Update: Our Fitbit Blaze review has been updated to include information about the adjustment to sleep quality mode and its latest competitor, Samsung Gear Fit 2.
Fitbit has become a household name when it comes to fitness trackers and wearables in general – and not always for the right reasons. With affordable price points, the company behind some of the earliest fitness trackers to hit the market has consistently released well-received products.
However, there was also the kerfuffle over the Fitbit Force causing rashes, and later reports of the same issues in small quantities with the Charge and Surge iterations.
Regardless, Fitbit seems determined to push forward, and show everyone it still has some tricks up its sleeve. And now Fitbit feels that it's time to hit the smartwatch market, taking on the Motorola Moto 360 and the Huawei Watch with the Blaze.
But it has decided to do so without running Android Wear software. That makes it decidedly different from everything else out there, except the Samsung Gear Fit 2, which also straddles that fitness tracking and smartwatch line.
You can buy the Fitbit Blaze for US$199 (£159.99, AU$329.95). That's the cheaper end of the smartwatch price scale, considering the likes of the Apple Watch will cost you US$549.99 (£339, AU$735) or more.
But this is still one of the more expensive Fitbit products, only just beaten for price by the US$250 (£200, AU$350) fitness-focused Fitbit Surge
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The Fitbit Blaze has already proved a controversial product, with the design attracting criticism. Let's take a closer look at what the Fitbit Blaze does – and whether it can be a true contender to Android Wear, or the Apple Watch.
Display
Unlike most other Fitbit devices, the Blaze includes a display, blurring the line between smartwatch and fitness tracker. The display itself is bright and jumps out at you, especially if you're using the right watch face.
Everything is clear on the display, and I feel this is the right size for a smartwatch. From a distance it looks much more like a traditional watch than some other smartwatches out there.
For some reason, Fitbit has decided to go for a square screen here though – I feel it would have been better if Fitbit had used a round display, like on the Moto 360.
And that display isn't going to give you that much information – it's not going to be flush with notifications like the Apple Watch, displaying just basic fitness stats such as your heart rate and steps.
My other problem with the square display is the large bezels around the sides. Fitbit has included some of the thickest bezels I've seen on a smartwatch, and there's a lot of wasted space here; the screen could have been much bigger, or the device could have been much smaller if more thought had been put in here.
To add insult to injury, the Fitbit logo even sits below the main display, which I find irritating whenever I look at it, as it highlights the wasted space – you don't see the Apple logo sitting at the bottom of the screen on the Apple Watch.
That said, the screen on the Fitbit Blaze does the job. It's colourful and bright, and you don't need a high resolution on this device, as it's only displaying the odd notification.
One of my biggest bugbears with the Fitbit Blaze, though, is that the screen is often unresponsive. There were multiple times where I'd tap on the screen and nothing would happen. It would wake easily with a flick the wrist, but then I'd sit there swiping left and right for quite some time, trying to get the screen to fire up.
When I have a smartwatch on my wrist, it's usually so that I can get to my information as quickly as possible. But with the Fitbit Blaze I found myself tapping on the screen far more often than I have to with other wearable devices.
The Fitbit Blaze isn't the best-looking smartwatch you'll ever see. It feels a little like Fitbit decided it wanted to make an Apple Watch-like device, but then didn't go the whole way.
The Blaze is the first Fitbit product with a color touchscreen, and it looks much more appealing than the Surge – and functionality-wise, it does more.
However, what isn't certain is whether it's actually a smartwatch. The Samsung Gear Fit 2 runs into the very same issue. It's certainly simpler than other smartwatches I've seen before.
There's a button on the left side that serves as a home and back command, with two on the right that can be used for volume controls for music.
The right-side buttons also provide an alternative way for you to select exercise options, in case your hands are wet or gloved and aren't registering on the touchscreen. Those are the only buttons on the device, and everything else is controlled via the screen.
As mentioned, the design has proved divisive. It's certainly a different-looking smartwatch, with an outer metal rim for the strap, and those aforementioned bezels.
It does look odd, and I think this is a mistake by Fitbit. I'd much prefer this device if Fitbit had made full use of the space it occupies on my wrist, rather than wasting it.
The watch body of the Blaze can be popped out and placed into another band and frame easily enough. I liked the flatness against my wrist, and it fits nicely. I've got rather large wrists, but it feels like it would fit most people comfortably, even if you're used to smaller devices.
Popping the device back into its frame can be a little confusing though. It fits into the frame either way up, so it's easy to put it in the wrong way up, and not realise until you put the watch on.
And that hexagonal shape is sure to be polarizing for many. On the one hand it's certainly different, but on the other the design feels a bit outdated, although I didn't notice this as much when it's on my wrist due to the overall flat look of the body.
I don't think the metal holder around the screen works all that well. The straps themselves feel good on the wrist, and that's something that Fitbit has managed to nail down after its problems with the irritable Surge straps a few years ago.
The strap is the only option you really have for personalizing your Fitbit Blaze. With a ton of Android Wear and Apple Watch bands available, it's no surprise that Fitbit has decided to offer its own selection of bands and frames.
You can buy a number of different bands from Fitbit directly. For 'formal' occasions Fitbit has created the Luxe band, which comes in black, camel or mist grey leather. There's also a stainless steel version, but sadly we didn't get to play with any of these.
Customising your Fitbit doesn't come cheap, though. The leather bands will cost you US$99.95 (£59.99, AU$169.95), while the stainless steel option will cost a little extra, at $129.95 (£89.99, AU$219.95).
Fitbit is also offering the 'classic' elastomer bands, which come in black, blue and plum for US$29.95 (£19.95, AU$49.95). These are all comfortable to wear – and crucially, as mentioned, they didn't irritate my wrist.
I had time with both the blue and black 'classic' editions; I haven't seen the purple version, but I'm told it's the same shade of plum as other Fitbit products, so it should be an attractive choice.
Fitbit has confirmed that more strap colors and materials will be available in the future, so that'll be something to look out for if you want a drawer full of different style options – it may get a little expensive though.
The Fitbit Blaze runs Fitbit's own software, rather than Android Wear or Tizen, and that means it's pretty limited in what it can actually do. If you buy an Android Wear watch or Apple Watch you'll be able to download custom-designed apps from the respective stores, but here you're restricted to the functionality that's on offer out of the box.
When you turn on the Blaze you'll be greeted with the watch face. There are four to choose from, all with simple and uncluttered designs – my favorite includes a little monitor for your heart rate, step count and flights of stairs climbed.
The other options are even simpler, showing just the time, and sometimes the date with a different little animation. Watch faces can't be personalized – I hope that's something Fitbit will look into in the future, or that it will at least expand its collection of default faces.
If you swipe left on the screen it'll take you through your pre-loaded apps. First up is a feature called Today, which will show you your steps, heart rate and your resting beat throughout the day, miles walked, calories burnt and flights of stairs climbed.
If you want more you can boot up the app on your phone to see how your stats compare with past days.
The next app choice is Exercise, and most Fitbit users will find this section the most useful. Here's where you monitor the exercises you're doing, and you have the choice of run, bike, weights, treadmill, elliptical and workout.
When you start one of these it's simple to keep track of the time you've been working out, and you'll get your heart rate on the screen as well. Everything here is simple, which is what you need when you're focused on completing that last mile of a run.
One of the most interesting features on the Blaze is something called Fitstar, which gives you workout suggestions and tests how well you've done at a particular exercise. It includes options such as Warm It Up, 7 Minute Workout and 10 Minute Abs.
I found some of the routines pretty challenging – but that's likely my problem rather than an issue with the Blaze. It's something a little different to what the competition is offering, and if you're stuck for ideas in the gym, just boot this up and it'll give you some ideas.
At the end of the day, when you're finished living a suddenly more active life in order to meet your goals, this activity tracker transitions into a sleep tracker. It automatically begins tracking how long you sleep every night and notes your restlessness on a minute-by-minute timeline.
It's not always accurate, but automatic sleep tracking kicks in at the right timemost of the time. I also found the app's timeline to be easier to read compared previous versions of the app and there are new sleep features for setting reminders and goals to help you make sense of the data.
Unchanged is the silent alarm feature that buzzes your wrist every morning to wake you up without disturbing your partner. It can be a relationship saver, even if you're not shedding the extra weight during the rest of the day.
Other useful non-fitness features on the watch include alarms, a timer and the settings menu. You can also control the music on your phone by pulling down on the main menu. You can pause and skip tracks within Spotify, Apple Music or your phone's own music player, which is particularly useful mid-workout when you don't want to get your phone out of your pocket.
But that's about all the Fitbit Blaze can do as a smartwatch. It will give you notifications, but I found that functionality limited. Texts and phone call alerts will come through to your watch, as well as calendar notifications.
This means third-party apps, such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, can't send notifications through to your wrist. If you're looking for a smartwatch that will enable you to keep in touch wherever you are and whatever you're doing, this isn't it.
The Blaze is all about the fitness – after all, Fitbit does call this a 'smart fitness watch'.
If you've used a Fitbit product before, you know the app is one of the best things about owning one of its devices. The app makes the process of setting up the Fitbit Blaze simple, and presents you with a guide on how the watch works as soon as you download it.
When it's all set up, the Fitbit app will give you a huge variety of information. The main menu covers steps, heart rate, miles, calories, floors climbed and active minutes. You can compare past and present performance using daily, weekly or monthly charts.
The app will also set you a number of challenges to keep you motivated, and you'll receive medals for each milestone you achieve. You can tackle these challenges on your own, or compete against friends who also use the Fitbit app.
These range from simple races to the amount of steps you take over a weekend. It can add that extra element of competition to your workouts, helping to keep you engaged with your regime.
It's simple to add friends if you know their email addresses and know they use the Fitbit app, but it would be nice if Fitbit let you connect to your Facebook account – that way you'd be able to see all your friends who exercise with Fitbit, rather than having to ask everyone.
The Fitbit Blaze will likely work with your iOS, Android, Windows Phone or Windows 10 Mobile device, as there are over 200 compatible devices – if you're not sure whether your device is supported you can check on the Fitbit website. If your phone is only a couple of years old and can download the Fitbit app, it's likely to be compatible.
Bear in mind that you can't use an Apple Watch with Android phones and not all Android Wear devices work on iOS; Fitbit is one of the few wearables producers whose devices can be used across multiple platforms.
Battery life
Battery performance on the Fitbit Blaze is surprising – and in a good way. Manufacturers regularly make a song and dance about the battery life of a new device, but, more often than not, in testing we find that said device doesn't last as long as claimed.
But in this case, Fitbit has it just about right.
Fitbit claims the Blaze has a five-day battery life, which for a smartwatch with a color screen would be pretty impressive. And during my review I found a full charge would keep the Blaze going for between four and six days; I suspect the disparity was down to different levels of exercise on particular days.
My only complaint about battery performance on the Fitbit Blaze is how long it takes to charge.
My last fitness tracker was the Honor Band Z1, which took less than an hour to charge fully, but I found it always took at least three hours to charge the Blaze
In the grand scheme of things though, that's not a problem. You'll usually be taking the watch off when you go to bed anyway, so it's easy enough to charge it overnight – you just pop the Blaze out of its strap and place it in the supplied charging cradle.
It certainly doesn't look as impressive as when you place the Moto 360 on its charging stand with the strap still attached, but it gets the job done.
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