Review of Fitbit Sense
With a number of significant new additions, the Fitbit
Sense, one of the best Fitbits currently available, builds on the success of
the Fitbit Versa range. It achieves its goal of empowering you to take
control of your health by assisting you in understanding your body and mind and
implementing adjustments to enhance both your physical and emotional
well-being.
It has an ECG sensor to identify indications of atrial
fibrillation, like many of the top smartwatches and fitness trackers, but its
stress monitoring feature is what truly stands out and is something that
everyone can use every day, not just in an emergency. The Fitbit Sense offers a
six-month free trial, so you can take advantage of these tools even if you
decide not to continue your subscription. It's unfortunate that many of the
tools for managing your stress levels (such as meditation sessions and
mindfulness tutorials) are only available to Fitbit Premium subscribers.
Particularly if you're interested in exercising using heart
rate zones, Sense's fitness monitoring capabilities are amazing. There are
several choices for activity monitoring, and the watch and Fitbit app work
together to provide you a set of statistics related to your workout once it is
over.
At launch, the ECG capability was disabled; however, a
firmware upgrade in October 2020 enabled it. Fitbit started releasing a new
firmware update for the Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 in June 2021. This update
brought audible Google Assistant notifications, new goal celebrations, and an
easier way to switch watch faces. As part of a public beta test, some users
also got a new "snore detecting" tool.
The Fitbit companion app, in particular, the menstruation
tracking feature, could use integration with the skin temperature sensor and
the stress-monitoring features. The Sense isn't perfect, though, and there is
still potential for improvement.
Display and design
Clearly visible
display
Infinity Band strap
that is cozy
A variety of watch
faces
A stylish smartwatch, the Fitbit Sense is. Its square face
and rounded corners, which Fitbit's designer's claim were influenced by the
contours of the human body, are remarkably similar to those of the Versa range
of fitness trackers.
A small touch-sensitive button on the left side of the case,
which is made of stainless steel and gives the device a premium appearance, may
be configured to provide easy access to your most often used apps. A single
push launches one app (Alexa by default), while a double press shows four
shortcuts to other programs. This was very helpful for getting to our favorite routines
without having to navigate the watch's settings.
Bright, precise, and responsive describe the color display,
which is protected by Gorilla Glass. A variety of options are accessible by
swiping to the right, including do-not-disturb mode, screen brightness, volume,
and sleep mode, which turns off vibrations and dims the screen. Your alerts
will appear in a shade that can be customized in the Fitbit app when you swipe
down from any screen.
The Infinity Band strap that comes with the Fitbit Sense is
comprised of soft silicone and lacks any harsh buckles or catches. It has a
problem with being just a little bit difficult to tighten since you have to
pass the end of the band underneath the strap to secure it. It is quite similar
to the band on the recently introduced Polar Unite. But once you get the hang
of it, the band is quite comfy, and we discovered that we hardly felt it, which
is especially helpful at night.
The Fitbit app offers a vast selection of watch faces (including
the recently announced SpO2 face), and you can select four to store in your
Sense for easy access. However, their placement on the Sense seems a little
odd. Although you can adjust a number of settings for the watch's face in the
settings menu, including the brightness and turn on and off always-on mode.
You must navigate to a different menu item called "Clocks" if you
wish to alter the watch face's appearance.
characteristics of smartwatches
Alexa voice commands
are included; Google Assistant will be available shortly.
Daily monitoring of
stress and mood
Numerous methods for
mindfulness and meditation
The Fitbit Sense has a maximum battery life of six days, but
constant usage of its numerous sensors and use of the always-on screen will
dramatically shorten that time. Charging the Sense is easy; it comes with a
compact USB charger and a square dock that magnetically fastens to the watch's
pack when it's time to top it off. The magnetic connection makes it difficult
to misalign, and it is incredibly simple to operate.
It delivers all the standard smartwatch capabilities you'd
anticipate from a high-end Fitbit, including Fitbit Pay and voice commands with
Alexa (Google Assistant will be available at the end of 2020). (provided your
bank is among those supported).
Additionally, Sense's built-in microphone lets you
dictate text message replies while receiving call and SMS notifications from
your phone. Over the next several days, we'll thoroughly evaluate these
features and update our review accordingly. Later in 2020, Bluetooth
call-answering will be available.
It delivers all the standard smartwatch capabilities you'd anticipate from a high-end Fitbit, including Fitbit Pay and voice commands with Alexa (Google Assistant will be available at the end of 2020). (provided your bank is among those supported).
Sense's unique feature is its ability to detect stress
through electrodermal activity (EDA) responses, which are brought on by your
skin's conductivity. Sweating has an impact on this, and your adrenal glands
have an impact on sweat. It's important to note that physical stress, such as
that caused by exercise and extreme heat, can also have an impact on EDA
responses.
To do a scan, secure the Sense firmly so that it can
reliably capture your heart rate. Then, swipe left, choose "EDA
scan," and place your free hand over the device for two minutes. When the
scan starts, you'll feel a soft vibration, and after it's over, another. the
watch, the fewer EDA replies documents, the more at ease you (likely) are.
After the scan is complete, you'll also be asked to quickly
describe your current state of well-being: extremely peaceful, calm, neutral,
stressed, or very stressed. The Fitbit app will then allow you to review these
measurements.
Within the Fitbit app, stress tracking is categorized under
"Mindfulness." In addition to a calendar that displays your mood
changes over time and a list of stress-reduction activities, this page has a
record of all previous scans. You may create "Mindfulness objectives"
that will remind you to do an EDA scan, keep a mood journal, and engage in
daily mindfulness exercises. After that, you can reflect on your past and
comprehend how your mood has changed through time.
fitness monitoring
Several excellent
choices for exercise
On-board GPS and
Strava support; good for heart rate zone training
The Fitbit Sense has a variety of fitness options that
should appeal to just about everyone, including a bike, boot camp, circuit
training, elliptical, golf, hike, interval workout, kickboxing, martial arts,
pilates, run, spinning, swim, stair climber, tennis, treadmill, weights,
workout, and yoga.
The Sense is suited for swimming in a pool or the sea
because of its 50m water resistance (though Fitbit advises rinsing the strap
with clean water afterward).
We put the Sense through a fairly rigorous spin workout, and
we didn't observe any sudden drops in heart rate that may point to a problem
with fitness trackers. As expected from any wrist-mounted heart rate monitor,
the heart rate that was displayed on the watch face about matched our efforts
on the bike.
It is incredibly helpful for training when the Sense
vibrates to let you know when you are changing heart rate zones. We also like
that the heart rate was constantly and visibly shown on the screen, something
that not all fitness trackers do.
If you want to
monitor mental health, get it.
Your sympathetic nervous system reactions are monitored by Fitbit Sense, which encourages you to set aside some time each day for
reflection. This allows you to monitor the results.
You can't decide between a fitness tracker and a smartwatch.
You can have the best of both worlds with the Fitbit Sense,
which skillfully bridges the gap between basic fitness trackers like the Fitbit
Inspire 2 and full-featured smartwatches like the Apple Watch 7.
If you don't want to
get another subscription, don't buy it.
If you don't have a Fitbit Premium subscription, you'll be
losing out on a number of fantastic benefits, like deeper insights into
historical health data and access to a huge library of exercises, meditations,
and mindfulness sessions.
You desire unofficial applications.
Although the Fitbit Store is getting better, the selection
is still much smaller than what you'd find with an Apple Watch.
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