If you’re thinking of buying a new smartwatch or fitness tracker, you might also be wondering which device is better for you – Apple Watch vs Fitbit? We’re here to guide you through the key differences between the two brands, and provide you with the facts you need to make an informed decision.
While Fitbits and Apple Watches share many similar features, including daily activity and heart rate tracking, there are also a lot of key differences that you should know about when choosing between the two.
Knowing where to start can be daunting, and upgrading can also present countless possibilities that make it difficult to choose the right watch for you. With that said, here’s some help choosing the right device for you.
Top Cyber Monday Apple Watch deals right now:
Top Cyber Monday deals on Fitbit right now:
Apple Watch vs Fitbit: The models
Since the Apple Watch was first released, it has seen a course correction from focusing on the device’s apps to focusing primarily on your health.
The following models are currently on sale directly from Apple:
All of the above use Apple’s latest operating system for wearables, watchOS 9, which introduced new tools for mindfulness, improved features for outdoor cycling (including more accurate calorie calculation for e-bikes), a Pilates workout mode, and an updated Photos app. With new picture watch faces.
Apple Watch releases are best seen as good and better and better. All of them are basically excellent smartwatches that take advantage of a mature operating system, so it’s a matter of balancing your budget against their features.
The SE, especially the latest version, is a great entry point for those who want an Apple Watch with a heart rate feature at the lowest price. Apple Watch 6 and up have many of the same features, including blood oxygen monitoring, as well as an on-demand EKG. Fitness is the primary function of the Apple Watch in 2022, so if that’s your main concern, you can’t go far wrong here.
The Apple Watch 8 is a relatively iterative upgrade, with the main difference being addictive new functions like crash detection to detect car and bike accidents, and skin temperature sensors. It retains the slightly larger seven case sizes (41mm and 45mm compared to 40mm and 44mm for the Apple Watch 6). There’s an always-on display mode that’s 70% brighter for use indoors, the display is topped with a tougher crystal, and the watch’s case is now IPX6-rated for dust protection.
It’s hard to believe that the first product Fitbit released in 2009 was a snap-on device that only measured steps and sleep. Multiple variants of Fitbit are now available to suit different groups of customers.
The company has made waves creating smartwatches with fitness as a priority, peaking in 2020 as Google announced it would buy Fitbit to bolster its wearable inventory. They’re not just for Android, though; Fitbit devices also work with iOS, which makes them a great choice for whatever phone you’re using.
From basic activity tracks to monitor heart rate and step count to full-fledged smartwatches, there’s a Fitbit for everyone. Since we are talking about the Apple Watch here, the closest products that compete with it are the newly launched Fitbit Versa 3 and Fitbit Sense.
However, that may change soon. Fitbit is now owned by Google, and the two companies recently announced that they are currently working on a premium Fitbit app powered by Google’s smartwatch operating system, Wear OS. We don’t know much about it yet, but this could potentially be a direct competitor to Apple.
There’s a wide range of Fitbit devices available, from the sleek Fitbit Luxe to the sport-focused Fitbit Charge 5, but if you’re looking for something similar to the Apple Watch, the Versa 4 and Sense 2 are the devices you should be looking at.
Fitbit Versa 4
The Fitbit Versa 4 is more affordable than the two Fitbit smartwatches, and is an excellent alternative to the Apple Watch for Android device owners. It’s more fitness-oriented than the Sense 2, featuring more activity profiles as well as top-notch sleep tracking. Respond to notifications from Facebook, messages, and email, make touchless purchases with Fitbit Pay, control your Spotify playlist, track workouts, and more, all from your wrist.
Along with the hundreds of watch faces that can be enabled on the device, there are also a variety of colors to choose from.
Fitbit Sense 2
The Fitbit Sense 2 is the latest of two new smartwatches from Fitbit, with a similar design but a more advanced feature for monitoring your health and well-being. Along with the Versa’s features, it has an electrical activity (EDA) sensor from its predecessor, which can detect signs of stress based on changes in your skin’s conductivity. It can also detect variation in skin temperature, which can be a sign of an upcoming disease, as well as heart rate and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2).
Apple Watch vs Fitbit: Battery Life
The Apple Watch’s battery life depends mainly on how many times you’ll use the fitness features throughout the day, but once you put it down at 8 am and come back to watch Netflix at 7 pm, you’ll usually have 40% charge left.
The Fitbit Sense 2 and Versa 4 both offer up to six days of battery life (though the exact duration will vary depending on which features you use), with at least a 12-minute charge to keep you going for the rest of that day.
Apple Watch vs Fitbit: fitness tracking
If you choose the Apple Watch, you’ll get plenty of features to cater to your needs, including a host of activity tracking options, plus onboard GPS so you can leave your phone at home and still record your runs. Your swimming and riding.
Besides, if you know other people who also have an Apple Watch, you can see their fitness goals throughout the day, and even compete with them over the course of seven days.
Even better, exclusive fitness goals appear throughout the month, to challenge you even more on the tasks you’d normally engage in. From walking to Pilates and strength goals, they’re all here.
Another cool feature, which you’ll find on every device except the Apple Watch 3, is fitness detection. If you’re on a 10-minute walk, for example, the watch will display a prompt asking if you want to track it. Those first 10 minutes will already be logged if you choose “Yes”, which means your entire trip will be tracked. It’s a very useful feature, and means that even if you’re just running errands and don’t normally think about activating tracking, it will still count towards completing your daily loops. Since the launch of WatchOS 8, your watch can also automatically track cycling, so your daily commute to work will get you there, too.
If you’re interested in getting more active at home, it’s also worth noting that you’ll get a free three-month subscription to Apple Fitness Plus when you buy a new Apple Watch, giving you access to hundreds of instructor-led workouts on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV. .
As you might expect, fitness tracking is where Fitbit shines; Once you download the app to your phone, simply sync your device and a wealth of health and fitness data is at your fingertips – all presented in a clear, easy-to-interpret format. In addition to the heart rate, sleep, and activity metrics your Fitbit records, you can also use the app to log hydration, set weight goals, log food, and track your period.
Things get even better with a Fitbit Premium subscription, which gives you more in-depth analysis of your sleep data (with new sleep animals coming soon), as well as a daily alertness score. There’s access to a huge catalog of teacher-led workouts, meditation classes, and mindfulness sessions too, as well as nutrition tips. You’ll get a free trial of the full service when you buy a new Fitbit so you can decide if you want to sign up for the long term.
If you’re mostly into fitness and aren’t too into other smartwatch features, it’s worth checking out the full range of other Fitbits as well. The Fitbit Charge 5 is particularly impressive, with GPS for tracking outdoor workouts, stress-monitoring tech like Fitbit Sense, exercise tracking, an ECG sensor, heart rate monitor, and sleep tracking — all packed into a compact case. . Smaller than Sense or Versa 3.
Apple Watch vs Fitbit: The Conclusion
If you are still not sure, the decision comes down to several factors. If you are using an iPhone, it makes sense to supplement it with an Apple Watch. You get watch-exclusive features, like Siri and deep integration with iOS.
Currently, Apple is leading the way in the smartwatch market, and the current lineup of Apple Watches is a great all-rounder that benefits from a mature operating system, long-term support from Apple, and a wide range of apps. While they’re not as focused on health as they are on Fitbit devices, their workout tracking features and Apple’s upcoming Fitness Plus subscription service encourage you to go a step further and consider the effects of your lifestyle on your health.
If you’re using an Android phone, then the Fitbit is the device for you, especially now that the company has been bought out by Google and soon there will be a Fitbit smartwatch powered by Google Wear OS.
Fitbit’s heritage in tracking exercise and health makes its devices a good choice if you’re particularly interested in monitoring your workouts and cardiovascular health. The Fitbit Versa 4 brings you a similar feature set to the Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), along with the SpO2 feature that the SE model lacks. Its low price may also be enough to entice iPhone users.
If you’re interested in practicing mindfulness, the Sense 2’s stress tracking, mood logging, and breathing exercises could make it the best device for you, helping you manage life’s stressors in 2022.
In general, the decision is yours. It just depends on what phone you’re using and how much your fitness tracking means to you.