Fitbit vs Apple Watch…Which would you choose?
Since the initial Apple Watch debut in March (2015) and the recent serge in demand for activity and fitness tracking, techies everywhere have been scrambling to pick and maintain allegiance to their favorite brands. Without the proper research it can be difficult (and quite costly) to pick the right model. Of the high-end brands of Garmin, Jawbone, Nike and more, the the Fitbit and the Apple Watch seem to be on wish lists around the globe. To create a direct and fair comparison, we’ll take a look at the Apple Watch vs the Fitbit Surge.
Seeing as though both devices fall into two different categories (smart watch with activity tracking ability vs activity tracker), it is important to note that this comparison is being made in terms of fitness activity tracking. The Apple Watch has many other capabilities that the Fitbit cannot/ was not designed to do.
General Overview: With amazing tracking ability and technological advancement, both trackers are able to determine calorie burning, sleep, daily step count, GPS, flights of stairs and more. Both trackers allow text and phone call identification, pair flawlessly with BlueTooth and are water-resistant. With these similarities come differences including: Fitbit’s built in GPS vs Apple Watch’s requirement of GPS BlueTooth via iPhone. The Fitbit tracking device is accompanied by a detailed fitness app and ability to access content via desktop computer. Apple’s activity app is very sleek in design; however, as of right now there is no desktop ability (yet). Fitbit interlocks with the phone application, whereas the watch and iPhone, though used great together, can also be used individually. More general comparisons can be found in PC Advisor’s chart and general site.
A Closer Look:
Fitbit Surge ($249.95)
The Surge comes in multiple sizes: small, large, or extra large and has a battery lasting up to 7 days. It has the ability to measure your heart rate, provides vibrating alarms, and syncs wirelessly to any smart device and desktop.
Apple Watch ($349.00+)
The Apple Watch Sport has a variety of color changing bands for every occasion, an aluminum case cover of your choice and retina display with touch force. The sport model incorporates weather updates, text alerts AND the ability to respond to the texts directly from your watch.
So, Which One is Better?
According to Nerd Wallet’s comparison, the Fitbit Surge is best for dedicated athletes. “The Fitbit Surge provides total body monitoring (activity, sleep, heart rate and more). The watch’s water-resistant design, long battery life, broad range of compatible devices and bonus features, like GPS and text alerts, make it a great fit for first-time smartwatch purchasers.” On the other hand, the Apple Watch would be a greater fit for people already within the realm of apple products. “If you’re in the Apple ecosystem and already own an iPhone, the Apple Watch is worth shelling out the extra money…the ultimate accessory for techies and a useful tool to keep your exercise routine on track.”
At the end of the day, I’d probably opt for the Apple Watch. Thinking about the Internet of Things, I see the apple watch greatly impacting my day-to-day life, while the Fitbit would be nice in some areas, but not others. The versatility outside of fitness tracking makes it multi purposeful and functional, allowing the user to get the true bang for their buck. Do you have a Fitbit or an Apple Watch? If not, which one would you purchase?
I have a Pebble Smartwatch, which was the first smartwatch to hit the market. I really love this smartwatch and I actually have the steel version as well as the original version (made of plastic). I don’t really use the fitness applications on the watch simply because of how inaccurate they generally are. It isn’t just the pebble, most smartwatches are not accurate in counting steps. The Fitbit definitely does it best, but it is still not perfect.
However, I think that smartwatches need to be looked at for more than their fitness applications. They’re able to do so much more. The reason I prefer the pebble over any other smartwatch is because at the end of the day, my pebble is a watch first and a smartwatch second. The screen is always on, easy to see in any lighting, the battery life lasts upwards of five days, and the SDK for app development is consistently improving. The Apple watch isn’t as convenient with it’s shorter battery life and hard to see screen, and the Fitbit is a fitness watch first and watch second.
When I wear a watch I am wearing it so that I can easily tell the time, all of the smartwatch features come second and that’s what pebble understands.
I do not have the FitBit Surge, but I do have the FitBit Flex. So far I have nothing but praise for FitBits, and if you do not want to spend the almost $250 on the Surge they have cheaper options, like the Flex and the Charge. They may not be able to track as much, but they get down to the basics for you. I like the simplicity of it, though sometimes I do wish I had gotten the Charge, so I could have the display and heart rate feature.
The Apple Watch seems cool, but I also think it is a bit of an overkill, especially for those who already have every Apple product known to man. The fact that you get text alerts on it is somewhat pointless because they are just sent to your phone as well. I get where Apple was going with it, but I think the Apple Watch is overpriced, and I would personally never buy it in place of a simple FitBit.
The Apple Watch is also not as useful for those who do not have an iPhone. Where you can use it without having one, their ability to sync to one another is kind of the point of having both. There would not be as many benefits for Android users. All in all, they are both interesting and incredible advances in technology, but I think I will just stick to my FitBit.
I don’t have a Fit Bit or Apple Watch either, but I do have a Samsung Galaxy S5. This phone is extremely different from the above mentioned watches, but it also has some important similarities when it comes to health applications. The S5 has Samsung’s built in S Health App. S Heath is very powerful, but not necessarily as accessible as the watches. The app has a pedometer, it has a built in heartbeat sensor, it can track you via GPS, show you your weight history, and connect with numerous external devices.
The major differences between the app and the watches are that the watches constantly track your heart rate whereas the app requires that you put your finger on the special heart beat light. The watches are constantly tracking everything you do. The app requires that the phone be on you to work. Aside from this they are pretty similar, but the differences are important.
I think that the app is good for anyone who isn’t an athlete and is just curious about how much activity they partake in a day. For example, the app works for me because I find it interesting how many miles I walked across campus. I also like to track myself with a GPS to get statistics when I go on a long bike ride.
All in all, I just want to stress that the Fit Bit and Apple Watch are not the end all and be all products when it comes to fitness trackers. For the average user I think that a built in phone app will work just fine. If you want to learn more about the functionality of the S-Health App follow this link: http://www.androidcentral.com/using-s-health-app-samsung-galaxy-s5
Being a pro-apple user, I myself would have chosen the apple watch as it does a lot of the same things that the FitBit does, but being a health enthusiast and a sufferer of sleep deprivation (who in college is not) I would see myself owning a FitBit being more useful to my health in the end game.
I was recently fairly ill at the end of last semester and it was due to sleep deprivation and I feel if I had the fitbit I could have avoided the whole thing, knowing when I got enough sleep and when I did not. I could have gotten into better strategies and health patterns if I had known, this is a feature the apple watch would be useful to have.
I Know that the iPhone has the ability to track sleep:
http://thenextweb.com/apple/2014/10/05/track-sleep-pattern-apple-watch/
This website explains it all, but this suggests that you actually put the iPhone under the sheets of your bed and roll around all night and it tracks how much movement and such is going on…
Hasn’t there been stories of girls sleeping with their phones under pillows? How is this different?
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Apple-iPhone-4-allegedly-catches-on-fire-while-charging-overnight_id28312
I just don’t see how seeing sleep patterns could be worth an electronic device being left in bed (a place that is constantly keeping heat in rather than letting it out), and with the fact of the matter being that apple devices’ battery lives are miniscule compared to the FitBit’s, this means that the phone would have to be plugged in while running the sleeping diagnostics, which is an even bigger hazard.
All in all, for health purposes I would choose the Fit Bit over the apple Watch, even though I am a huge apple supporter, there are some loose ends that should be tied up.
I don’t have a Fitbit or Apple Watch but as a person who loves fitness and being active, these trackers could be useful. In the past, I looked at possibly purchasing a Jawbone UP or Fitbit but have not invested in one yet. Without seeing the Apple Watch in person, it is hard to determine its durability for high intensity workouts and activities. From commercials and advertisements, I got the impression that the Apple Watch is meant to be more of an accompaniment to the iPhone.
I believe the FitBit design is better geared for activity tracking if a person is only looking for that functionality. Additionally, the FitBit band is made of a durable material so the user won’t worry about damaging the device. It seems like the touchscreen on the Apple Watch could easily get scratched. Since the face of the Apple Watch is small, it could also be difficult to read the information straight from your wrist.
For me, I would most likely purchase the FitBit. Since I don’t have an iPhone, the Apple watch’s functionality is greatly limited. It would be difficult to view information since there is no desktop application. The Apple Watch is also more expensive than the FitBit. However, I would like to try the Apple Watch to learn more about the technology and capabilities. I have not seen many people wearing Apple watches. If the price goes down, will people buy them?