The Fitbit Inspire is taking the One’s place

As I’ve mentioned from time to time, I’ve not particularly found a use case for a smartwatch in my life. That said, I do rather like having a fitness tracker. For some years now, I’ve relied on a Fitbit One to track my daily activity, as well as (and this is the “killer app” for me) wake me up with silent alarms in the morning. All good things come to an end, as we know, and the Fitbit One is no more for the catalog. It’s been replaced by the recently-announced Fitbit Inspire.

At first blush, the Fitbit Inspire (and the heart rate sensor-including Fitbit Inspire HR) wouldn’t seem to replace the One. I stuck with the one because it was a small widget meant to be tucked into a pocket, and not worn on the wrist. The Fitbit Inspire, however, comes equipped with a strap. IE, much like every other fitness tracker out there. There is, however, a clip add-on you can get (for another $20) and that’s where things shine for me.

You see, I’m already wearing a “regular” watch of some sort already. While double-writing something certainly would be an option, that’s not a step I’m quite ready to make. With the Fitbit One – and now the Fitbit Inspire – you can easily tuck it away in a pocket, and keep your off-wrist unencumbered. Well, that is, unless you opt for the HR version. For the non-HR version, it can switch modes between on-the-wrist (or not), and it changes how it tracks your motion for a more accurate step count. For the Inspire HR, it seems like that capability to switch was excluded.

This is presumably because, well, you’d have to have the Fitbit Inspire HR on your wrist for HR tracking to work. But hey, enable the ability to turn off HR tracking, and then it’s not an issue, not to mention helping to preserve battery life. Reading through the forums turns up others raising this request, so hopefully they implement it at some point. If they did, then having a separate workout watch (at this time, it’s the Polar A300 LINK that accompanies me to the gym) would no longer be necessary, which would also clean up the manual logging I have to do from one app (Polar Flow) over to the Fitbit ecosystem. Or, hmm, maybe it’ll be a race. If Polar can come up with a pocket-friendly tracker, then I could see jumping ecosystems.

While the Fitbit Inspire HR does have some functions that are limited to just itself, there’s a whole suite of functionality that both models share (the full list is down below). The silent alarms are great, as they wake me up without issue in the morning without disturbing the rest of the house. The HR-equipped version gets you some more interesting details on the sleep patterns (and presumably can automatically go into sleep tracking), but that’s more of a nicety, not a must-have like the silent alarms are.

As far as a basic fitness tracker goes, the Fitbit Inspire is a very enticing option for me (though, 5-day battery life is far short of the 7+ days I get with my Fitbit One), and could likely enter into my personal arsenal of trackers when my Fitbit One kicks the bucket. Also worth noting is that 50m WR rating, a definite upgrade from the 0m the One has. If only they had the HR-equipped one could do pocket mode, then that one – at $100 – would be the choice for me. As it is, I think the $70 non-HR version makes the most sense, particularly if you don’t want your tracker on your wrist. fitbit.com

Fitness Tracker Overview_

• Brand & Model: Fitbit Inspire / Inspire HR
• Price: $70 / $100
• Who we think it might be for: Anyone looking for a fitness tracker that doesn’t have to sit on their wrist
• Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen? When the day comes that my Fitbit One gives up the ghost (and it will, I’m on my third one) then very likely, yes
• What spoke to me the most about this watch: A simple fitness tracker – with silent alarms – that can go in your pocket or on your wrist

Features from Fitbit

/Inspire HR-specific/

• 24/7 HEART RATE TRACKING: Maximize your exercise sessions, see heart rate zones, track sleep stages and better measure calorie burn.
• HEART RATE ZONES: Track resting heart rate and your Fat Burn, Cardio and Peak HR zones to optimize workouts with the right amount of effort.
• CARDIO FITNESS LEVEL: See your Cardio Fitness Score in the Fitbit app to understand how fit you are, plus get tips to improve your health.
• SLEEP STAGES: See your time spent in light, deep and REM sleep, and get pointers that can help you improve your sleep habits.
• REAL-TIME PACE & DISTANCE: Connect Inspire HR to your phone’s GPS to see real-time pace and distance on your wrist during walks, jogs, hikes and bike rides.
• 15+ GOAL-BASED EXERCISE MODES: Choose exercises like Bike, Run & Yoga and set targets for calorie burn, distance and time to get notified when you reach them.
• GUIDED BREATHING SESSIONS: Find moments of calm with personalized guided breathing sessions based on your

/On both Inspire and Inspire HR/

• ALL-DAY ACTIVITY: Track steps, distance, active minutes and calories burned and see how every part of your day impacts your goals.
• SWIMPROOF & SWIM TRACKING
  • Wear your tracker in the shower, pool and beyond, and automatically track swim workouts.
  • Water resistant up to 50M
• SLEEP TRACKING : Improve your rest with automatic sleep tracking and silent alarms on your wrist plus bedtime reminders and helpful tips in the app.
• UP TO 5 DAYS OF BATTERY
  • With up to 5 days of battery, you’ll stay inspired day and night.
  • Varies with use and other factors.
• FEMALE HEALTH TRACKING: Better understand your body by using your tracker with the Fitbit app to follow your cycle, record symptoms and more.
• CLOCK FACES: Customize your screen with designs like a helpful stats-focused clock face for workouts or a polished face for work.
• AUTOMATIC EXERCISE RECOGNITION
  • SmartTrack® automatically recognizes workouts like walks, runs, swims, bike rides and more, then records them for you in the Fitbit app.
• CALORIE BURN TRACKING: Log your meals in the app or track calories burned on your tracker to keep your nutrition and activity on track.
• TIMER & STOPWATCH: Get instant access to tools that make your life easier—a timer for when you cook healthy meals and a stopwatch for tracking sets at the gym.
• NOTIFICATIONS:
  • Stay connected on the go with updates from social media apps and call, calendar and text alerts.
  • Available when phone is nearby
• REMINDERS TO MOVE: Get reminders that encourage you to stretch your legs and take 250 steps every hour—and recognition when you do!
• INTUITIVE TOUCHSCREEN DISPLAY: Easily swipe or scroll through the backlit OLED display and access the on-screen dashboard to track steps, sleep and more.