Is the Fitbit Blaze a worthy upgrade?
Fitbit’s line of fitness trackers has grown extensively over the past years, and 2016 is no different: the company has presented the Blaze and Alta as its newest additions. In my last review I recommended the Fitbit Charge HR as an excellent tracker, with one of the best fitness platforms out there. The purpose of this review is, therefore, not to cover the platform, but rather to determine if the Fitbit Blaze is worth 100 dollars more than the Charge HR.
THE HARDWARE
As soon as one opens the Blaze’s box, it’s unique physical appearance stands out. On my first impression I wasn’t completely sold on the device, as I felt there was a lack of continuity in the design; but as I spent more time with the Blaze it felt natural, and I began to appreciate it. When compared to the Charge HR, the Blaze offers customization options. You can easily swap the plastic strap for a leather or metallic one, and further enhance the appearance of the device to your heart’s content. On the hardware side of things, one of my major concerns from the Blaze was its battery, as it has more features and functionality than the Charge HR whilst sporting a large color screen which hypothetically could have a negative impact on the duration of its battery. But after testing it for several weeks, it became evident that battery life was comparable to that of the Charge HR, lasting around 4 to 5 days before it needed to be plugged in.
THE SOFTWARE
On a previous entry, Fitbit’s fitness platform was reviewed as a whole, and thus the focus this time is on the distinctions between the Blaze and Charge HR software features. The biggest addition to this year’s model are the improved range of notifications. As with the previous Charge HR, phone notifications are available, but the Blaze adds functionality for reading text messages and viewing calendar events. These are nice features to have, but they feel incomplete, as for iPhone users messages are only displayed if sent through Apple’s messaging app. Therefore, applications such as Whatsapp and Facebook are left forgotten, which poses a problem for anyone who might use other non-official Apple programs. A marked improvement in the Blaze comes in the synchronization time with the Fitbit app, helping the overall user experience over the previous Fitbit Charge HR model. Finally with a larger screen, the Blaze makes use of “watch faces”, giving users useful information at a glance such as the much needed battery indicator. At the moment there are four different faces available, but none of them are consistent in the functionality offered as each one shows different information. This represents a current problem for the Blaze, as the watch faces in themselves do not offer a consistent experience, some giving valuable information such as your heart rate but failing to present basic data like the date.
THE FITNESS
The Fitbit Blaze brings two new and/or improved features to the Fitbit platform: Exercise and Fitstar. With the “Exercise” option, users can choose from a variety of different workouts to track, such as weights and yoga -which in turn makes keeping track of your week by week performance a breeze. The all-new “Fitstar” gives users guided workouts from the comfort of your wrist. With three different options to choose from (warm up, 7 minute workout, 10 minute abs routine), the feature shows a great potential as an aid for those who don’t have an established workout routine.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
A key aspect of a tech (or any) product is its customer service, and Fitbit used to have excellent attention to its client base. This time around, however, I issue a word of caution. In comparison with companies such as Lifeproof, from which I have experienced exceptional customer service throughout the years, Fitbit fell short. At Lifeproof, for instance, each case you own has its own warranty (be it the original purchase, or any replacement you have been issued by the company). In contrast, Fitbit offers warranty on your original device, but any further replacement doesn’t have warranty coverage. Case in point: after owning 2 Charge HRs in a period of a year and two months, the second device failed and I was only offered a discount for a new tracker. This not only shows bad customer representation, but it might atone to quality problems on their devices.
WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE
The Fitbit Blaze is a device with huge amounts of potential, but alas, it isn’t quite ready to become your smartwatch replacement. With updates and additions to notifications, the exercise programs, Fitstar, and the watch faces; the Blaze could cover some of the most coveted features of a smartwatch. So what exactly does the Blaze need to do in order to compete on such a contested market? In my opinion, the notifications should be able to display information from more applications, especially from popular apps such as Whatsapp and Facebook. As for “Exercises”, adding the ability to create custom workouts will allow users to track their specific routines in a more detailed and organized way, and thus be able to compare their performance on a weekly basis. Another feature that needs enhancements is “Fitstar”, as it currently lacks enough content to be a useful addition. Finally, the new watch faces must add more features or re-work the current ones to be truly practical for users, whilst improving the overall flow and usability of the device.
SUMMARY
On paper, the Fitbit Blaze is a great device, but when it comes to delivering on the promises made it falls short. The Blaze does extend the fitness prowess of the Charge HR into a more beautiful casing, but fails to provide an excellent experience with its new features. Even so, its current iteration has great ideas that at the moment need polish. All-in-all this is a device that has the potential to be a “quasi-smartwatch” fitness tracker, but until the previously mentioned issues are addressed, I do not recommend buying the Blaze for 100 dollars more than the Charge HR.
