I have used different fitness trackers in the past from different brands, but when I met Fitbit about two years ago, it was like love at first sight. From then on, I never changed brand and kept using Fitbit every single day. Today, my favorite is the Fitbit Ionic Adidas Edition, and I will share all the details why on this review.
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| Fitbit Ionic Adidas Edition Review; More Than Just A Fitness Tracker |
PHYSICAL:
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| Retail Package |
The Ionic comes in a signature Fitbit packaging, there is an outer cover that shows most of the major features of the tracker, and an inner box that contains the unit itself, paper documents, the charging cable, and extra strap. Yes, that's right, the retail package includes a total of two bands of different sizes - small and medium.
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| Adidas Edition and Regular Variant |
Speaking of the strap, it is the main distinguished difference between the Adidas and non-Adidas edition, at least in terms of appearance. Moreover, it has a perforated design, and lighter (about 4 grams), making it more suitable for sports activities.
Both variants have identical body made of magnesium and silicon alloy known as Series Aluminum. The display is the same too, which is a 1.42-inch touchscreen LCD with 348x250 pixels topped with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for added durability, and protection against scratches.
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| Charging Port and Sensors |
Moving on, there are three buttons, one on the left and two on the right. Meanwhile, flipping it over will reveal the charging port as well as all sorts of sensors.
Overall, the finish and build quality is quite good and looks nice.
DISPLAY and INTERFACE:
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| Adidas Edition Clock Face |
Going back to display, the screen features vivid colors with 1000 nits of brightness that makes the readability good, even under direct sunlight, and even under water. Yes, the touchscreen works even when submerged in water, as it is waterproof and can be used for swimming.
See Also: Fitbit Versa Review; Track Your Health with Style
Navigating the interface is done mainly with the touchscreen, to start with, you can wake up the screen by double tapping the display, pressing the left button, or setting screen wake to auto, which wakes the screen when you move your wrist. Swiping the screen left and right gives you access to different installed applications, swiping upward reveals activity stats that include steps, distance travel, stairs climb, calories burned, active minutes, heart rate, and exercises done in a week. Meanwhile, swiping downward shows notifications from email and messaging, which you can clear or reply with pre-configured responses.
The 3 buttons can also be used for navigation, left acts as the back button, and functions to turn on/off the display. The upper right button allows users to go directly to exercise app in a short press, while a long press reveals the notifications. On the other hand, the lower left button opens the alarm settings.
PERFORMANCE:
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| Fitbit Ionic Adidas Edition Features |
Setting up the Fitbit Ionic Adidas Edition requires internet connection, and you need to have a good and steady one as the smartwatch updates its software to the latest edition during set-up, otherwise, you won't be able to complete the process. To do so, you need to download the Fitbit App on your Android or iOS device, have it paired, finish the whole procedure.
Once the set-up is done, you will be greeted by the Adidas inspired clock face. From then on, you can now start the kind of fitness activity you want thru the pre-installed apps, these are:
- Exercise - it can track different exercises, namely running, biking, swimming, treadmill, weights, interval timer, and workout. You can select it manually using the Ionic watch, but there are also some exercises that it can recognize automatically, such as walking, running, outdoor biking, elliptical, sport, aerobics, and swimming.
- Adidas Train - offers running-focused activities, there are six in total, namely Run Activation (5 minutes), Dynamic Warmup (5 minutes), Metabolic (15 minutes), Strong Stride (10 minutes), Power Pace (10 minutes), and Post-Run Stretch (5 minutes), all of which have something to do with running. This is exclusive to the Adidas Edition, and cannot be downloaded and installed in the regular Ionic.
- Coach - provides different activities, exercises, and workout routines that are randomly updated from time to time once you sync the watch to your phone that has the Fitbit app.
- Relax - as the name implies, is a 2-minute or 5-minute relaxing routine that helps improve breathing.
Aside from the things mentioned above, it continuously tracks and monitors steps, heart rate, and sleep. Thru the Fitbit app, there are further dissected to very detailed information, such as Sleep Stages, wherein it tells how good your sleep is, and times that you are awake to name a few. It also estimates VO2 Max, and tells how good is your cardio fitness level.
Other than tracking capabilities, and providing notification, it also has plenty of other useful features. It has around 2.5GB of internal memory, which you can fill up with songs, giving you the freedom to leave your phone behind (if its sole purpose when doing exercise if playing musics) as the Ionic can do it by itself. You can also use it for wallet-free payment as it has NFC and can store credit card detail, that is, if it is supported in your country.
Also Read: Fitbit Unveils Charge 3 for only Php9,990!
Based on our everyday use, we can say that it is pretty accurate in tracking our steps, distance traveled, stairs climb, and heart rate. We mostly use it for swimming and running, and tracking things related to these exercises are superb. The bottom line is, on the fitness tracking side, Fitbit is the best in this category, and for me, competitors are still far behind.
BATTERY:
Fitbit promises that the device has up to 5 days of battery life on a single charge, or up to 10 hours if you’re using its with GPS on. Based on our experience, this is pretty much accurate. Meanwhile, charging it takes about an hour or so to fully charge, but I suggest you charge it every now and then when you are idle or not moving, so that you won't miss any step. In any case, it notifies you when its battery is already low.
FINAL WORDS:
Technically speaking, the Fitbit Ionic Adidas Edition is basically the same as the regular Ionic, there is no improvement in terms of technology. And, the only differences are the signature band, custom clock face, the run-focused Adidas Train app, and the asking price. It has an SRP of Php17,690 or two pesos more premium than the regular variant, which is Php15,690.
Nonetheless, it is still the best in the business when it comes to fitness tracking and activity monitoring, and so far, competitors don't even come close. The smartwatch function, and the other useful features are quite good too, making ideal for all day and all night use. That said, if you have the budget to spend, we highly recommend it as your fitness buddy.
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| Fitbit Ionic Adidas Edition Specs |
It is available nationwide through major retail partners, both offline (such as Digital Walker and Beyond the Box) and online via Shopee and Lazada.