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Irish Mirror

Lifestyle

Mark Kavanagh

Fitbit Sense 2 review: Excellent stress and sleep tracking but missing a few key smartwatch features

Fitbit Google Apple Garmin Samsung

Fitbit has for several years been considered one of the early leaders of the activity tracker market with products such as the Charge 5.

The original Fitbit Sense from 2020 was the firm’s first attempt at a premium wellness smartwatch and it offered limited music controls, select third party apps, Google Assistant and solid battery life.

Since then, Google has bought Fitbit and now we have the Sense 2 which was curiously released just weeks before Google’s first Pixel Watch, a device that includes a lot of Fitbit health and fitness features.

Fitbit Sense 2 seems on the surface less smart than its predecessor. There are no music controls, no Google Assistant and no third-party apps.

Google Maps and Google Wallet are said to be imminent arrivals on the Sense 2 which will make a huge difference.

And Alexa is built-in for voice control.

It’s about the same price as Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 and Apple’s new Watch SE. But does it offer enough to make it more compelling than either of those devices?

Pros
Improved software
Brilliant stress tracking
Great battery life
Physical button
Cons
No third-party apps
No offline music
No Google Assistant

Fitbit Sense 2 full review: stylish and lightweight wearable

Fitbit Sense 2 is the firm’s most premium looking and feeling device. It’s a full-size watch but at 40mm is not as big as some wearables.

My review unit has a platinum aluminium case and an interchangeable 24mm lunar white infinity band.

It is so lightweight and comfortable to wear, much more so than other wearables. A lot of the time you forget you have it on.

It’s got just one physical button, which is on the left-hand side rather than the right where you might expect it to be. But you soon get used to its location.

Health and wellness features

Fitbit Sense 2 is an advanced fitness tracker that helps monitor your mood with continuous electrodermal (EDA) readings.

The EDA sensor monitors stress levels throughout the day and combined with heart rate, heart rate variability and skin temperature readings, the watch can sense heightened responses and then will prompts you to act on mood monitoring with Body Response notifications.

It will also give you a stress management score which is broken down by responsiveness to stressors, exertion from exercise and your sleep patterns.

Incidentally, you can turn off the body response notifications or receive a weekly summary if you prefer. But seeing as the stress management is one of the key functions of the device, why would you?

I appreciate the stress management and think it works reasonably well. The firm acknowledges that bodily stress can be positive or negative and that it does not always align with your current mood.

Sense 2 also keeps the original’s skin temperature reader, a useful feature that's since been introduced by Samsung on Galaxy Watch 5 and Apple on Watch Series 8.

And Sense 2 constantly monitors your heart rate and Sp02.

There is an ECG app too, but thus far it’s not supported by Sense 2 in Ireland – but this may be changed with a software update as it is available on the first-gen Sense.

Fitbit’s sleep tracking smarts are highly acclaimed, with clear metrics and features like snore detection in the Fitbit Premium app.

Activity tracking

Activities supported include walking, running, hiking, swimming, pilates, crossfit. HIIT, yoga and strength-training.

With built-in GPS, Fitbit Sense 2 easily and accurately tracks your outdoor routes, even if you leave your phone at home.

But I would stress that from my tests and comparisons the GPS is not as precise as you will get from rival brands such as Garmin, Apple, Coros, Polar and Huawei.

Other features

Fitbit Sense 2 comes with built-in Alexa too and can mirror notifications from your smartphone.

You can only reply to notifications if your Sense 2 is paired with an Android device not an iPhone.

You can also take calls on your wrist.

You get six months of Fitbit Premium for free, it costs €8.99 per month (or €79.99 a year) after that and offers a wealth of wellness tools and deep insights into your sleep and fitness.

On the downside, there is no third-party app support which means, among other things, no offline music playlists.

This means you have to take your phone with you if you want to enjoy music while out cycling, running or hiking.

Software

The software and user interface has been updated from the original Sense and delivers a noticeably more fluid and responsive experience.

Navigation is intuitive and simple. Swipe left or right through the touchscreen to easily access data on your heart rate, steps, activity, sleep, weather, exercise and body responses.

Swipe down for controls and settings, swipe up for notifications and messages.

Battery life

With the Always On display turned off I got between five and six days from a single charge.

By enabling Always On display, battery endurance dropped to three days which is still decent enough.

Charging is via the including USB-A cable with a proprietary end that clips magnetically to the back of the watch.

It takes about an hour to fully recharge it.

Fitbit Sense 2 verdict

The sleek and stylish design and build and the excellent battery life are major highlights. The latter is far superior to Apple Watch SE which you need to recharge every day.

Sleep and fitness tracking on Sense 2 are as impressive as you might expect, presenting raw data in an easily digestible format for most users.

It’s not as smart as the likes of Galaxy Watch 5, but some consumers don’t want a wearable that’s a full-blown smartwatch.

Overall, it’s hard not to feel that Fitbit Sense 2 is less of a priority for Google than the new Pixel Watch which costs just €50 more but offers a lot more in terms of smart features.