Fitbit Ionic vs Apple Watch Series 4 is a battle hard to tell the winner. The review aims at helping you choose between the two fitness trackers.
Before we dive into deeper details, here is a table that compares the Fitbit Ionic smartwatch with Apple Watch Series 4.
| SPECIFICS | FITBIT IONIC | APPLE WATCH SERIES 4 |
| Cellular Module | ✖ | ✔ |
| Syncs Wirelessly | ✔ | ✔ |
| Compatibility | Android, iOS | iOS |
| Supports Wi-Fi | ✔ | ✔ |
| Calorie Burn | ✔ | ✔ |
| Provides Activity Reports | ✔ | ✔ |
| Monitors Blood Oxygenation Levels | ✔ | ✖ |
| Dustproof and Water Resistant | ✔ | ✔ |
| GPS | ✔ | ✔ |
How Do Fitbit Ionic and Apple Watch Series 4 Compare?
Display and Design
You will forget having the watch most of the time because it is so light and feels so comfortable while on the wrist.
You will prefer the activity tracker over others like LG Watch Sport for workouts. Fitbit Ionic is made waterproof up to 50 meters below water thus a Fitbit that can be worn while in the shower and can be used for swimming.
Like Blaze, it comes with two buttons on its right and one to its left. With these buttons, you will be able to tour around Ionics UI.
If you love touch screen technology then Ionic is for you. Its screen is rectangular and full color. There is a logo just below the screen that takes up a lot of space.
The Apple Watch Series 4 on the other hand features an OLED screen like the Apple Watch 2.
The OLED screen has a resolution of 394 x 324 for the Apple Watch Series 4 40mm model and 448 x 368 for the Apple Watch Series 4 44mm model.
Both models will emit brightness of up to 1000 nits. That means, the watch can be used perfectly outdoors where there is direct light from the sun. The smartwatch also fits well on the wrist and feels comfortable too.
Activity Tracking
Fitbit Ionic and Apple Watch Series 4 will both be able to track your distances, sleep, pace, count steps, and the number of calories burnt, provide sleep reports, and automatically track the activity being indulged.
Blood Oxygenation Levels
Fitbit Ionic will be able to track your SpO2 levels every time you sleep or work out. This is made possible with the help of red and infrared sensors.
Other Fitbit watches that will also be able to monitor your blood oxygen levels include Fitbit Sense, Charge 4, Charge 5, Inspire 2, Charge 3, and Versa 2 among others.
Unlike Fitbit Ionic, the Apple Watch Series 4 doesn’t feature an infrared sensor and for that, it won’t be able to keep track of your SpO2.
Temperature Sensors
The Fitbit Ionic features a temperature sensor. An activity tracker that comes with a temperature sensor is of much importance.
Because it will be able to help prevent hyperthermia by updating you on temperature changes.
The Apple Watch 4 Series on the other hand will not be able to measure your body temperature because it lacks a built-in thermal sensor.
Fitbit Ionic is the winner of this contest. This is the watch to go for if you want to also keep track of your temperatures while sleeping or working out.
Sweat Resistance
The ability of a smartwatch to condone sweat makes it ideal for use while doing hefty workouts. Fortunately, both Fitbit Ionic and the Series 4 Apple Watch are sweatproof.
We don’t have a winner for this contest. What we have is a tie. And that is because Fitbit Ionic and Apple Watch Series 4 are both sweat resistant.
Watch Band Replacement
The Fitbit bands are removable. That means you can switch to your favorite band whenever you feel like it. This feature also applies to the Apple Watch Series 4.
This is yet another tie between the two activity trackers. You can also read more on how to change the band on your Fitbit here.
GPS
Both Fitbit Ionic and Series 4 Apple Watch come with built-in GPS sensors that will be able to track your routes and paces while you do your daily workout.
Accelerometer
Both the Fitbit Ionic and Apple Watch Series 4 have accelerometers. That means they will be able to detect vertical and horizontal positioning since they will be able to measure linear acceleration.
Battery Life
Battery life to Fitbit Ionic is a bit of a weak point. The activity tracker can last for about 4 days and if lightly used, it can serve for 5 days.
With the GPS feature put on, you will looking look at about 10 hours of use. Fitbit Ionic can be the best smartwatch for running but cannot be the right watch to keep you on top of notifications.
On the other hand, the Apple Watch Series 4 comes with the worst battery life compared to Fitbit Ionic.
Like the Apple Watch Series 3, the Apple Series 4 claims a battery life of 18 hours on a complete charge.
Some users say they have gone up to three days without charging the smartwatch which is a good thing.
If you are more concerned about battery life, the Fitbit Ionic would be the right fitness tracker to go for.
Price
Fitbit Ionic comes at a higher price. It cost more than Fitbit Surge and other smartwatches like Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 and Apple Watch 5.
The Fitbit Ionic smartwatch was launched at $299.95 but the price has been able to drop to about $280 thanks to the introduction of the Fitbit Versa and versa 2. Even with that, the watch is still expensive.
On the other hand, the Apple Watch Series 4 comes at an extremely high price, you will dash out from $399 to $499 for this watch.
Although the Apple Watch Series 4 is not as perfect as we expect it to be, it is somewhere close.
The price depends on the Apple Watch Series 4 models you want. There are two models, one with GPS and another with cellular connectivity.
The Fitbit Ionic is cheaper than the Apple Watch Series 4. So if you are looking for an activity tracker that does not break the bank, go for the Fitbit Ionic.
You may also want to see how Fitbit Ionic Compares to Fitbit Versa 3 and how Fitbit Sense and Apple Watch 7 Compare.