sleep recording - these are just basic things that any tracker should get right first time. I appreciate that recording sleep is slightly more difficult but it's way out here.

Having to repeatedly tap the screen to wake up - if you don't want the screen always-on and want the manual wake method (not using the button) then it should wake up as soon as you tap the screen - it simply doesn't.

SpO2 recording - why is this only during sleep ? I appreciate that it's good to know as part of your sleep routine (if it's recording that accurately) but you need to know this during the day too. Also ridiculous to need a specific watch face to record/view.

Data analytics - the health metrics appear to have been thrown in at the last minute with no clear use of how you can improve them or what they mean. 

Fitbit Premium - like most, I don't mind paying a premium for something if it's worth it, but most of the things that you need here (health logs etc) should be free as part of the initial price and all of the guided workouts / sessions you can get anywhere for next to nothing online.

Overall so far I'm really glad I kept the box and the Amazon box as I'm half way there to returning. I'll give it a few more days myself. It's such a shame as on paper this sounded like the smart watch to easily rival the 'tree-fruit' one (!) and therefore I jumped with a day1 purchase, and I'm still impressed with the extended battery life the Sense has over that one, but it's clear that it's not going to compete so far.

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You made it a lot further than my fiancee did before returning it! I bought this for her as a present and she asked me to return it in less than 30 mins after the initial setup. No phonecall capabilities (I would be happy with just a speakerphone), Only functional with Pandora Premium, and SpO2 locked to 1 watch face. Look into the 'tree-fruit' watch if you have an iPhone, it is a night and day experience compared to this half-baked offering. It may not be for you, but it is certainly something to at least consider until Fitbit can figure out how to test something before shipping.

[Tristannyc]

Ok here are my first impressions: 

INSTANT RETURN

I am not being dramatic either, let me explain:

The Sense is a watch geared towards those who want a great overall idea of their mental and physical health/lifestyle.

And it promised to give us that, an INSIGHT so we could better our lives.

Well here is what we were told we would get versus what we got:

ADVERTISED: Functions that track stress

TRUTH: Only tracks "stress" when you tell it to by holding your hand over it and reading your palms sweat.

ADVERTISED: An overall metric for how our stress is effecting our day

TRUTH: Emojis, I sh*t you not. It literally is a happy, neutral or mad emoji with no reason as to why, how to improve it, and can only track if we do the stupid place hand on watch thing over and over.

ADVERTISED: A watch that does it all for you to give you a better "Sense" of your lifestyle.

TRUTH: A watch that requires you to manually track more than any other fitbit ever in order to get a jumbled garbage mess of stats that make zero "Sense". 

ADVERTISED: A better OS.

TRUTH: It's true the OS is much less laggy than the Versa 1, still jitters a bit and restarts QUITE a bit. But is better. However, it is not available to any watch below these, spitting on those who are not buying their brand new items.

ADVERTISED: Tons of statistics to help you better yourself

TRUTH: Tons of statistics hidden behind a paygate that makes the overall cost of this already apple watch territory priced watch about 130$ more PER YEAR. Not gonna lie, if I have to choose between Spotify and Fitbit premium that doesn't even offer Spotify offline music or support, the choice is obvious.

ADVERTISED: A better watch then ever before!

TRUTH: They removed offline music loading, released with half the functions not even available yet and with Fitbits rep, we never know when we will actually get them, a HR sensor that is actually WORSE than the previous version due to not enough R and D and rush to market, and statistics that overall make you want to pull your hair out as they are not useful in their current form whatsoever.

Fitbit used to give a little bit of a **ahem** because they had to. Now they seem to just not care and want that extra "paygate" premium money to milk it for what it is worth on existing customers who think it will somehow make their workout better or journey complete. When in fact the new watch is worse in every way other than software. The watch itself even got bigger. Sigh...

Ongoing Conclusion and I am still working on the comparison: I have decided to go to Garmins Venu or Vivoactive 4 (depends on the battery life on both). They have amazing stats that help you throughout your day, consistent HR monitoring, especially RESTING HR which is all over the place on the Fitbit, and sleep tracking I can live with even if it isn't going to grab my naps. not to mention support for spotify, offline music playing, and accurate GPS. I started to see Fitbit going the way of the "paywall" with premium awhile ago, but now it is just stupid they are pay walling their new OS and their functionality that even with premium doesn't enhance it. Completely disconnected from their userbase, and taking advantage of those who don't know better. They are touting these features that have been around forever as new. And they aren't new. Nor do they work better on Fitbit. Sigh. I think this is the year I switch for good.

Fitbit Versa ONE (which is still better than the Sense)

Garmin Venu

[Tristannyc]

Wow... my post was deleted for going through the issues with the sense. If anyone has this on email notifications and can send me my post that would be awesome. 

[Tay757]

I finally found a way to connect my android phone and it working correctly now. I can pickup my phone call a and see incoming message.

[Tristannyc]

Why do my messages in this thread keep getting deleted? First I made a fair abs honest review comparison of where Fitbit dropped the ball on the sense versus other offerings. Then my post asking where my

post went got deleted. If anyone has a copy of the review I left in their email please message me. Sucks to have all that deleted for no reason and no explanation other than Fitbit knows they dropped the ball on this and are milking people for money. 

[Tristannyc]

Why do my posts keep getting deleted? I am so confused. All I want is to know if someone got a copy in their inbox of my review I made that was deleted for no reason. And if they can DM me it 🙂

[Tristannyc]

These reviews are very accurate. (let's see if this gets deleted)

[Tristannyc]

Tay74 that's good!

[Rinopopo]

I've been wearing my "sense" since launch.

1) It does not have google assistant.
2) it has no ECG,
3) It has no calls on the clock .. (It is funny that when you start the clock for the first time a sound is heard from the speaker. That sound is the only one you will hear since there are no functions that use it.)
4) I have to remember to activate the spo2 watchface before going to bed so that the data is saved (why do I see the red light of the sensor when that watchface is not active?)
5) The stress functions I just don't understand. I have to do a manual test to see 4 rectangles and no useful information.
6) watchfaces are (still) pretty ugly in general.

7) It would be nice to have alarms with sound and to see the images of WhatsApp in the notifications.

But I don't know if that would make up for the disappointment I have with this watch.

Anyway. This product has disappointed me deeply, especially considering the price. I have the versa 1, the 2, and the samsung watch active 2.

The sense, right now, with the current firmware, does not give me anything.

Thank you for reading.

[imjrode]

The first two items on your list are features that Fitbit made very clear were not going to be on the Sense at launch. I'm not sure how you can include them in a critique of something when you willingly purchased the device knowing they were "coming soon."

[Rinopopo]

@imjrode that's the point. Why do you launch a product with most of the "great" features missing? ecg, google assistant, calls from the watch... is it because you wanted to make every other feature perfect?

well.. it seems that the answer is no. that spo2 reading is awkward. No use for the speaker? not even for alarms? 

This product (at least the firmware) is clearly not ready for production.

[imjrode]

In the instance of launching without the ECG, I think it's pretty obvious they didn't launch with that because they didn't know when they would be given approval. No idea in regards to Google Assistant and the other items.

My point is, it's kind of arguing in bad faith to use items you knew were not going to be available at launch as critiques. If ECG and Google Assistant were selling points to you, you should have clearly waited and not pre-ordered (unless you were willing to wait for them). That's on you as the consumer. 

[Tristannyc]

Incorrect. When was the last time you ordered an item off ebay and the
seller told you after you bought it you will need to wait to get the item
you bought for a few months. Even though it said on the listing "Included".
Not buying it, is on the consumer to make smart decisions, but it is on the
manufacturer to keep promises and not make us feel cheated.

[imjrode]

That's a terrible comparison because buying an item is far different from a feature on an item.

You literally pre-ordered the Sense knowing that these items were not going to be available at launch. By pre-ordering, you were saying that you either A) didn't care about those features or B) were fine waiting for them.

It's not like Fitbit hid the fact that Google Assistant and ECG were coming at a later date. It was in all of the marketing materials and original press release for the device. 

[wookietim]

There's no reason for it in the Sense since it has onboard GPS

[Rinopopo]

I knew that features were missing. I'm saying AT THIS MOMENT those features are missing. I'm disappointed because I thought they will polish a little bit everything else because those features won't launch on day 1. I thought the speaker will be useful. I thought we will have spo2 reading without using a specific watchface. I thought the tap to wake feature will work fine. 

[Tristannyc]

I am at that age where I no longer make excuses for companies who take hard
earned money from consumers with the "promise" of ideas with their devices
instead of the device itself. So while I appreciate you trying to make it
make sense, to me it will never make sense.

[imjrode]

I think critiques are fair. It's fair to criticize why the heart rate monitor seems to not pick up intense increases, why you have to use a special watch face for SpO2 and why it's difficult to interpret what some of the data means.

What's not fair is to knowingly purchase a device that has features the company clearly states are not going to be ready at launch and then turn around and complain about it. It's not making an excuse for the company. It's a fact. If ECG and Google Assistant still aren't available well into 2021, I think that's a different story. But both of these items were very clearly marketed as coming soon.

[TheNightSkyGuy]

On point @imjrode 

I knew weeks before the Sense hit the market that some of its high end features like ECG will role out at a later date- everything is freely available online.  I personally am fine with waiting for firmware updates in the coming months. This device is way ahead of the game in their focus on health sensors and packing everything into this device.  Remember that they are branding this device as a health watch, not a smartwatch. The fruit company has that market nailed.

I personally am looking for an all-in-one, accurate health wearable and this is the best game in town for now. Fitbit is pushing the medical technology envelope,  Lets see what the competition comes up with now. 

BTW I think it's great to give constructive criticisms, like advocating to add features like downloading music and more open SpO2 readings- the more voices and votes, the better. 

[Tristannyc]

Bluetooth calling was not marketed as coming soon. Offline music was not
marketed as GONE.

And premium features were not marketed as indecipherable.

This whole launch is a mess.