What We Love About Fitbit Ionic Smartwatch

The Fitbit Ionic smartwatch remains true to Fitbit’s focus on health and fitness.  It’s primary function is as a fitness tracker.  It’s secondary function is as a smartwatch and this is how it differs from other smartwatches.  If you are looking for a fantastic tracker that acts as a watch you will love Fitbit Ionic.  If you are looking primarily for a smartwatch that also acts as a fitness tracker the Ionic may not be right for you.

Appearance

The Ionic offers many customizable options.  There are numerous clock face options, three base colors, as well as band options – leather, sport (breathable), or classic.  It should be noted that the Ionic is also notably lightweight and comfortable, making it a great choice when working out.  The large touchscreen is bright and easy to read, even in full sun.

Operating System

The Fitbit Ionic has an entirely new operating system – the Fitbit OS.  The new operating system is much more efficient than that of other Fitbit products.  A simple tap on the watch face and you can easily check out your daily steps, heart rate and calories burned.  The Ionic‘s screen is activated with a simple lift of the wrist.  The main screen let’s you easily choose to view fitness stats, workouts or other available apps.

Apps

New apps have been added to the Fitbit Ionic.  Three big ones include Strava, Starbucks and Pandora.  Strava is a social media app that allows runners and cycling enthusiasts to connect, Starbucks lets you upload gift cards to use as payment and Pandora is a music streaming and music recommendation app.  The Pandora app allows you to store up to 300 songs.  Other popular apps include:  Weight Watchers, Amazon Alexa and MyFitnessPal.  While Fitbit Ionic is not as app-rich as the Apple watch, with it’s focus on fitness, we think it offers more than enough to keep users happy.

Fitbit Pay

Mobile debit payments are available through Fitbit Pay. This allows you to use NFC to pay on contactless terminals with your wrist.

Fitness Tracking

The Fitbit Ionic is first and foremost a fitness tracker.  Like all Fitbit products the Ionic tracks steps, calories burned, heart rate, sleep patterns, and flights of stairs climbed.  It also acts as a personal trainer with personalized exercise routines (Fitbit Coach), swim tracking, guided breathing sessions and friendly reminders to keep moving.  It should be noted that the heart rate monitor is even more sensitive and accurate than on other Fitbits.

Personal training is adapted based on your feedback ensuring you get the workout that is right for your fitness level.  Training recommendations are also personalized.  Recommendations are based on your most recent stats – like yoga after a hard session or a more intense session after a restful night.

For the Runner

The Ionic has an auto-detecting feature that automatically starts tracking a run.  There’s nothing more frustrating than completing a run, only to realize you forgot to manually input your workout.  Now you can immediately start your run and confidently know the information is being tracked for further analysis.  Not only that but the Ionic has “automatic pause” as well.  It detects when you have stopped your run (e.g. at a traffic light), and restarts it once your run begins again.

For the Swimmer

The auto-detect and auto-pause features also automatically know when your’re swimming (and when you aren’t).  Again no need to manually input the change in workout.  The Ionic is water resistant to 50 m and is able to track swim workouts – number of laps, duration and calories burned.

Bluetooth Connection

Bluetooth connectivity allows you to use Bluetooth headphones to listen to music on the go without having to take your phone along with you.

Battery Life

The one thing most people complain about in regards to smartwatches is the notoriously short battery life of most products.  As expected the Ionic has not overlooked this complaint.  The Ionic will go for four or more days on a single charge.  When using the GPS it will go for ten hours.

The Future

Fitbit plans to bring out audio workouts for it’s personal trainer feature, Fitbit Coach, which will make it much more effective than having to look at your watch face for instructions.

The Ionic includes an SpO2 sensor to monitor blood oxygen levels.  This feature isn’t yet enabled, but is expected to be enabled at a later date.

There are also plans to pair the Ionic with a Dexcom G5 Mobile sensor.  This will allow people with diabetes to display and monitor their glucose levels.

Fitbit is partnering with Visa, American Express and Mastercard for mobile payments.  The feature has yet to launch officially but will come with a software update that is expected soon.

And so…..

With the launch of the Fitbit Ionic smartwatch, Fitbit has managed to keep itself fresh, current and trendy.  This first generation smartwatch is a winner!

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