Fitbit Sense Change To Fahrenheit

Fitbit is doubling down on stress management with the Sense 2 ($299.95). With new sensors, Fitbit'south most advanced health-focused smartwatch monitors for physical signs of stress and helps you track your moods to stay mindful. Fitbit lowered the cost this generation and removed several lifestyle apps, steering the Sense ii more toward wellness in a bid to differentiate information technology from parent Google's Pixel Watch ($349.99). The Sense two offers some usability improvements over the original, including a more responsive touch screen, a concrete button, and slightly better battery life, simply we dislike the look of the new transparent display border for the heart rhythm sensor. For almost buyers, we prefer the $229.95 Fitbit Versa 4, which also tracks central health metrics like breathing rate, heart rate variability, and skin temperature variation. But if y'all're willing to spend an extra $70 for on-demand atrial fibrillation assessments and advanced tools to help you tackle stress, the Sense ii is an splendid alternative.

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Making Sense of Fitbit's Lineup

Priced at $299.95, the Sense 2 is Fitbit's elevation-tier wearable. The second-generation model features a thinner and lighter design, a more responsive touch screen, and amend battery life than the original Sense, which launched in 2020 for $329.95.

The original Sense was the showtime smartwatch to feature an electrodermal action (EDA) sensor, which measures small electrical changes in your skin's sweat level to track your body's response to stress. The primary upgrade to this twelvemonth's model is a new Trunk Response sensor that measures continuous EDA (cEDA) activeness for all-day stress tracking with notifications.

In moments of stress, it asks you to reflect on how you're feeling and offers suggestions to help you arctic out. Its weekly summaries illuminate trends like your most stressful days and meridian moods.

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(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

As a more affordable alternative, the $229.95 Versa 4 smartwatch, as well released this fall, lacks a few health-tracking tools bachelor on the Sense 2, including the EDA Scan for stress management, ECG for centre rhythm assessments, and skin temperature sensor, but otherwise offers the same health- and fettle-tracking features as its more expensive sibling.

The Sense ii and Versa 4 run Fitbit Bone and are compatible with smartphones running at to the lowest degree Android 8.0 or Apple tree iOS 14. Notation that after 2025, y'all'll need a Google account to continue using your Fitbit devices.

(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

Both come with half dozen months of Fitbit Premium(Opens in a new window) (normally $nine.99 a calendar month or $79.99 a yr), which gives yous access to a library of more than than 1,000 workouts and 400 mindfulness sessions, including meditations with Deepak Chopra. Premium members too get a recovery-focused Daily Readiness Score and 90-solar day health metric(Opens in a new window) trend graphs.

That brings u.s. to the tertiary new Fitbit smartwatch of 2022, which isn't fifty-fifty a Fitbit past proper noun: the $349.99 Google Pixel Watch. Pairing Google's own Wearable Os software with Fitbit fitness tracking technology, the Pixel Sentinel stands alongside the Samsung Galaxy Watch v as a top Android-uniform alternative to the Apple Watch.

The Pixel Spotter offers a number of lifestyle features not bachelor on its Fitbit OS-powered siblings like support for telephone calls, access to the Google Play Shop for third-party app downloads, and Google Assistant for smart home voice controls. Every bit a merchandise-off, the Pixel Watch is missing several health features available on Fitbit-proper watches, including SpO2 tracking, high/low heart rate notifications, and guided breathing sessions.

Fitbit likewise makes an unabridged range of fitness trackers, with models such as the Fitbit Charge five, the Fitbit Luxe, the Fitbit Inspire 3, and the Fitbit Ace 3. These are defended fitness devices with pared-downwardly software features.

A Sense-ible Design

Measuring 1.v by one.v by 0.45 inches (HWD) and weighing 0.viii ounces, the Sense 2 feels lightweight and comfortable on my wrist, even when I wear information technology to bed for sleep tracking.

Fitbit says the Sense ii is ten% thinner and 27% lighter than its predecessor, and when property them both, I notice the difference. The instance is made of matte aluminum. Fitbit removed the shiny stainless steel band around the display from this model, which likely accounts for some of its weight loss.

Left to right: Fitbit Sense, Sense 2 (Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

The 1.58-inch AMOLED display is bright and colorful, and I take no problem reading text on it indoors or outside. At that place are three brightness settings (dim, normal, and max) and an always-on display choice so y'all can merely glance down to cheque the time without lifting your wrist.

My only complaint about the display is the transparent edge on the edges (if you look at the photos closely, you can see it). A Fitbit spokesperson says this component is the ECG sensor, and it helps indicate where to put your fingers during a scan. This transparent display border is adequately visible in real life.

(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

Swapping stainless steel for aluminum and adding this new transparent edge to the display are artful downgrades from the original if you ask me.

On a more positive note, the Sense 2's touch screen is zippy and immediately responds to swipes and taps. When I handled this model for the first time, the responsiveness of its impact screen was a pleasant surprise. In my review of the original Sense, I griped virtually its sluggish screen, noting that information technology sometimes required several swipes to generate a response. This isn't a trouble with the Sense 2.

(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

In some other usability improvement, Fitbit swapped out the frustrating haptic button on the original model with a physical one this time around. Located on the left side of the case with a contrasting shiny finish, the physical button is much easier to press, allowing for quicker navigation.

The Sense 2 comes in 3 colour options: Shadow Grey/Graphite Aluminum (a dark grayness case with a matching strap), Lunar White/Platinum (a silver-tone case with an off-white strap), or Blue Mist/Soft Aureate (a golden-tone case with a light blue strap). You lot get small and large silicone Infinity Bands in the box, which can conform wrists measuring 5.five to 8.7 inches in circumference.

The tracker works with Fitbit'southward 24mm accessory straps, available in a range of colors and materials, sold separately starting at $29.95. You lot tin can reuse any bands you lot take from the original Sense (or the Versa 3/4) with the Sense two.

(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

For this review, Fitbit sent me the Blue Mist/Soft Gold model, along with two accessory straps: Vegan Leather(Opens in a new window) in Flax ($49.95) and a Sport Ring(Opens in a new window) in Glow Up/Frost White ($34.95). As a establish-based eater over the last decade, I love the Vegan Leather accessory strap, which is the about comfy of the 3 and gives the wearable a classy look. Information technology has held up surprisingly well to several sweaty workouts, with no wet-related staining.

The Sense 2 sports the aforementioned worrisome band release mechanism equally the original. Irresolute out the strap is easy, to a fault. Press down on ane of the latches on the bottom of the case to release that side of the band, then snap a new ane into identify.

(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

As I noted in my review of the original Sense, the band release latches protrude slightly instead of sitting flush with the case, so it's possible to accidentally trigger them. This hasn't happened with the Sense 2 yet, but while testing the original model one of the straps accidentally popped off while I was washing dishes.

Like the original, the Sense two is waterproof to 164 feet. It's condom to wear while swimming and surfing, and the Fitbit Practise app offers tracking options for both. It'southward fine to wear in the shower, just be certain to take it off and fully dry information technology (and your peel) after it gets wet.

Getting to Know the Fitbit Sense two

One of the master draws of the Sense 2 compared with more feature-rich wearables like the Pixel Watch and the Samsung Galaxy Spotter five is its battery life. In my testing, the Sense 2 reliably lasted five days on a charge, or a day shy of Fitbit's estimate.

In comparison, the Pixel Watch simply lasts well-nigh 24 hours on a charge. The Galaxy Watch 5 and Apple Watch Serial 8 stay powered for about thirty hours with normal utilize.

Fitbit says battery life remains unchanged from last generation, only the Sense 2 outlasted its predecessor by 2 full days in my testing, an impressive achievement in low-cal of its slimmer pattern. Information technology also juices up speedily: just 12 minutes on the charger gives y'all 24 hours of battery life, according to Fitbit.

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I had no problem pairing the Sense 2 with the Fitbit app on my iPhone 14, and the picket e'er synced my information without issue. To get started, yous'll need to download the Fitbit app on your telephone (if you don't already take it) and sign in or create an account. If you already have the app, just brand sure it's up to date (version iii.65 or afterwards) and remove your previous device, because you tin can merely pair i with the app at a fourth dimension.

Next, tap your contour prototype > Prepare Up a Device > Sense 2 > Set Upwards, and the app will guide you through the rest of the process. During the initial setup process, y'all have the option to enable call, text, and app notifications from your phone on the watch, but you lot can always tweak these settings at any time via the Fitbit app.

The Sense 2 comes with the following apps preinstalled: Alarms, Amazon Alexa, ECG, EDA Scan, Practice, Fitbit Pay, Relax, Settings, Timers, Today, and Weather.

(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

Fitbit Bone is piece of cake to navigate using the bear on screen and physical button on the Sense ii. From the clock confront, swipe down to admission the quick settings menu with buttons to enable/disable common features like Do Not Disturb, the e'er-on display, and Sleep Mode.

To enable Slumber Mode via the quick settings carte du jour, tap the crescent moon icon. You tin can besides create a schedule and then the lookout will automatically enable/disable Sleep Manner at your specified times (to do then, navigate to Settings > Tranquility Modes > Schedule fashion). I scheduled Sleep Mode between 10 p.thou. and 6 a.m. and it worked as intended, automatically turning off the display and muting notifications during those hours.

(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to view your notifications. Swipe to the left or right to scroll through your tiles (like to Vesture Os), which show your latest metrics and other data at a glance, including your step count, center rate, sleep score, trunk responses to stress, the weather, and more than. You can manage and reorder these tiles in the Fitbit app (tap your profile photograph > Sense 2 > Gallery > Tiles > Manage My Tiles).

The physical button has several functions. A single press wakes upwards the screen or takes you lot back to the clock face. From the clock face, press the side push to open up your app list. Press and hold the push button to open an app or feature of your choice. Past default, the press-and-hold shortcut opens Alexa, but you can customize it by navigating to Settings > Shortcut.

Go on Stress in Check With the Sense 2

A Fitbit spokesperson tells me that the new cEDA characteristic on the Sense 2 uses two electrodes on the back of the tracker that emit a depression-level electric current, which allow it to measure your skin conductance. On the original Sense, the EDA sensor was integrated into the stainless steel band around the display. Moving it from the top to the lesser of the device, where it's in contact with your skin all the time, allows for all-mean solar day signal detection.

(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

Fitbit adult a new algorithm, bachelor exclusively on the Sense 2, to identify physical signs of stress. In addition to your electrodermal activity, this algorithm takes into account your heart rate, heart charge per unit variability, and pare temperature to identify possible signs of stress, which Fitbit refers to every bit Body Responses.

By default, the Sense two will alert you in real time nearly Body Responses it identifies with loftier conviction, but you lot can disable this feature in the app if you prefer (navigate to the Stress Direction tile, and then tap the gear icon to change your notification settings). These notifications are automatically disabled at nighttime, and then as not to disrupt your sleep.

Fitbit Sense 2 stress management check in

(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

When information technology alerts you most a Trunk Response, the Sense 2 gives y'all the option to cheque in and reflect on how yous're feeling: stressed, frustrated, worried, lamentable, calm, content, happy, or excited. In times of stress, it likewise offers some suggestions to aid you chill out, similar taking a walk, doing a Relax guided breathing do, or a spot-check EDA Browse.

The Torso Response tile on the Sense 2 offers a summary of stressful moments throughout the day, and lets you log your mood at any time.

(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

The Fitbit app keeps a record of your stress data, including charts of your Body Responses over the last two hours. The app too offers a daily stress direction score (ranging from 1 to 100, with a higher number indicating fewer signs of stress), and weekly summary reports with charts of your Body Responses and summit moods.

"Over time, this may assistance yous place patterns that yous tin use to conceptualize potential stress and program alee," Fitbit says(Opens in a new window).

In your weekly summary, it gives you the pick to select a stress management focus area for the post-obit calendar week (Active Zone Minutes, slumber, nutrition, mindfulness, steps, or mood logs). It volition and so offer curated recommendations, based on your pick.

Fitbit Sense 2 weekly stress management summary

(Credit: PCMag)

Fitbit's algorithm isn't perfect: lifestyle factors similar smoking and drinking caffeine can trigger Body Responses that aren't necessarily caused by stress. Moreover, it doesn't differentiate betwixt positive and negative stressors, so happy moments like when you're really excited about something, are flagged as Body Responses.

I'll admit that the Body Response notifications can sometimes feel a bit excessive, and I received them in moments when I didn't feel stressed. But overall, the Sense 2 does a meliorate job of helping me be more mindful about stress than any other wearable I've tried.

Sense 2 Health and Fettle Tracking

In the Health Metrics section of the Fitbit app, the Sense 2 tracks your breathing charge per unit, HRV, peel temperature, SpO2, and resting heart charge per unit. That's more information than yous get from the Pixel Watch, which doesn't measure your skin temperature or SpO2. Keep in mind that y'all need a Premium subscription to see xc-twenty-four hours trend graphs for the wellness metrics your Fitbit article of clothing tracks.

(Credit: PCMag)

While testing the Sense 2, I defenseless COVID-nineteen, and the wearable picked up signs of the infection, including an elevated body temperature, breathing rate(Opens in a new window), and resting heart charge per unit(Opens in a new window). A blue check mark next to each of your health metrics indicates information technology's within your personal range. If something is awry, the app will let you know.

During the week I started feeling sick, the Sense ii says my wrist temperature deviated from my baseline by the following degrees Fahrenheit: +0.6 (Oct. 17), +0.3 (Oct. eighteen), +0.3 (October xix), and +ii.7 (Oct twenty). For those same nights, the Oura Ring reported my body temperature variations, in Fahrenheit, at: +0.3 (Oct. 17), +0.4 (Oct. xviii), +0.three (Oct 19), and +ane.0 (Oct 20). The Oura reported a smaller body temperature increase for October. twenty, just a significant enough change that its companion app warned me to pay attention to this metric.

(Credit: PCMag)

Wearables similar the Sense ii and the Oura can offer early indications of illness and help yous monitor your symptoms when you lot are sick. Fortunately, my SpO2, the most important metric to monitor when yous have COVID-19, stayed within the range of 95% to 97% the calendar week I was sick, according to the Sense two. An SpO2 level of 92% or lower could exist crusade for concern and warrant a call to a dr., according to The New York Times(Opens in a new window) .

The Sense ii measures your SpO2 overnight, only doesn't permit y'all take on-demand readings. "The SpO2 app doesn't appear as an app on your watch; instead, it runs in the background to rail your SpO2 data," Fitbit'due south SpO2 User Transmission, available via the app, states. The best way to monitor your SpO2 via the Sense 2 is to install the SpO2 Signature clock face, which shows the average value from your about recent sleep. Keep in mind that Fitbit SpO2 doesn't measure or display values lower than eighty%, which are displayed as <80%.

(Credit: PCMag)

For fettle tracking, the Sense 2 features a built-in GPS, SmartTrack automatic exercise recognition, and twoscore exercise modes. It offers tracking modes for everything from biking, running, and swimming to CrossFit, indoor climbing, inline skating, martial arts, pilates, powerlifting, lawn tennis, weights, and more.

Fitbit'due south SmartTrack feature automatically recognizes and records sure types of workouts, including walking, running, aerobic and elliptical sessions, outdoor cycling, continuous high-motion sports (similar tennis, basketball, and soccer), and swimming. Fitbit devices practice not alert yous with an on-wrist notification when they detect a workout—they just record your stats in the app. In comparison, the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Scout notify you in existent time when they notice a workout, and brandish your stats for that session on the spotter.

In testing, heart rate readings from my Sense 2 take been slightly low for several workouts compared with an Apple tree Watch Series eight.

Fitbit Sense 2, Apple Watch Series 8 showing workout metrics

Metrics for 45-min. yoga session: Fitbit Sense (left), Apple Sentinel Series viii (correct) (Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

For a 48-minute rowing workout, the Sense 2 said I had average and max center rates of 102bpm and 131bpm, respectively, and burned 162 calories. For that same conditioning, the Apple Watch Serial 8 said my average and max heart rates were 108bpm and 144bpm and I burned 280 total calories.

For a 45-minute yoga session, the Sense ii said I had average and max heart rates of 98 and 134bpm, and I burned 128 calories. Meanwhile, the Apple Sentinel Series 8 said I had average and max eye rates of 106bpm and 158bpm, and burned 180 total calories.

Variations in health data from i product to the next are expected, then it's a adept idea to stick with i device to rail your changes over time.

Sense 2 Lifestyle Features

The Sense 2 doesn't support third-party apps. A Fitbit spokesperson tells me: "We offer a range of Fitbit and developer-created clock faces for Sense 2 and Versa four, but nosotros practise not have plans to offer third-party apps on these health- and health-focused devices."

To browse the choice of clock faces, apps, and tiles available for download on the Sense 2, navigate to your contour photo in the Fitbit app > Sense 2 > Gallery. My only gripe is that yous tin can't customize the complications on the clock faces, a standard feature for nearly smartwatches.

While the Google Play Store and Google Assistant aren't available on the Sense two, Fitbit says that Google Wallet and Google Maps apps are coming to the wearable in the near future. For now, it offers Alexa and Fitbit Pay. The original Sense featured several additional apps not available on this generation, including Deezer, Pandora, Spotify, Starbucks, and Strava.

(Credit: PCMag)

In testing, I had no problem calculation my debit carte du jour to the Sense ii via Fitbit Pay. To practise and so, navigate to your contour photo in the Fitbit app > Sense ii > Wallet. After you set it upward, you can pay with the spotter where you see the contactless or mobile payment symbols at the register. Merely open the Fitbit Pay app on your Sense ii, enter your four-digit passcode to pull upward your carte du jour, so wave the watch in front of the reader.

The congenital-in Amazon Alexa app lets you talk to the virtual assistant and hear responses from your wrist. With Alexa, you can create reminders, cheque the weather, ready alarms, start a timer, control compatible smart dwelling house devices, get quick answers to questions, and more. When setting upwardly the Sense 2, the Fitbit app volition give you the option to sign into your Amazon account to employ Alexa on the watch.

(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

Fitbit says the Sense 2 and Fitbit Versa 4 will soon support on-wrist Bluetooth calls, but this characteristic isn't available as of this writing. Android users can respond to texts via SMS or messenger apps like WhatsApp using a voice-to-text option and prepopulated Quick Replies. This feature isn't bachelor on iOS.

If y'all're looking for a wearable with third-party app support and more robust calling and messaging features, your best bet is either the Samsung Milky way Sentry v or the Pixel Lookout man on Android, or an Apple Watch if yous apply an iPhone.

Stay Mindful Most Your Health

Priced at $299.95, the Sense 2 is Fitbit'southward pinnacle-of-the-line wearable. Featuring a slim, lightweight design, a bright, responsive touch screen, and five-24-hour interval battery life, it's an excellent wellness-focused smartwatch. The Sense 2 makes it piece of cake to rails your activeness, fitness, sleep, and stress, forth with other wellness metrics similar your body temperature, animate charge per unit, HRV, resting heart rate, pare temperature variations, and SpO2. In testing, its stress direction features, powered past a new cEDA sensor, encouraged me to stay mindful, and its wellness metrics helped me track my symptoms during a COVID-19 infection.

If you're looking for a smartwatch with support for cellular calling and 3rd-party apps, this isn't it. The Sense 2 offers a few lifestyle-related add-ons, including Fitbit Pay and Amazon Alexa (with Google Maps and Wallet to come), but the focus is clearly on health and fitness.

(Credit: Angela Moscaritolo)

Nosotros ultimately feel that the $229.95 Versa 4, which tracks the aforementioned key metrics as the Sense 2, is the ameliorate choice for almost people. But if you want all the wellness-focused bells and whistles, including an ECG sensor for heart rhythm assessments and a cEDA sensor for a more robust stress direction experience, the Sense 2 is a good choice.

The Bottom Line

Fitbit's health-focused Sense 2 smartwatch puts an emphasis on stress management while improving upon the original with a more responsive impact screen and longer battery life.

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