Fitbit Sense review

Finest Costs Right now: Fitbit Sense

The Fitbit Sense replaces the Ionic on the high finish of the corporate’s household of health and well being smart-watches and exercise trackers. On high of each Fitbit health metric and a built-in GPS, it measures your stress ranges, pores and skin temperature, blood oxygen, electrodermal exercise, ECG, and heart-rate variations. 

Replace, August 2022: Fitbit lowered the retail value by $50/£60.

Fitbit calls the Sense an “superior well being smartwatch”, and it’s on well being that it beats different Fitbits such because the Versa 3, which launched on the identical time however focuses extra on core health options. Learn our Fitbit Versa 3 evaluation.

It’s an awesome smartwatch, solely held again by what I take into account a poor wrist strap and the truth that a number of too lots of the finest well being monitoring options are reserved for paying Fitbit Premium subscribers. However the current value drops make it one thing of a discount in comparison with its unique pricing.

Fitbit is continuous so as to add new options, equivalent to the flexibility to take hands-free calls through the watch, which incorporates each a microphone and audio system, and including Google Assistant alongside the Amazon Alexa voice assistant.

Design & construct

The Fitbit Sense is a handsome watch with a vibrant display screen and a responsive person interface.

The principle physique is product of aluminium with a cultured (medical-grade) stainless-steel end. This high-quality stainless-steel ring is required to get a few of the extra superior sensor readings. It’s additionally extra sturdy; the medical-grade refers to its corrosion resistance.

It options a big 1.58in OLED show with a decision of 336 x 336, which is vibrant, and straightforward to learn even in direct daylight.

The bodily button discovered on the Versa 2 has been changed with a brand new haptic sensor on the left edge—so there’s no bodily button to push in, however as an alternative a touch-sensitive space that vibrates a little bit to let you realize your contact has been recognised.

An ordinary button would have been simpler, however actually you will get wherever you want with a swipe.

Additionally new is the included swappable strap referred to as the Infinity Band, and it takes a little bit getting used to. As a substitute of a traditional watch strap, there’s a peg you push by way of the very best gap in your match, and then you definately shut it by way of a loop.

That is my greatest gripe with the Sense: the band that it ships with simply isn’t as safe because the previous watch-buckle. I had it fall off my wrist inside 24 hours, and when you think about it’s utilized in bodily exercises, that isn’t adequate. I might significantly recommend you buy one of many accent straps (the Sport one is nice) that characteristic extra sturdy buckles.

A minimum of Fitbit has made swapping the bands a lot, a lot simpler with the Sense. Altering the strap on the previous Versa and Versa 2 was as fiddly as fiddly can get. This time, you simply need to push a tab forwards and gently slide the strap off, after which click on a brand new one in.

As for colors, the Sense is out there in Graphite Stainless Metal with a Carbon band, or Smooth Gold Stainless Metal and Lunar White band.

Well being monitoring

The Ionic, just like the Fitbit Surge that it changed, was marketed as a sports activities smartwatch. Sports activities was considered the head of the health tracker, however with the Sense Fitbit has pivoted away from sports activities to extra of a deal with bodily and psychological well being, in addition to together with all of the anticipated health options.

Stress administration

Medical practitioners are more and more warning that stress could be as harmful as bodily sickness, contributing to hypertension, coronary heart illness, weight problems and diabetes. Fitbit has new instruments within the Sense that may assist determine stress, and subsequently can probably provide help to recognise and handle it.

Fitbit provides you a Stress Administration Rating that calculates how your physique is responding to emphasize based mostly in your coronary heart fee, sleep, and exercise degree information.

It’s helped by a brand new Electrodermal Exercise (EDA) sensor that measures adjustments within the resistance of the pores and skin to a small, undetectable electrical present in response to sweat secretion. EDA measures the depth of emotion, not its state, so a rise in conductance could be brought on by each constructive and unfavourable emotional states. You’ll be able to log your temper (harassed, calm, and many others) after the EDA scan.

Customers can then see a graph of their EDA responses within the Fitbit app, which tracks developments over time.

Some methods of managing stress embrace growing bodily exercise and mindfulness—to which finish the Fitbit app features a guided meditation characteristic. After your session is over, prompts within the cell app allow you to replicate on how you are feeling and see if these have a constructive impact in your stress ranges.

You’ll be able to set a weekly mindfulness aim, monitor every day conscious minutes and days, and see developments. The rating ranges from 1-100, with larger scores indicating your physique is displaying fewer bodily indicators of stress. It’s paired with suggestions to raised handle stress, equivalent to respiratory workouts.

Fitbit Premium members will get an in depth breakdown on how the rating is calculated, which consists of over 10 biometric inputs, together with exertion stability (affect of exercise), responsiveness (coronary heart fee, coronary heart fee variability and electrodermal exercise from the EDA Scan app), and sleep patterns (sleep high quality). This can be a typical theme as we go on, with a few of the finest monitoring options within the Sense held again for subscribers.

Pores and skin temperature

There’s additionally a brand new pores and skin temperature sensor, which can be utilized to point the onset of a fever or sickness (are you able to consider any huge ones going round?), in addition to linking up with Fitbit’s present well being monitoring for menstrual phases. That is finished at evening when the Sense will measure your pores and skin temperature variation to see developments, so it doesn’t show one-off readings.

It takes the Sense three nights to calculate your baseline pores and skin temperature. You then see nightly common variation in comparison with that baseline temperature on the Temperature tile on the Right now display screen within the Fitbit app.

Different Fitbit smartwatches, such because the Versa fashions, may also monitor your pores and skin temperature, however solely the Sense reveals the information within the app and not using a Fitbit Premium subscription.

In case your temperature is spiking or dropping in comparison with regular, this could possibly be an indication of sickness. Few of us use a thermometer daily, so it is going to be fascinating to see if this works—although I’ll have to attend for an sickness to report again on its worthiness.

SpO2, ECG & extra

Like different Fitbit smartwatches, the Sense can measure your common SpO2 ranges—the quantity of oxygen in your blood. This information can be utilized to detect your respiratory fee alongside how nicely blood is being transported all through the physique. Low ranges of oxygen may end up in severe signs equivalent to hypoxemia.

Observe that the Sense solely tracks your oxygen saturation ranges whilst you sleep, not like the Apple Watch 6 or Withings ScanWatch, each of which might take a blood O2 studying in simply 15 seconds at any time of day. Take a look at our full comparability between Fitbit and Apple Look ahead to extra on how the 2 manufacturers stack up.

One complication is that the – except you subscribe to Fitbit Premium—the SpO2 clock face should be set as your major clock face when you find yourself sleeping to ensure that it to trace your information, which doesn’t make the service as computerized as we predict it could possibly be. 

A sensor within the Sense’s outer stainless-steel ring detects {the electrical} indicators produced by your coronary heart every time it beats, and a brand new electrocardiogram (ECG) app—accepted by the US FDA and EU CE – can assess your coronary heart for atrial fibrillation (AFib) heart-rhythm irregularity that may enhance the chance of getting a stroke, or regular, uniform sinus rhythm.

To take an ECG studying, you place your index finger and thumb on the other corners of the metallic body for 30 seconds.

There are three potential outcomes: Atrial fibrillation (an irregular coronary heart rhythm, so you must speak to your physician for additional assessments); Regular sinus rhythm; and Inconclusive (in case your coronary heart fee is under 50 bpm or above 120 bpm, the ECG app can be unable to entry your coronary heart rhythm, so finest to not take an ECG studying straight after having wonderful cardio health).

An improved heart-rate sensor helps to drive one other new characteristic: heart-rate notifications when it detects that your coronary heart fee is above or under your regular threshold.  This may be helpful to detect bradycardia (a coronary heart fee that’s too gradual) or tachycardia (a coronary heart fee that’s too quick).

Fitbit Premium subscribers can see their heart-rate variation (HRV), the time between every heartbeat. Once more, this will point out the onset of sickness, in addition to fatigue and stress.

Fitbit’s new Well being Metrics dashboard goes into extra collective element on variation over time (7- and 30-day developments), monitoring respiratory fee (common breaths per minute), resting coronary heart fee, coronary heart fee variability (variation of time between every heartbeat), SpO2 ranges (quantity of oxygen in your blood) and pores and skin temperature variation.

The corporate is eager to level out that customers shouldn’t regard this information as a medical truth, and may contact their physician for skilled recommendation. 

Initially for Premium subscribers solely, the Well being Metrics dashboard has now been opened as much as all customers, at the very least for the 7-day pattern view. The 30-day pattern view continues to be for Premium solely.

Learn our full characteristic to be taught extra about all of the Fitbit scores and measurements.

Within the US the corporate has launched a brand new service referred to as Fitbit Premium + Well being Teaching. This offers subscribers digital one-on-one entry to a licensed well being skilled and personalised plan utilizing your Fitbit information, through the Fitbit app. The thought is to provide you limitless, appointment-free, actionable steerage that can assist you attain objectives equivalent to weight reduction, stress discount, and even managing a continual situation.

Health options

As I’ve mentioned, past the brand new health-tracking tech the Sense additionally has a formidable array of health options—certainly no different Fitbit has greater than the Sense.

In fact, it tracks actions equivalent to Steps, Distance, Flooring Climbed, Lively Minutes and Energy Burned.

The Lively Minutes metric has been improved with the newer Lively Zone Minutes (AZM) metric, and the Sense buzzes while you enter a brand new Coronary heart-Price Zone: Fats Burn, Cardio, or Peak. This offers you on the spot discover that you’ve reached a goal zone, and whether or not that you must push tougher in your exercise or pull again. AZM was first seen on the Fitbit Cost 4, and has now been rolled out on most Fitbits, even the entry-level Fitbit Encourage 2.

The Sense may also provide you with real-time stats for over 20 train modes throughout your exercises. These could be set manually, or Fitbit’s SmartTrack tech can mechanically recognise and file workouts equivalent to operating, biking, swimming, treadmill, weights, yoga, and circuit coaching.

The Sense has GPS built-in, so that you don’t have to lug your cellphone round with you on a run or bike trip. It additionally permits you, after out of doors train, to test your Exercise Depth Map within the Fitbit app to see your coronary heart fee zones all through your mapped route, plus distance and tempo by kilometer or mile.

The watch additionally features a 6-axis gyroscope to trace strokes and laps whereas swimming. In contrast, the Versa 3 and most different Fitbits don’t embrace gyroscope however as an alternative calculate laps for swimming based mostly on distance.

Sleep monitoring

Like all the most recent Fitbits, the Sense provides superior sleep monitoring, displaying the sunshine, REM and deep sleep levels and scoring you on the standard of your sleep based mostly in your sleeping coronary heart fee, time spent awake, and time in Sleep Phases.

Fitbit continues to be the clear winner on sleep measurement (length and high quality) in its battle with the Apple Watch, which is stymied by its a lot weaker battery life.

You can even get a sleeping coronary heart fee measurement, however that is one more characteristic stored again for Fitbit Premium subscribers solely.

Battery and charging

Fitbit claims the Sense has a battery lifetime of 6+ days, and I obtained practically seven days on my first cost, though that was with out utilizing the GPS or At all times-On Show operate.

In fact, the battery life relies on your utilization—utilizing the GPS will burn by way of the battery quicker than with out. You’ll be able to test the remaining battery life by swiping proper or through the Fitbit app.

The Sense incorporates a new charger sort, which connects magnetically to the again of the Sense. I’d hoped it will join any approach spherical, nevertheless it matches in only one alignment.

It takes about two hours to totally cost from zero, although the corporate says that it takes simply 12 minutes of charging to provide you a day’s battery life utilizing a brand new Quick Charging characteristic.

Software program & apps

Whereas the Fitbit smartwatches aren’t any match for Apple or Samsung in terms of operating a variety of apps, they do at the very least deal with notifications nicely. Alerts for calls, texts and calendar occasions are supported, together with apps equivalent to WhatsApp, Gmail, and Fb.

Additionally helpful are silent alarms that buzz in your wrist, in idea with out waking your mattress companion—though if used with a metallic strap I can affirm that the excitement could be audible to others. Sensible Alarm is a setting that permits you to get up at the very best time throughout your sleep cycle (throughout gentle sleep), as much as half an hour earlier however no later than the time you set.

By way of apps you get the apparent—timers, climate, and a calendar, but additionally a meditation app and Fitbit Pay for contactless funds.

Spotify, Pandora and Deezer are there for music management, and you may as well obtain apps for companies equivalent to Uber and airways, together with different health and sport apps. There are nonetheless extra apps on an Apple Watch, however the Sense will cowl a lot of the necessities.

The two.5GB of music storage could be nice in case you might use it with Apple Music or Spotify. Have you learnt anybody who makes use of Deezer or Pandora?

That mentioned, the audio controls do work (unofficially) with Apple Music and Audible, for instance.

The identical goes for Fitbit Pay, which has restricted financial institution assist within the UK, though extra if the US.

Cellphone calls from the wrist

Sense customers may also take hands-free Bluetooth calls through the built-in mic and audio system, and ship incoming calls to voicemail and management quantity with out reaching for a cellphone.

Cellphone calls on the Fitbit Sense work very well, so long as you aren’t standing in a gale or close to a pneumatic drill, with audio high quality fairly good each methods, and the controls are simple to make use of.

Android customers may also reply to textual content messages with voice-to-text instructions—a characteristic sadly not obtainable to iPhone customers.

These options additionally work on the Fitbit Versa 3.

Voice assistants

The Fitbit Sense additionally helps Amazon’s Alexa, with Google Assistant out now within the US, UK, Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand and another English-speaking nations.

With Google within the course of of shopping for Fitbit it’s an apparent addition, as are the Android-only options like sending fast replies and voice replies proper out of your wrist when your cellphone is close by.

Fitbit has now added the potential to obtain audible replies from Alexa through the Sense’s little speaker.

Worth and availability

The Sense prices US$249/£219/AU$449/CA$329. Whereas Fitbit has vastly lowered its value, the Sense is the costliest Fitbit though the Versa 3 will not be that far-off at US$199/£199. Take a look at our Finest Fitbit information to see which different fashions we advocate, or discover the most recent Fitbit offers if you wish to save a little bit.

Nonetheless, it’s pretty typical pricing for a high-end smartwatch, and continues to be lower than the most recent Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch.

If you wish to get comparable well being monitoring for much less – at the price of entry to lots of the good options—it’s price contemplating the Withings ScanWatch, which provides much more complete well being options in a traditional analogue watch design.

In any other case, take a look at our rankings of the very best smartwatches and finest health trackers to see what else is on the market.

As you’d count on, there’s additionally a variety of straps and bands to go together with the Sense. Accent straps embrace woven and knit bands, silicone sports activities bands, and Horween leather-based bands. There’s even a variety of Pendleton bands produced from recycled plastic fibres.

And as I’ve already talked about, to get probably the most out of the Fitbit Sense you’ll actually need a Fitbit Premium subscription—for higher or worse. For those who’re new to Premium you’ll get six months free with the Sense, however in any other case it’s going to price you $9.99 / £7.99 monthly.

We’d desire Fitbit confirmed all its well being metrics to all Sense customers fairly than limiting some to Premium subscribers, who would nonetheless get unique options when it comes to further onscreen exercises and meditation periods.

Verdict

The Sense provides loads of new well being options on the top-end of the Fitbit vary. You would name it the hypochondriac’s smartwatch, it’s so stuffed with warning indicators, however there’s so much right here that can assist point out severe well being issues that you should have the possibility to enhance.

Mindfulness may appear a little bit kooky to some and only a concern for these with an excessive amount of time on their palms, however there is no such thing as a denying that stress can have an effect on us all, and managing it’s going to shortly deliver not simply psychological however long-term bodily well being advantages.

I do marvel how typically you’ll wish to test your EDA or ECG in case you’re not affected by an issue. 

If health is all you need an activity-tracking smartwatch for, then the cheaper Fitbit Versa 3 provides every thing you’ll get in that respect with the Sense.

For all-round bodily and psychological well being monitoring, the Sense is the Fitbit with all of it.