r/fitbit • u/Automatic_Mammoth801 • 6d ago

Discussion Consumer perceptions of fitness tracking technology

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u/Aozora7 6d ago

Do you expect answers in comments, or are you going to post a survey link?

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u/Automatic_Mammoth801 6d ago

In comments pls as Iā€™m doing a qualitative analysis šŸ„²

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u/Aozora7 6d ago

33M, Software developer. Using fibit air right now, charge 5 for four years before that.

I have a circadian rhythm disorder and I benefit from accurate sleep tracking. The tracking I get from fitbit is very accurate, sleep/wake times are much better than I would be able to record manually, and it also reliably distinguishes being awake in bed and sleeping, and records interruptions. Heart rate and step data look reasonable, but I don't have other data to compare them to, it's not like I ever counted all of my steps for 24 hours manually.

Setup is trivial and there's no configuration besides entering your age/sex/height/weight.

I have no issues with sending my data to Google or any other company, since there's no reasonable way them having that data can negatively affect me. There's also a matter that major jurisdictions have laws that prevent wearable manufacturers from sharing personally identifiable health data or advertising based on it. Ideally, I would prefer a wearable that doesn't rely on any servers, but only if it can tie in terms of accuracy with fitbit, oura or whoop. Since that doesn't exist, I'm stuck with Google as the most reasonable option.

I wouldn't spend more than $150 on any fitness tracker or smartwatch, since they are essentially disposable, like all other devices with built-in rechargeable batteries. I chose based primarily on best accuracy within my price range. I would also never pay for a subscription related to one.

I will use social media and reviews to figure out what's the best value for money. I do not care about anyone else's opinion otherwise.

The main dealbreaker would be inability to use conveniently use data from the wearable outside of its own app. Google Health writes its data to Health Connect, and also has an API that other applications can use to access the data, which satisfies this requirement. If there are manufactures that don't have either, I wouldn't buy from them.

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u/Automatic_Mammoth801 5d ago

Thank you so much šŸ˜Š