Fitbit is one of Google’s wearable technologies that displays the time and important health and fitness information it tracks. The watch connects to the Fitbit app to provide in-depth data for your health and fitness.
How It Works
Fitbit has an accelerometer that tracks movements and the data is used to determine steps, distance, and routes.
Features and How They Work
1. Activity Tracking
Fitbit has an accelerometer that tracks movement. Some models also have altimeter sensors that detect elevation to determine floors climbed.
Data generated by the accelerometer and altimeter are used to determine steps taken, distance covered, and calories burned.
2. Sleep Tracking
Fitbit uses your Heart rate and movement to tell if you are sleeping. Zero movements signal the watch you are sleeping and sleep tracking starts. When you toss and turn the watch thinks you’ve woken up so, it stops tracking sleep.
3. Heart Rate Tracking
There’s a heart rate sensor at the back of the watch and it flashes light onto the skin to track your heartbeat.
4. Exercise Tracking
As you work out through the week, Fitbit tallies your efforts by tracking Fat Burn, Cardio, and Peak activity. Every minute spent in Fat Burn Zone earns you 1 Active Zone Minute and for each minute spent in the Peak or Cardio Zones, you earn 2 Active Zone Minutes. Without forgetting, the default Active Zone Minute on Fitbit is set to 150.
5. Additional Metrics
Newer Fitbit Watches can provide more health data to tune you into your health a little more. To get these additional metrics you need to subscribe to Fitbit Premium. Metrics available for Premium users only include SpO2, heart rate variability, and breath rate tracking.
6. Calls and Messages
You can pick up and cancel calls on Fitbit. To receive calls tap the green telephone icon and to decline calls tap the red telephone icon.
You cannot start a conversation on Fitbit however, you can respond to text messages through notifications.
7. Fitbit App
The Fitbit app is free for everyone so, anyone (with or without the Fitbit Watch) can create an account. In the app you access your step totals, sleep data, calories burned, and more There’s also the food logging and water feature to help you stay on top of your nutrition and hydration goals.
Icons on the Fitbit Control Center and What They Do
Like your phone, Fitbit has a control center where you’ll find various icons, which include Do Not Disturb (DND), Sleep, Settings, Brightness, Volume, Always On, Auto Wake, and more.
1. Do Not Disturb Icon
The Do Not Disturb icon silences everything on your watch to keep you focused on whatever you do.
2. Sleep Icon
Like DND, Sleep silences your Fitbit so that you sleep silently every night.
3. Volume Icon
To keep hearing notifications as they enter your watch leave the Volume icon as it is. Tap the icon to enter silent mode (in this mode all notifications are silenced). Tap the volume icon while in silent mode and the device will enter vibration mode (in this mode the watch vibrates when it receives notifications).
4. Settings (Gear Icon)
When tapped it allows you access to the settings screen, and use settings to customize your Fitbit the way you want.
5. Always On and Auto Wake Icon
When always on is active the screen stays on until you make it go to sleep and when the Auto Wake is on the screen wakes up when it detects the wrist is raised.
6. Brightness Icon
There’s also the Brightness icon (little sun icon) tap it to quickly adjust the brightness of the screen.
Getting Started (Setting It Up)
After buying Fitbit, the next step is to set it up. The process is very easy, see the steps below:
Step 1: Get the Fitbit App
Visit the Google Play Store or Apple Store on your phone and download the Fitbit app.
Step 2: Set Up a Fitbit Account
Tap to open the Fitbit app once it’s downloaded to your phone and tap Join Fitbit.
Select your watch then scroll down and tap the I Accept button.
Wait for a 4-digit code to display on your watch and enter it in the Fitbit app then tap Next.
Next, connect to Wi-Fi and proceed with simple onscreen instructions to complete the setup.
With the setup complete, wear the watch and it should start counting steps, tracking heart rate, calories burned, floors climbed, and more.
During sleep the watch tracks the length of your sleep, the sleep stages entered, and more.
The Fitbit watch can only display a summary of your health and fitness data, open Fitbit on your phone for in-depth data.
Pros and Cons of Fitbit
Fitbit watches come with easy-to-read displays and have strong monitoring options, they can track your heart rate, sleep, ECG, SpO2, water intake, calorie intake, and more. Speaking of setup, Fitbit Watches are easy to set up and use (the setup process is outlined above). If you have trouble keeping time Fitbit will help fix it with its built-in alarm.
Unfortunately, you need your phone, and Fitbit close, because some data may get lost when they are separate. Also, you cannot read an entire message on the Fitbit, you need to open your phone.