Alright, where’s my replacement once my current Fitbit dies? What company makes a watch that tracks steps, heart rate, sleep, spO2, notifications, is generally water resistant (light swimming) and has a battery that lasts ~5+ days? Bonus points for open firmware/hardware that doesn’t require me to design my own apps/systems for each of those items. I don’t even use most of what my Versa 3 can do, but I know it won’t last forever and I’d at least like an idea of where to go if/when it breaks down.
They don’t need to, the day the acquisition was announced my Fitbit went in the bin.
Fuck google, the greedy rent seeking parasites.
I had no idea Fitbit sold to google, and had in the back of my mind to buy one eventually. Guess that’s not gonna happen, found any alternative?
Garmin. You’ll probably spend a bit more on the hardware, but there’s nothing locked behind a subscription. I had the Fitbit Sense and switched to the Garmin Forerunner 265. If the skin temperature sensor is important to you, you’ll want a different model, but that’s the only thing I’ve noticed as missing so far.
I’ve been loving the Venu 3s, it has quite good hardware for the price point. Battery lasts 5-7 days, depending on my activities. I got a 20% off coupon by signing up for an app and doing 2-3 surveys, I can’t remember the name but it’s mentioned quite a few times in the Garmin subreddit (sorry I know…). Also get a couple different 18mm bands (I like nato style or a silicone band) and maybe a screen protector since it’s a raised bezel it’s prone to contacting more things than recessed glass.
Anything supported by Gadgetbridge. Get corpos out of your private data.
Yeah, and Google Stadia had great new games coming and they were totally committed to it until woops, never mind, it’s dead.
Google has a hell of a credibility problem at this point.
As a longtime Fitbit user, the writing is on the wall. The Google buyout has been horrible, features disappearing, support sucking, no more web dashboard, payment issues, calorie goals no longer customizable, etc.
They bought the company for user data and patents. Merge what they want into their watches and discontinue the rest. Absolutely minimize maintenance costs by dropping features and firing employees. They’ll keep the Fitbit name, maybe roll that into a watch sub-series, but the buyout was definitely a gut-and-dump deal.
Too bad the antitrust suit won’t save what used to be a great product and company in time.
What are the good alternatives? Been a fitbit user for a few years now and not sure who to switch to next.
Garmin. Vivoactive 3 purchased in 2017 is still working perfectly today. I’ve upgraded because I’m an unethical consumer but my mom now wears it. Other than less battery capacity, works perfect. Touchscreen, waterproof, and all.
Fitbit wristbands are faulty and keep detaching.
What kind of battery life does it get? One of the mains draws for sticking with Fitbit for me was only having to charge once a week or so.
Garmin if you want a watch that receives notifications and can do basic replies. Anything else if you want a mini phone.
Spoken from an ex Pebble user here that’s been rocking a Garmin 245 since 2020. Finally now starting to get a bit meh in the battery department and I will probably upgrade maybe next year to another Garmin?
Not a direct replacement by any stretch, but I’ve been looking at the PineTime. Not sure how accurate anything it has is, but it’s FOSS, so that’s nice.
Other than that, the last time I looked for watches, it was between FitBit and Garmin for me, so I’ll echo what others are saying.
I’ve been really interested in the PineTime, for the price point it seems like a neat little gadget. I’ve never had a smartwatch and I’d want something cheap to see if I like it, and with the PineTime I know it’s going to be less sketchy than anything else at that price point.
But everything I’ve read implies it’s not really a polished product yet. I’m really curious where it’s at and I’m perfectly fine with some garden variety FOSS jank but how much are we talking here?
Garmin watches, IMHO more rugged and they do not put their software behind a paywall. You’ll pay for it in the cost of the watch.
I’ve been using Garmin for fitness since about 2013, I have use a Charge HR for steps/fitness alongside my Garmin watches when I used them only for activities.
Eventually I replaced that with a garmin Fenix 3HR that did steps, activities and looked good enough to wear all the time
I have a Fenix 6 now.
I’ve read that Samsung and Apple smartwatches are better than Garmin at detecting cardiac issues tho.
I feel like I was too hard on Garmin. Their GPS hardware in the late 2000s were outdated and so I rooted for Apple/Google to replace them with map software and phones.
And here I am watching Google destroy Fitbit and eyeing Garmin again.
I literally just bought a Fitbit because I really needed a watch and it has the features I cared about and was way less expensive than a Garmin.
Honestly I think Google will cancel them because they compete with Android Wear or whatever which can’t hold a charge worth a damn. 24 hours for a Pixel Watch? Fuck right off.
May I suggest Garmin? For a smartwatch they have decent battery life and tons of sport/fitness features.
Another Garmin recommendation from me as well. They are built well, and not shitty with their apps.
I dunno about iOS, but the reviews of the Garmin Connect app on the Play Store are… very consistently negative over the last handful of months. There was apparently a significant redesign that made a lot of information less accessible. I was thinking about getting one of their cheaper fitness trackers, but I’m less sure about that after seeing those reviews.
You must have missed my first statement? Unless you can justify $300-$400 more for the features I use in the Fitbit. Bonus points if you can make it into a funny song.
