I was excited to receive my Fitbit Ionic 2 days early (thanks Fitbit) and wanted our members to be able to experience it in real time. So many times we get tech and immediately get it out of the box and try it out.
Well, yesterday was crazy and I had to prioritize, so all I did was put it on and changed out the clock face!
But today, I’m so excited to try out some of the features! I’ll be posting photos, videos, and more below with time stamps throughout the weekend so you can get the 411! If you are not aware of the Fitbit Iconic’s release, here are some of it’s key features, and as it is released near the same time as the new Apple Watch, many are debating which route to choose:
- Fitness Coaching (on your wrist)
- Swim Tracking (aka Waterproof)
- Pay with your Wrist
- App integration (currently includes Starbucks and Pandora)
- Customizable Clock Faces (and eventually this will be open for others to create)
- Guided Breathing
- Smart Tracking (Automatically knows what exercise you are doing, if any)
- Built in GPS
- Stores up to 300 songs + Bluetooth, aka music to your ears.
1:30pm Friday, September 29th – Guided Breathing!
Here is a sneak peek of what the graphics and system is like with guided breathing. Along with the screen guidance, it also vibrates to let you know when to inhale and exhale.
10:00am Saturday, September 30th – Sleep tracking!
Yes, I slept in. I haven’t felt well lately and with a headache for two days straight I was looking forward to sleeping in a bit and tracking with my Fitbit.
One thing I would like to note about the Iconic so far is that it is SO LIGHTWEIGHT! I barely felt it on all day and unless I laid directly on it, forget I was wearing it. This is awesome for me!
One of the new features that Fitbit has launched is detailed sleep tracking indicating your time awake, REM, deep and light sleep. They also give you the 411 on what that means!
Here’s a snapshot of my sleep from last night in their new detailed graphic! (This is one of my favorite features). This is also one of the things that I think Fitbit does amazingly well and the Apple Watch, not at all.
Back in the day, you used to have to place your Fitbit in sleep mode! For the past couple of years, Fitbit has been transforming this, and it worked flawlessly!
I also tried out the alarm feature this morning and found it great! It wasn’t too loud and the vibration indicator made it perfect!
So far so good with thear amazing sleep features and the Fitbit Iconic.
11:00am Saturday, September 30th – Starbucks Run!
So yesterday, I took time to set up the apps in my Fitbit. Sinceit’s in new products and new for at development there aren’t too many apps, However, Starbucks is one that is up and running. The set up process is a little tricky. You have to go to your profile and then click apps to get to your settings to set up the Starbucks card. Once there you click on the gear beside Starbucks, and it opens a Page where you can type in (yes, type in) your Starbucks card number.
The process is a bit difficult because you can’t copy and paste your Starbucks card number into the app so you have to go back-and-forth. Despite the inconvenience, It was easy to do and I thought that by thinking my app would be up and running.
Unfortunately, when I was ready to go to Starbucks and tried to pull up my card on the Fitbit, it showed the following on my screen.
When I went to check the app it appears that I need to update my Fitbit Iconic. I tried to do this over Bluetooth since I wasn’t on WiFi (yes this Fitbit syncs services over Wi-Fi). It was struggling to connect and said that my battery was too low to perform the function.
So trial one with the Starbucks card via Watch only was unsuccessful. So, I will try again later and update. I realize some of this is my error, but ease of use is one of the qualities I look for in a product. Everything from set up to function up until this point has been easy though!
Update: as soon as I pulled into my house after my Starbucks trip I noticed that my app had updated and my card is now visible!
1 Week Later Follow Up
Ok, so after a week, here is what I love/am concerned about with the Fitbit Iconic
- Pros
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- Battery life – it lasts me almost an entire week without charging.
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- Keep in mind this did not include me playing music and running GPS – just a regular high step week + a few Relax moments.
- Look/Feel – It stands out in a crowd (the burnt orange is really cool – great choice Fitbit) – and I barely know its on my wrist because it is so light weight. My partner asked me how I slept in it, and I told him about the awesome sleep functions, of course, but that I barely knew I was wearing it.
- Silent Alarms/Snooze – Ok, so this is funny because most health professionals will tell you to avoid hitting snooze, but we all do it. Now, on the Fitbit Iconic, you can actually click the little icon at the top left corner when your alarm goes off for a mini snooze (about 8 minutes). This can also be great for tasks, cooking, laundry, etc.
- Ease of use/function – This device doesn’t do all that other smart watches do, but thats because, it’s built to be a powerhouse with fitness and maintaining stability for your life. Image not having to remember to charge daily, knowing it’s water proof and not worrying about your activities, and knowing your app isn’t going to crash for weather.
- Fitness app + Visuals on your watch – This is something that Fitbit has always had that has helped them stand out. But now you can pull up beautiful workouts straight from the watch!
- Cons
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- Lack of Apps – We know that there is potential for more apps to come, but as of now, the wallet function hasn’t worked for me, I finally used Starbucks the other day and it was super easy to use, because it’s a barcode essentially, but other than notifications, Starbucks and the weather, I haven’t found the other apps to be that impressive. I can’t wait to see what they come out with.
- Limited color choices – I know this sounds silly for some, but being able to change up my watch is important to me. I received the burnt orange and teal (darkish blue) and I love it, but I really do wish I didn’t have to spend $60 on a new band to change it up. And also, There are only 3 options and they aren’t really the most impressive for out of the box appeal. You’ll definitely want the leather band. It doesn’t look cheap by any means, but still, a little more variety/customization with band and watch would be great.
- Price – As of now, I do think it is worth every penny I paid for it. (Yes, I am not cool enough to be one of those people who tested it out for free, I’m a paying member). I do think the price is high to compete with other watches on the market.
- Notifications lack response – We knew this would stay this way, but it is a little sad I can’t just send a quick reply saying “In a meeting” or “I’ll call you in 5” from a click. If I can click snooze, can’t I enable an auto response? Maybe it will come later.
Overall, I am hopeful I made an awesome choice in giving up my Apple Watch. The battery life and weight alone are winning me over right now. (I always felt my apple watch, although lightweight, always was too tight or too loose, and it was gross when I wore it on an active day, and this Fitbit stays “Fresh”).
Keep checking as I post more throughout the weekend, or just wait for the full review 🙂
Cheers!
Jonna
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