Fitbit - Sense 2 Advanced Health & Fitness Smartwatch

Beyond overall quality issues (have gone through 3 of them) they are still lacking features found in the first model because Google silently killed the Sense line and went all in with the Pixel watch. My sense 2 had been pretty much abandoned in terms of new features and SDK support.

Coming from the 7 Ultra probably the look. It's less classy watch looking even the bigger pixel size is still small pebble like. So it looks more fitness watch like and less watch like. there are ton of bands out there that you can snap it into that will make it look like it's a timex lol. Probably the other thing is it's a rounded glass dome and it can be bumped a bit easier however I put a spigen liquid air bumper on mine and it actually kinda fixed both these problems. It gave it a flatter appearance and made the watch a smidge wider on my wrist. Other then that I like wearOS on it it's been smooth and responsive. Honestly havn't been working out as much as I should be so haven't really had time to revisit the fitbit app, last time I used it I think I had the Sense 2 when it first came out before Google bought Fitbit.

I recently experienced the same with the Sense 2 ... continously going through the diamond/red X loop and won't turn on. It's now in a drawer, and I switched to the Samsung Galaxy Ultra.

As I mentioned above - none of the smart watches has an accurate tracking of how much calories you burned. Various brands under/overestimate anywhere between 40% and 60%, cause physics  For tracking how much you eat you don't need a device obv, but some brands allow you to log your food as well (fitbit can, can't tell for others though) or can sync your activity with a food tracking app and vice versa (in my case Nutracheck sends eaten calories to Fitbit and Fitbit syncs my activity, and all together they are guesstimating if I am in a deficit for today or not). You can use anything tbh, they are all the same functions wise if you stick to a cheaper side, with more and more specific features if we're looking for something mid range and higher: runners, cyclists take Garmin because Garmin brands itself around these activities and bake in different training programs (mind you, behind subscription), recovery trackers, zone training recs, etc If you want more accurate HR during your activity, get one of those Polar HR monitors that connects to your phone instead.  If you hike a lot, you need gps and probably built in maps - there are options for this as well. I use fitbit sense 2.  I don't trust anything it measures, and use all the numbers for shits and giggles only: it has built in gps, but overshoot every time for 3-5km. It tracks my sleep, but all the numbers are meaningless (it was complaining about elevated stress lvl when I was snuggly reading a book). Yeah, I can track my running or lifting session, and it will sync with Strava and pull my route there, but only pulse and pace are useful metrics. So I really think of downgrading back to some cheap and cheerful mi band because non of the fancy numbers make much sense xD

I have both (sense 2 for Fitbit) and honestly the stats are similar with a premium subscription. Sure Fitbit messes up sleep at times, but readiness values tend to be similar. I would say the symptom radar is more sensitive on the oura, but the key metrics I like (HRV, resting hr) are similar-ish.

Fitbit considers 68 as high! :) On a serious note, Oura seems to have higher recovery number for the score vs Fitbit, but HRV and sleep are around the same. This Wednesday Fitbit has me at a 66, oura at 73. HRV and everything was similar so it’s just how Fitbit decided to grade it based on their calculation. Don’t get me wrong, if you want an oura, go for it. I enjoy mine. Just saying that based on raw numbers (HRV, HR metrics, skin temp, breathe rate) they actually track similarly.

Sense 2 Fitbit still works for me. Until google says it doesn’t 😱 Sadly.

Then where is the innovation? They shut down the clock face developer and didn’t replace it. They shut down the web portal and didn’t replace it. We all use secondary apps to create a meaningful history with meaningful graphics. Don’t get me wrong I like my sense 2, but I don’t see any real innovation. They are refocusing, but Fitbit as Fitbit. I don’t think so.

I got a versa 3 June 2021, and it still works. I just replaced it because the screen crack was bugging me. I went with a Sense 2, and hope it lasts just as long.

If you are using a watch that is older than 3 years its very likely (outside of apple watch, garmin, coros, polar and suunto) that it doesn't come close to matching current models accuracy levels - especially as most brands (wear os / apple / garmin / coros / polar / suunto / fitbit / huawei / amazfit) update the sensor and gps chipset every 2-3 years (if not more frequently) and there have been significant improvements all around. For example current garmins are either using the elevate 4 or elevate 5 HR sensor (from health 24/7 perspecive virtually immaterial difference in results, but from an activity perspective especially around strength and cycling their is a more marked improvement - plus the elevate 5 sensors include ECG and baseline temp monitoring) however the elevate 4 was a significant jump from the elevate 3 sensor (4 veritcal led lights) which was an even bigger jump from the sensor prior to that (3 leds in a triangular shape). Huge jumps and leaps have been made in sleep tracking too, and for most its way more accurate than it used to be - though don't get me wrong it still can be fooled (i.e. sitting/lying and being super inactive (i.e. reading / watching tv) and its possible the watch can potentially record that as sleep. Garmin Forerunner 165 - its on special on Garmin sales at just under $200. (or could look to see what deals you can find for the instinct 2 or vivoactive 5). These are all running pretty much garmin's latest version of sleep tracking which is way better at determining sleep duration (I find start time is rock solid and seldom gets fooled - if it does at the worst it records it as light sleep so doesn't really impaact recovery at all -as would be giving you that as recovery anyway and the recharge rate from light compared to resting is so simliar I haven't noticed a difference in recharge rate; and wake time is rock solid as long as using morning report - cause as soon as you access morning report it switches off sleep - so if you wake up and want to go back to sleep don't access morning report - the morning report front screen includes time so no need to access it until you want to be up and about). The sleep tracking algorithms are from firstbeat and includes the use of accelerometer, HR and HRV compared to the older garmin sleep tracking which per my understanding was accerlerometer based. You could also look at anything from amazift (stick to bip 6, active 2, t-rex3 or balance - as all running most current version of their software and alogorithms); Huawei including Fit 3 is worth a look; and could consider anything from coros, suunto (just released the run which should be around the $200 mark) and polar. And you could also look at fitbit charge 6, sense 2 or vera. There is also xiaomi but their HR isn't as good as the others... But worth noting the accuracy of optical HR is still impacted by skin tone, body comp, hair, tats, weight & size of watch, how you wear it and if doing an activity the activity type - and until you use it there is no way to know if it will be accurate for you or not. However for most people most of the sensors of the brands I have mentioned tend to do a good job re accuracy for 24/7 health metrics and steady state activities (walking, steady running etc).

Fitbit sense 2, it's ok, doesn't track heart rate in the pool so doesn't apply swimming to their exercise metrics. It doesn't really track kicking sets much if at all. No issues with the water. Apple watches don't work with android phones so those have been a 'no' for me. Battery life is about 4-5 days with tracking for exercise most days. It fully charges in about 2 hours or so, which is good.

I got the Sense 2 at the beginning of May 2023 and last month the battery started draining quickly and shortly thereafter entered the boot loop. CS told me the same thing. I was already on the fence and that sealed the deal. Sorry that happened. I haven't looked at a replacement yet

What Fitbit are you wearing? I am wearing a Sense. I tried a Sense 2 but was disappointed to learn it doesn't track my laps so gave it to my husband. Am back to Sense. Wondering what other Fitbit tracks laps? My Charge 2, 4 both died in a couple of years and they both tracked laps for me.

I consider my Sense 2 a fitness tracker with smart features, though I personally like it because of that.

Fitbit devices at least newer ones are all getting the newest training features called cardio load and target load. Those we big selling features for the pixel watch 3 at launch. The biggest difference would be pixel watch 3s heavier focus on running metrics. If you run a lot it could be useful. If you don’t then it won’t. As for accuracy. I have heard the same but the sense 2 I have got an update recently that brings Google ai machine learning and the accuracy during workouts has vastly improved. It matches my Garmin forerunner 965 now and very reliable. Pixel watch 3 has heart rate zones which is good if you want to workout within a particular zone. But can still do that with Fitbit just need to see the HR and not rely on the colour coding. The look thing makes sense and lol personal preference. That could be the deciding factor as it’s something you wear daily

It's got garbage battery life, unfortunately. Also unfortunately, the watches that seem to be most accurate are either obsolete (Fitbit Versa, idr which generation, counts laps and shows on watch face) or Sense 2 (has been very accurate but won't show laps on watch face even though it does keep track of laps - a really stupid decision by Fitbit/Google in a sea of stupid decisions ((no pun intended))). Battery life is excellent on both. Battery life on the Garmin Vivoactive is the bomb but it's crap at accuracy on laps. Good luck!

I switched to Garmin (Descent G1) after the touchscreen stopped working on my Sense 2 after swimming in a sea water pool. The screen isn't as fancy but, but that's the only issue I have.

Really, Why? That's what I have and besides the updates Google did and talk to text is works fine. 🤷‍♀️

I have a Fitbit Sense 2 and I LOVE mine once I found a band I liked. I couldn't do a traditional band, I found a band that had stretchy (small) beads so it looks and feels like a bracelet. I can stretch it quite a bit of a ways up my arm if need be but it's mostly just being able to comfortably move it around that made a huge difference. I love mine. It tracks my sleep, heart rate, o2, etc.

After 10+ years of using FitBits, I've finally had enough. I've had 4 Sense 2s that failed within 1 year (I only purchased two; both failed within the first year and were replaced under warranty, and both replacements also failed within 1 year). They also gave me the same "offer" of 35% off another worthless piece of garbage. Thanks but no thanks! I have family members who swear by Garmin, so I purchased a Venu 3s, but I'm sorely disappointed in that so far, so can't say I'd recommend it. I know a lot of people who love their Apple watches, but the short battery life is a no-go for me.

My sense 2 is a 16 months old now and still working great! I love it. I charge about every 5 days and at that time it still has \~40% left. I had a Charge 4 which worked but after \~3 years, the display got too dim to see so bought this as a replacement.

This is why I have not updated the software in my Sense 2.

I have just retired my sense 2, it thinks I've gone up 3p flights of stairs while I'm in bed. It's broken af. Bought a Garmin forerunner 570 which whole being very expensive (for me at least) it's so much better in pretty much every aspect.

I went from a Sense 2 to a Venu 3. The Venu is much nicer in all aspects; build, OS, functionality, etc. The Connect app is more advanced, as well and much more fitness oriented, where the FitBit app is pretty simple. Notifications and alert are comparable, though the Venu 3 has audio alerts which I find a plus. Battery life is great and comparable to my Sense 2. I usually get a week or so between charges though I don't have the face always-on. The Connect app does not show battery status which seems like a big miss. So no push notifications that battery is getting low, only on the device. Connect will show you calorie burn based on activity but doesn't allow for logging calories, if that's what you were looking for. You have to use a third-party app to log calories and sync with Connect. Step tracking is comparable, though Garmin will only nudge you after 60 minutes of inactivity and you can clear the activity alert with a few minutes of activity, though for some reason I can never clear it just walking indoors around my house and up/down the stairs. I liked that Fitibit would prompt near the top of the hour to get in the remainder of your 250 steps and also has the hourly activity tracker. I find the Fitbit was more motivational in this sense to get me out of my desk chair. I also miss the weekly report email from Fitbit. I haven't found a similar option with Garmin. HTH

My Sense is also 5 years old. Battery less able to hold charge requiring charging every 3 days and minor corrosion (or debris) on charge plates made it tricky to get a good connection to recharge. Just bot a Sense 2, I will be happy if I get 5 years out of it too.

I had the sense 2 for a few years until it died last month. I picked up the charge 6 at a good price, $120 and I actually love it. I was concerned about the size and look of the screen but it's not an issue and gives me everything I had with my sense 2 except the microphone which I hardly ever used. Highly recommend if you are going to stick with the Fitbit brand. I do have a pixel phone.

The battery life decreased dramatically after Google updated my Sense watch. Bought an Amazfit Active 2 for $129.00. Charged it this Tuesday and today, Sat, battery life is 50%. The only feature I miss is AFIB detection.