Fitbit vs Apple Watch 2: Fitness and Activity Tracking
Activity and fitness tracking is a hot topic in Philadelphia gyms. In AFC’s Jenkintown fitness center alone, almost half of members who walk in the door are wearing an activity tracker.
If you want an activity tracker but can’t decide whether to buy a Fitbit wristband or Apple Watch 2 , just read our short post to see which comes out best on one main category that is important to us – fitness tracking, of course!
Getting Right to it – How do they compare in fitness tracking?
Staying in shape doesn’t mean you need to be a marathon runner or workout for hours everyday. Staying active throughout your day offers health benefits too, and both the Apple Watch 2 and Fitbit activity trackers are excellent at getting you moving more.
The Apple Watch 2 and Fitbit activity trackers measure steps taken, distance traveled and calories burned. They also show you how many minutes you’ve had activity during the day. Each tracks your progress over time and can store activity history, and you set daily goals for yourself.
Previously, serious runners and exercisers have rejected the first version Apple Watch for their needs, opting for higher-end Fitbit trackers or other dedicated running watches from Garmin. But that might change with the release of the new Apple Watch Series 2, which features built-in GPS just like some of the Fitbit devices.
Fitness is obviously at the core of the Fitbits, and the device is full of fitness-only functions, whereas the Apple Watch counts activity tracking as one of its many features.
The Apple Watch offers two main fitness apps: Activity, which is all about health, movement, wellness and your daily routine; and Workout App, which tracks running, cycling and walking. All this activity data is collected on your iPhone using the Apple Health app. The Apple Watch 2 also tracks swimming distance and time.
The Apple Workout app gives you real-time stats for exercise time, distance walked/run, calories burned and pace, but at the moment it depends on third-party apps to make it a suitable tracker for sports and specific training, and until the release of the Series 2 the Workout app was not considered accurate enough for running.
While they both work exceptionally with the iPhone, Fitbits do not work directly with Apple’s Health app.
Fitbit vs Apple Watch 2: Some Final Notes
If fitness is your only focus then one of the Fitbit trackers may be your best choice. But the Apple Watch 2 offers a lot more than just activity tracking and heart-rate monitoring. The expanding Apple Watch app ecosystem will make the Watch a much more versatile wearable than a dedicated fitness band. And the new waterproof Series 2 Apple Watch with built-in GPS is a major advance in Apple creating a proper activity tracker.
The Fitbits offer much better battery life, because their screens aren’t so pretty and they don’t have to sync with a phone to gain most of their functionality.
Most importantly, if you have an Android or Windows Phone and plan on continuing to use it, the Apple Watch is simply not for you. Without an iPhone it’s pretty useless.
So for serious and specific fitness tracking the Fitbits will probably a better option, but for iphone owners the Apple Watch 2’s fitness apps should encourage Watch 2 owners to get up and move about more and track most exercise activity – something all of us could benefit from.
To continue comparing and find the right device for you, see their websites below for more info: