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What is the purpose of a gyroscope in the Versa?

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what is the purpose of a gyroscope in the watch? what makes it different from say the blaze that doesnt have it?

 

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Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity 

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Ummm...Fitbit just wrote back to me this morning to correct what they told me about the gyroscope. See below in quotes.

"We wanted to follow up with you about your gyroscope question, Micah. The 3-axis gyroscope helps improve the performance of exercise tracking features, not the "quick view" feature. Apologies for the confusion. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask."

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Hi @Bunnybear_05,

 

The gyroscope measures orientation and rotation.

Work out...eat... sleep...repeat!
Dave | California

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so what kinda exercise would you think it would help with? Like I have a elliptical/stair-stepper hybrid that fitbit just cant track my stride on. I blame the elliptical machine but I miss having this workout tracked. Hoping there is a chance that the gyroscope would be better at picking this up. I have a apple watch that did a decent job at tracking it and it has a gyroscope in it.

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It's possible the gyroscope could help, but with a hybrid machine it may or may not make the difference.

 

I sometimes use equipment at the gym that Fitbits have trouble identifying automatically.

 

I just find it easier to use the manual exercise modes for these, so the tracker knows exactly when it starts and stops. It's a little more work on my part, but it works 100% of the time.

 

You can manually track your equipment as elliptical category (or stairclimber). The Versa may just need to be manually started in that mode first.

 

 

Work out...eat... sleep...repeat!
Dave | California

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I've tried that ( with nearly every tracker I've owned( flex/flex2/blaze/alta) and my machine shows I've taken 2000 strides( steps) and the fitbit only picks up maybe 1000. Doesn't matter the location I've worn it ( except if I wear my flex 2 in my bra it will over count my steps by like 500. lol !!!) 

 

I might have to try this one out and see if it works. It will be worth the money if it does. Thank goodness there is good return policies !

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I've asked the same question on this board. I'm surprised Fitbit folks haven't been showing up to answer some of these basic questions on the day they unveil their new product.

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My guess is they will use it to improve the quick view based on your wrist position.  They could also use it to rotate the display.

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ahhh so I tried the Ionic ( has a gyroscope too) and it was a no go. I took 800 strides and it counted 50 of them. Just gonna sell the darn elliptical. I don't get it. Ill make a similar motion with my arms while standing still and I get steps for it. Literally makes no sense,

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I think all the gyroscope does is sense orientation for turning the watch face on and off when you bring it to your face.  Oddly, it is not mentioned in the product manual, which lists these sensors:

 

Sensors

Fitbit Versa contains the following sensors and motors: l A MEMS 3-axis accelerometer, which tracks your motion patterns l An altimeter, which tracks altitude changes l An optical heart-rate tracker l An ambient light sensor

 

The marketing materials, on the other hand, list the following

Sensors & Components

  • 3-axis accelerometer
  • 3-axis gyroscope
  • Optical heart rate monitor
  • Altimeter
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Vibration motor
  • WiFi antenna (802.11 b/g/n)
  • NFC (in special editions)

I suppose the mems-accelerometer may function as a gyroscope for watch orientation purposes, but I don't know if that accounts for the difference between phrasing in the manual and marketing materials.

 

In any event, @Bunnybear_05, although fitbits do pick up some steps on ellipticals, they are not designed to do so, and user experience seems to vary greatly.  

Scott | Baltimore MD

Charge 6; Inspire 3; Luxe; iPhone 13 Pro

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Thanks. On my older elliptical, my fitbits worked great. auto tracked it, got the time right. Then I got this newer elliptical and nothing. Its been driving me nuts for the past year. I give up !! lol

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One thing that Fitbit hasn't done well and much to its detriment (in terms of sales, features, losing users) is integrating multiple devices that will help people who are experiencing issues with activities such as yourself on the elliptical machine.

 

Fitbit could have easily have a master/slave(s) configuration via bluetooth. Staying on topic of the Versa it would be the master device. A slave device such as the Flex 2 would pair with Versa and worn on say the ankle of the right leg. This would allow measurements of both the arm and leg when doing an elliptical activity and accurately record the number of steps taken during the exercise. 

 

Difficult to track activities such as rowing, swimming, skiing, biking, weights, etc. would be more accurate in terms of identifying the activity itself and counting steps taken. In terms of step counts for walking, running, etc. it would be significantly more accurate and have the ability to determine things such as stride length, cadence, etc.  A lot of complaints from end users on inaccurate activities/steps would drop.

 

End users should be more than happy to purchase additional Fitbit device(s) to supplement their main device to get what they want in terms of better / more accurate activity monitoring. The benefit to Fitbit is extra sales. It's a win-win situation for both sides. It's unfortunate that this isn't going happen for the foreseeable future. Smiley Sad

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I have a flex 2. Tried wearing it on my ankle. Still didn’t read the elliptical. Lol. 

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Currently there's no integration between Fitbit devices to improve outcomes for end users. I was giving an example of what Fitbit can do to improve things and help increase sales.

 

It's not going to happen. Hope to be wrong, but sadly saw low demand for their first smart watch (Ionic) which is a year late to the party. Fitbit is caught in a vice. Apple is squeezing them from the top, while cheap Chinese products are squeezing them from below. Not a nice place to be in right now.  

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Several days ago I had reached out to fitbit via facebook messenger to ask them about the purpose of the gyroscope, which has been a fairly quick way to get responses from them. They just responded with this answer...

"We appreciate providing us the screenshot. A Gyroscope is a sensor that measures a device's angular velocity along 3 orthogonal axes x, y and z. This sensor is used for our 'quick view' function for the new Fitbit Versa. Let us know if you have other questions."

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@Micahnatorxwrote:

Several days ago I had reached out to fitbit via facebook messenger to ask them about the purpose of the gyroscope, which has been a fairly quick way to get responses from them. They just responded with this answer...

"We appreciate providing us the screenshot. A Gyroscope is a sensor that measures a device's angular velocity along 3 orthogonal axes x, y and z. This sensor is used for our 'quick view' function for the new Fitbit Versa. Let us know if you have other questions."


"orthogonal" -- nice.  Stephen Hawking's ghost must have gotten trapped in the fitbit help ether.  Smiley Tongue

Scott | Baltimore MD

Charge 6; Inspire 3; Luxe; iPhone 13 Pro

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Ummm...Fitbit just wrote back to me this morning to correct what they told me about the gyroscope. See below in quotes.

"We wanted to follow up with you about your gyroscope question, Micah. The 3-axis gyroscope helps improve the performance of exercise tracking features, not the "quick view" feature. Apologies for the confusion. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask."

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