Apple Watch vs. Fitbit Blaze

NickTB

NickTB

Suspended / Banned
Messages
3,111
Name
Nick
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi all.
I have a 3rd generation Apple Watch and a Fitbit Blaze. I use the Apple Watch for texts and notifications etc, but find it pretty poor for monitoring my activity. I’ve been using the Blaze for 2 weeks now as an incentive to get me on the bike and walking more ( you get notifications to remind you how many steps are left in the hour etc)

Today I wore both watches whilst on my bike (indoors on rollers) and the difference in information is incredible. The Apple Watch claimed I walked 11 flights of stairs and burnt 350 calories in 30 minutes.
The Fitbit said 3 flights of stairs and 347 calories in 30 minutes.
Am I doing something wrong with calibration? Or is it just the way each watch is configured?
 
Just the way the watches work. I tried a few when I intended getting fit ( that didn't last long ) and I ended up with a Garmin Fenix HR.

Much more accurate and far more information gathered than Apple or Fitbit.

I get fairly accurate steps and climbs, full heart rate monitoring and GPS tracking as well.

I'm not saying it's the best but well worth looking at.
 
I had a feeling that may be the case! Thanks, I can't justify another watch, so I'll have to choose between the Apple and Fitbit
 
ChrisH said:
Just the way the watches work. I tried a few when I intended getting fit ( that didn't last long ) and I ended up with a Garmin Fenix HR.

Much more accurate and far more information gathered than Apple or Fitbit.

I get fairly accurate steps and climbs, full heart rate monitoring and GPS tracking as well.

I'm not saying it's the best but well worth looking at.
Click to expand...
Interesting. With regards to the Apple Watch: you mention flights of stairs were counted, you get that information in the Health app. Your detailed work out information would be found in the workouts tab of the Activity app.
Are you sure you are looking in the right place?
Assuming you selected (on your watch) "indoor cycle" as the exercise, you'd see in the Activity app:
Active calories
Total calories
Total time
Average heart rate
 
The flights of stairs thing is hopelessly inaccurate in all these devices because it is based on barometric pressure and the pressure change from walking up a flight of stairs is tiny. I've got a Garmin device and it sometimes gives me a flight of stairs when I walk out of the office, presumably because there is forced ventilation in the office so the pressure drops when I go outside
 
I went to the health app to view the info. The Apple Watch had been totally unused this month until I charged it this morning. I wore both watches at the same time, and the Apple Watch recorded 11 flights of stairs as opposed to the actual 3 I did as per the Fitbit dashboard
 
NickTB said:
I went to the health app to view the info. The Apple Watch had been totally unused this month until I charged it this morning. I wore both watches at the same time, and the Apple Watch recorded 11 flights of stairs as opposed to the actual 3 I did as per the Fitbit dashboard
Click to expand...
Also remember, the health app will also count steps and stairs taken while carrying your phone even if the watch is off and somewhere else.
When you have the watch and the phone, it will by default count the data from the watch in preference to the phone, but you can change that if you want.
 
Furtim said:
Also remember, the health app will also count steps and stairs taken while carrying your phone even if the watch is off and somewhere else.
When you have the watch and the phone, it will by default count the data from the watch in preference to the phone, but you can change that if you want.
Click to expand...
Agreed, but the phone was on my desk the whole time. That's why I'm confused
 
Last edited:
NickTB said:
I went to the health app to view the info. The Apple Watch had been totally unused this month until I charged it this morning. I wore both watches at the same time, and the Apple Watch recorded 11 flights of stairs as opposed to the actual 3 I did as per the Fitbit dashboard
Click to expand...

As I thought, you were in the wrong app. You need to be viewing the workout data in the Activity app, NOT the Health app. You also need to have selected the correct workout on the watch prior to starting.
 
Ricardodaforce said:
As I thought, you were in the wrong app. You need to be viewing the workout data in the Activity app, NOT the Health app. You also need to have selected the correct workout on the watch prior to starting.
Click to expand...
And you are correct. The data is displayed correctly in the activity app. Why on earth it can't be all displayed in a dashboard like Fitbit is beyond me. Thanks for the pointers, I'll use the correct apps moving forward
 
NickTB said:
And you are correct. The data is displayed correctly in the activity app. Why on earth it can't be all displayed in a dashboard like Fitbit is beyond me. Thanks for the pointers, I'll use the correct apps moving forward
Click to expand...

The Health app is there to give you a general view of everything. It can also be customised to show you just the information you are interested in.
The Activity app does what it says on the tin, it’s designed to work in harmony with the watch. All detailed workout information is to be found within it.
 
Ricardodaforce said:
As I thought, you were in the wrong app. You need to be viewing the workout data in the Activity app, NOT the Health app. You also need to have selected the correct workout on the watch prior to starting.
Click to expand...
If your Watch is up to date it should prompt you to start a workout if it thinks you are have been doing one for the last 10 minutes.

If find my great for sports, but you do have to tell it you are doing a sport. For example when it is recording a sport it takes continuous heart rate reading, rather than just every 10 minutes, so it has a much better idea of how many calories you are burning. I imagine it is the same with the GPS sensor etc.
 
Last edited:
Craikeybaby said:
If your Watch is up to date it should prompt you to start a workout if it thinks you are have been doing one for the last 10 minutes.

If find my great for sports, but you do have to tell it you are doing a sport. For example when it is recording a sport it takes continuous heart rate reading, rather than just every 10 minutes, so it has a much better idea of how many calories you are burning. I imagine it is the same with the GPS sensor etc.
Click to expand...

Indeed, but I prefer to take the guesswork out if it and start the correct workout manually as I start.
 
I had the fitbits but ended up giving it away. While it was something close to my actuall activity, other times it was miles out.
I found it better on simple flat walks on a good surface, once you went off onto rough ground it had trouble working out stuff (which isn't a supprise really) I personally found a proper GPS better for distance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top