Fitbit Blaze vs Apple Watch 3 vs Samsung Gear S3 vs Garmin Fenix 3 HR
Fitbit’s latest activity tracker looks more like a smartwatch than anything else. How does it compare?
The Fitbit Blaze, announced this week at CES in Las Vegas, is the company’s latest activity tracker, and only its second watch-style tracker after the Fitbit Surge. The Blaze rather looks like a smartwatch such as Apple's Watch or Samsung's Gear S2, but activity tracking still sits at the heart of the Blaze’s proposition. Smartwatch functions are something of a secondary aspect, primarily focused around simple notifications.
The Fitbit Blaze handle music playback and basic email and text notifications, but against a "full" smartwatch it’s not going to be as capable. Maybe that’s the point, however, as full smartwatch platforms have yet to really hit that killer app position where they present a compelling proposition beyond their style offering.
Buy Fitbit Blaze for $329 from rebel
The Fitbit Blaze automatically detects and tracks your exercise, and can even monitor your sleep patterns for deeper insight into your health.
View detailsFitbit instead is positioning the Blaze as a fitness device that can automatically detect your exercise type as well as offering exchangeable bands and frames. These won't come cheap, with the standard elastomer bands costing $49.95 each, the leather bands costing $169.95 each and at the top of the range, a stainless steel band option which will cost $219.95. That's on top of the outright asking price of the Fitbit Blaze itself, which will come with a single elastomer band.
The Fitbit Blaze will be available in Australia in March and is available to pre-order from Fitbit’s web site for $329.95.
That puts it in an interesting position against the wider fitness tracking and smartwatch markets. In the pure fitness tracking space, there are plenty of cheaper options if all you want is basic tracking, including plenty of models from Fitbit itself.
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Against the wider smartwatch category, there are cheaper options such as any of Pebble's offerings and some of the older Android wear watches, although not quite all. The Fitbit Blaze more fairly fits in the sports watch tracking category, where it's cheaper than some rival devices, but somewhat more limited in scope.Here is how it compares against the Apple Watch 3, Samsung Gear S3 and Garmin Fenix 3, to give it a position against both sports tracking watches and pure smartwatch options.
| Model | Fitbit Blaze | Apple Watch 3 | Samsung Gear S3 | Garmin Fenix 3 HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen size | 31.75mm | 38mm/42mm | 33mm | 30.4mm |
| Band options | Rubber, leather, metal | Rubber, leather, metal | Rubber, leather | Rubber, leather, metal |
| Battery | 5 days | 18 hours | 3-4 days | 3 weeks (watch mode), 40 hours fitness tracking |
| GPS | via connected phone | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Heart rate sensor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Apps? | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Calling ability | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Price | $329.95 | $499-$24,000 | $499-$598.99 | $949-$1249 |
I am trying to find the right fit for me. Can you help me with that? This is what I need it for:
– I like to run and would want my technology to have GPS – track my run (miles, min/mile)
– I run with music/headphones
– I also do crossfit and would like to track that as well.
– Apple seems to be expensive but I like it.
The Blaze – I’m not sure if the it have GPS or not – does it??
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Hi Belinda,
The Fitbit Blaze doesn’t have GPS; instead it uses the GPS on a smartphone to track your movement, so it might be an option if you’re happy to train with your phone in an armband or similar. The Apple Watch (especially the series 2 watch, which includes embedded GPS) might be your best option there, although the Fenix is a good option as a multi-sport-capable watch.
Regards,
Alex
My boss told me that with FitBit Blaze we need to be connected on wifi/ internet to even change the alarm whereas this is possible to do on Samsung Gear S2 even without internet.
Hi AO,
The FitBit Blaze pairs via Bluetooth (which strictly speaking isn’t an Internet connection) and controls much of what it does via the FitBit app, so if you’ve got your phone handy you can manage alarms and other features.
Regards,
Alex.
Can you text in the Fitbit blaze?
Hi Ashlynn,
You can view text and other notifications on the Fitbit Blaze. However, you can’t send an SMS reply from the Fitbit Blaze.
Thanks,
Brodie