If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know that I’ve been using Fitbit for years. I really like Fitbit, but I question their quality since all my Fitbits break after a year. I recently bought the Apple Watch Series 5, and thought my experience might help you make your purchase decision.
MY HISTORY WITH FITBIT
Like I mentioned, I’ve been using Fitbit since their first Fitbit Flex, and have continued with them until my most recent Fitbit Versa Special Edition. I love having a fitness tracking device that can quantify my day, and help motivate me to stay active.
While my main focus has always been on fitness, I really liked how my Fitbit Versa has “smart watch” features like the ability to view phone notifications/texts, and pay right from your wrist with Fitbit Pay.
My Fitbit Versa had everything I needed, really. I even bought some extra straps to swap out, and mix and match. When the Apple Watch Series 4 came out, I was tempted to switch over, but decided to stick with my perfectly operational Fitbit.
Things were great with my Fitbit…until it broke. One morning the screen was super glitchy and the battery was draining really fast. I hadn’t even had it for a year so I was disappointed, but not that surprised. Every single one of my Fitbits has broken at around the year mark. Fitbit was great and replaced the watch for me, but by that time I’d decided to make the switch to Apple Watch.
INITIAL THOUGHTS ON APPLE WATCH
I bought the Apple Watch Series 5 in the Aluminum Black. I’ll do a full review after I’ve used it longer, but so far I love it. The screen is so clear and shows so much detail. I got the 40mm size, and I think it’s perfect to see everything but not super huge/massive on my wrist.
I really like the Activity Rings metric — basically, the Apple Watch encourages you to meet a Move, Exercise, and Stand goal, visualized by closing your rings. It’s just a neat way to be reminded to be more active.
Some other cool features are: the ECG which can check signs of atrial fibrillation; Messages which lets you read and respond to text messages; Noise which monitors for sounds at a high decibel; and Apple Pay which is super easy to use and pay for things from your wrist.
COMPARISON – FITBIT & APPLE WATCH
My Fitbit Versa and Apple Watch have a lot of things in common and both have similar features, but there are also a few big differences, including the price. The Fitbit Versa was $229 when I bought it (now $229 for the Versa 2 model), and the Apple Watch was $399. With that price difference in mind, here’s my comparison:
APPEARANCE
The Fitbit Versa and Apple Watch look very similar — both have a square-ish shape and some buttons on the side. I have the rose gold casing on my Fitbit Versa and the black, aluminum on my Apple Watch. The Versa is larger and more bulky, and there is a large black boarder that reduces the available screen space.
Both watches have interchangeable straps, and I have an aftermarket Sport Loop strap on the Fitbit, and an original Apple Sport Loop on the Apple Watch. It’s a little difficult to change the Fitbit’s straps since it utilizes a spring pin mechanism. The Apple Watch straps click in and out easily by pressing a button and sliding. I recently bought some new Casetify straps for my Apple Watch and I’ll do a review soon.
Both watches are light-weight and comfortable to wear. Right now, I have a screen protector on my Fitbit and not on the Apple Watch. Both screens are large and easy to read, although, I can get a lot more data from the Apple Watch.
FUNCTION
One huge win for the Fitbit is the battery life on the Fitbit Versa; I can usually get 4-5 days of battery on one charge! My Apple Watch has an always-on display (that you do have the option to turn off), and it only gets ~20 hours of battery for me. Of course, there’s no need to really wear the Apple Watch at night, since there is no sleep tracking right now.
Fitbit’s native sleep tracking has always been great. I love being able to see how long I was awake or in deep sleep. Rumor is that Apple Watch will be getting sleep tracking later this year, but nothing now.
Both watches have a method to make payments from your wrist which is super convenient. Although, I find that using Apple Pay on the Apple Watch is way easier.
Both watches can track your heart rate which is one of my favorite features. You can see your heart stats detailed during a workout and throughout the day.
FITNESS TRACKING
Probably the most important feature for me is fitness tracking. Both watches track steps and floors climbed. You can initiate a workout directly from the watch and both watches show that data on their respective apps.
Like I mentioned, Apple Watch fitness focuses on “closing the rings“. There are three rings that represent Move, Exercise, and Stand time. This is just a fun way to visualize your fitness goals for each day. So far I really like this since it puts less “stress” on reaching a step goal.
For outdoor running, Fitbit requires you to have your phone for connected GPS. The Apple Watch can track your GPS independently from the phone which is great if you want to be a little lighter or just not have to worry about that.
EXTRAS
The Apple Watch has a few extra features that the Fitbit does not have like a Walkie-Talkie feature, Compass, iPhone camera remote, and an AppleTV remote. So far those are really neat, but my favorite extras are:
ECG – This feature checks for arterial fibrillation which is nice. I like to know about my heart health and it’s so cool that I can check this from my wrist.
Phone – I use my iPhone for Google Maps while I’m driving but when I get a call, it takes over the entire screen — so annoying. But with my Apple Watch, I can answer the call from my watch and talk separate from my phone!
Messages – I love being able to respond back to messages right from my watch. It’s way more convenient to get the notification and then just reply, rather than have to get up and find my phone.
Overall, I still feel like the Fitbit Versa is a great device, but in my experience, the quality is not there. My watch shouldn’t break after a year and it’s super frustrating when they aren’t inexpensive. If you are ok with replacing your Fitbit or if you just like to upgrade each year, then Fitbit is a great fitness tracker with a great app. I have only had my Apple Watch for a couple of weeks, but I’ve seen others who still use their original or Series 1 Apple Watch. So I think that Apple’s quality is a lot better which is important to me. I don’t want to be forced to upgrade because a product breaks in a short time.
Of course, the Apple Watch is a lot more expensive, so I expect a little better quality/longevity. It all comes down to the features you value and the price you’re willing to pay for those. Personally, I don’t see myself coming back to Fitbit anytime soon. If you have been using a Fitbit for years, like I have, you can merge your Fitbit data over to the Apple Watch with this app so you keep all your tracked data. Let me know your thoughts!
