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Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

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Re: Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

#121

Post by benley »

s_kilk wrote: post #52
CydeWeys wrote: post #28

I've said it before and I'll say it again: A big part of Fitbit's problem is the poor hardware quality of their products, especially considering the high price. A lot of people, me included, will never buy another Fitbit after having been burned. Their warranty only lasts one year, yet I've had to replace both Fitbit devices I've had twice within that one year. I'm now Fitbit-less because the latest, a Charge HR, fai…

I'm on my fifth fitbit in about 10 months. After a few weeks, like clockwork, the rubber housing will start to peal away from the display, eventually leading to the glue coming unstuck and the housing bubbling up. Needless to say, I'll not be bothering with fitbit again.

If you're using a Charge HR, I'd suggest checking out the newer generation of devices. The Charge 2 and Alta are way better designs. The entire category of problem you're experiencing will not exist in those.

... and I say this as one of the people that fitbit just laid off today, for what it's worth. They're actually pretty good products now.

Re: Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

#122

Post by paulddraper »

CydeWeys wrote: post #116
nradov wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps the reason people commenting here have had so many problems with Fitbit devices is that they actually use them. From what I've seen, Fitbit's target market is primarily overweight people who don't really exercise much and leave them on the shelf. Garmin fitness trackers have much higher build quality and seem to have a fairly good reputation among athletes. But they cost several times more than a Fitbit.

I have a Garmin Forerunner 10 which I haven't had any real problems with yet. I will say this about it, that makes me trust it infinitely more than any Fitbit I've ever had: It's built like a watch. A cheaper digital watch with a rubber band and plastic screen, granted, but still a watch nonetheless. And when you're not using it as a GPS tracker, it just functions as a normal digital wristwatch. How we managed to go…

Seconded. People who know what they're doing buy Garmin watches. Highly recommend.

Re: Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

#123

Post by ayb »

theli0nheart wrote: post #33
nemild wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is your experience emblematic of the that for most customers? Some of the things you mention seem like fundamental design flaws, so I'm curious if most customers have issues?

Been using Fitbit devices since 2010, and using a Charge HR since it came out. Never had a problem like OP's.

Same here. I upgraded to Charge HR right when it came out. Am still using the original unit I bought 2 years ago.

Re: Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

#124

Post by aries1980 »

dkonofalski wrote: post #109
aries1980 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Fitbit Charge 2 activity appears on Google Fit. Google Fit tends to recalculate some of the values (e.g. distance and calories) based on what Fitbit transmitted / pulled from Fitbit (haven't bother to check). I don't know this happens via their API, or bluetooth over my phone or both.

Do you possibly have an app like MyFitnessPal that aggregates that data? None of the Fitbit devices sync with Google Fit but there are apps that read Fitbit data if you have the Fitbit app installed that and make assumptions of what the values should be.

I have Endomondo and LifeFitness on, but neither seems to track these. Maybe they just bypasses.

In the Fitbit Android app, Google Fit is authorised, although doesn't appear under the compatible apps. That's why I had the suspicion Google Fit might download the data off through Fitbit's REST API.

Weirdly, activities without GPS are not in Google Fit.

Note: personally I don't understand the strong bias in the fitness platforms toward stepcounts and running, especially outdoors. No push-sit-pull ups, kettlebell, indoor rowing and cycling, weight training with reps counts… these can be easily tracked and recognised (or could be collaboratively trained by the end-user) with precise gyroscopes and accelerometers.

Re: Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

#125

Post by TarpitCarnivore »

alexfoo wrote: post #99
TarpitCarnivore wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why I've been eyeing a Garmin Vivoactive HR. I know people slam Garmin because they feel behind but if there is one thing they know it's accuracy. There's a reason they're the goto brand for cyclists, runners and triathletes. It's because they work reliably.

> There's a reason they're the goto brand for cyclists, runners and triathletes. It's because they work reliably. Garmins are buggy though, but once you get used to working around the most common bugs they are quite reliable. I think Garmin just had the best devices in the early days, and now rely more upon brand loyalty (myself included) than technical advances. Touch bezels in the Forerunner range deserve a special…

The Garmin Edge 500 is going to go down as the best cycling computer ever. I have a 510 and touch interface leaves a lot to be desired, but I can't complain with how well it does on my bike. Was out for 10 hours last year (5-6 moving) and the day ended with something like 30% battery. Never skipped a beat with my sensors or GPS
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