While there are many smartwatches that aim to sport the fitness tracker look, the Fitbit Blaze aims to do the opposite. It is a fitness tracker that looks more like a glorified smartwatch. It is somewhat an upgrade to the Fitbit Charge HR. Its features include being able to automatically track activities, heart rate, and a bunch of exercises. It also has a colored touch screen interface that will display notifications from your smartphone and give you guidance during your workouts. It has a very decent battery life as it can last up to five days on a single charge. However, if you’re looking for more smartwatch functionalities, this can leave you disappointed.
The Fitbit Blaze is More Fitness Tracker Than Smartwatch
It is clear that the Fitbit Blaze borrows some design cues from the Apple Watch; some might even mistake it with Apple’s smartwatch at first glance. It has a rectangular face that’s Gorilla Glass-covered, and sports a 240 x 180-pixel resolution. But when compared to the Apple Watch, Fitbit’s offering has a smaller face. Its display measures in at 1.25-inches (measured diagonally) whereas the Apple Watch has 1.34-inches (1.53-inches on the larger model). The panel is also dwarfed by a large bezel and there are also two large gaps that flank the screen.
One of the selling points of the Blaze is that it features a modular design. The tracker portion can easily be popped in and out of the frame. The main purpose of this design is so that you can quickly switch from a sweat-resistant and workout-friendly elastomer strap to a more outdoor-friendly stainless steel or stylish leather band.
Swapping the bands out is really simple as all it takes is to use the easy spring release buttons. However, looking at the bands themselves, they’re not terribly impressive. The elasomer band is not that comfortable, especially when compared to its predecessor. The leather band feels rigid on the wrist but does provide a suitable level of comfort.
The Fitbit Blaze is able to track calories, floors, sleep, steps, distance, and various other exercise stats. Viewing all the data can be found in detail via the Fitbit app. While it does offer many tracking data with regards to exercises and fitness-related information, it lacks in being a smartwatch. Therefore, this particular tracker is more suited for people who are new to such a device rather than people who would want an upgrade from their current activity tracker.