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Vivoactive 3 or Fitbit Ionic

Former Member
Former Member over 7 years ago
Everything being equal, the choice is a lot simpler but not everything is equal.

I've been using a Garmin Vivoactive HR+ for almost a year now. Picked it up to replace the Microsoft Band which was tragically killed off by Microsoft.
The Vivoactive HR+ has served me well and I really like the water resistance. The software on the other hand is a nightmare for a Windows Phone user.
I do not get push notifications, synchronization is a crap shoot and there are times the Connect Mobile app completely fails to work.

The Vivoactive 3 come incredibly close to what we had with the Microsoft Band and just looks great.
However, Fitbit's Ionic also comes incredibly close to what we had with the Band and also looks good.

Fitbit's software is far more successful than Garmin's on Windows 10 (Mobile and PC), though.
I don't care much about the onboard music storage and having onboard GPS and water resistance is a plus.
I do have a Garmin scale which would need to be replaced.
There is the option of switching to an iPhone, where the software issues are not as prominent, and stick with Garmin but that's an awfully expensive solution.

I guess what I'm asking the group is are there any overwhelming reasons not to switch to the Ionic? Is there hope that Garmin will get off their butts and give Connect Mobile some much-needed attention?


  • 0 over 7 years ago
    pcraenme,
    I don't want you to take this as an attack, but I agree with jim_m_58 on how lousy Fitbit devices count steps & stairs. I don't believe he has a "grudge", but is stating what I found to be true. In fact, you are the first person I ever heard claim Fitbit worked better than Garmin on tracking those items. My wife and I; along with several friends, have used several different Fitbit devices. Every single one of them recorded steps while I was driving my work truck. It wasn't unusual for me to accumulate 15,000 steps without exit my truck. I converted my garage into a home gym. If I were working out with the door open and a breeze blew in, it would change the pressure and count it as a flight of stairs. I've never experienced this with my Garmin devices. I agree, Fitbit tracks sleep much better, but Garmin is far superior (though not perfect) at tracking steps and stairs.

    No problem, we all have our own experiences and opinions. Hopefully you don't consider my answer as an attack as well. ;-) I have used a Fitbit Charge HR for about 1.5 years and a Garmin vivoactive HR since 1.5 years. When I transfered from the Fitbit to Garmin I used both devices simulaneously for about 2 months so I could compare. Results were very clear to me. When I walked upstairs at home, the Fitbit always detected 1 stair, the Garmin only 1 out of 5 times. When I walked 6km with an average speed of about 6km/h, the Garmin only counted about 6000-7000 steps, the Fitbit about 9000-10000. And I have measured my step length during walking, and it is between 60-70cm, depending on the speed I am walking. For running though, both Fitbit and Garmin were the same. And we seem to agree on sleep tracking. :-) Garmin should call this sleep estimating. I know how late I am going to sleep and wake up, so my average sleep should be between 6-7 hours per night. Garmin thinks however that this is about 9.5 hours. And the Fitbit always reported about 6-7 hours average sleep. But.. for me he most important is tracking of my running sessions and the VA HR works great in that area.
  • 0 over 7 years ago
    Isn't turning off BT an option on the controls menu? Long press the button to get to it. If not, you may have to add it to the conrol menu.
  • 0 over 7 years ago


    On Garmin, yes you can easily turn it off. On fitbit, no you cannot, see here: https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Ioni...e/td-p/2171612
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 7 years ago
    The screen tech the va3 uses is GREAT in bright light, and very usable for me in lower light conditions. The screen is also on all the time, unlike other devices, but it still has a battery life that will beat the others.

    Today, there are many 3rd party apps available for the va3. It will take fitbit some time to catch up with their move with Pebble.

    The va3 is also available today in the US, and maybe other places, and if not, I'm sure it will be soon.


    @jim_m_58 Can you help me find one to be delivered to Orlando between 11-16 october?
  • 0 over 7 years ago
    Check with best buy. On the website you can see what stores may have one left. They've been selling it for a few weeks.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 7 years ago


    Thanks, they have only the stainless steel version, so I have to think if I want to wait or get that one. Looks like there is really no possibility to email Best Buy or it is very well hidden.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 7 years ago
    I had the Fitbit Charge and when the band on the second one broke, I decided to try the Blaze. I had that for about a year and dropped it for the Apple Watch. I just dropped that for the Vivoactive 3. Fitbit had the quality issues everyone mentioned, and the Blaze was ultimately a pretty silly design.

    My real problem with Fitbit was their responsiveness to customer requests. If you go to their forums, you will see some pretty simple feature requests with thousands of votes and hundreds of comments that have been ignored for years. And the screen on the Blaze was a little small for my taste.

    The Apple Watch (2nd gen) was fun for a few months and then I realized I didn't really use it for much other than the time and notifications. I didn't like Apple's approach to activity tracking (what can I say, I like counting steps...) and I didn't like that I couldn't shower or swim with it on. So I took a chance on the Vivoactive 3 and so far so good. I really like that the display is readable without the backlighting - not quite as readable in some lighting environments as I would like, but better than having to wave my arm around to get my watch to light up,

    So my two cents is to go with the Vivoactive 3. I've had it for less than a week and the Garmin Connect app has had an update as has the watch, so I feel they are keeping up with things.Garmin is one of the leaders in the activity tracking industry (though their app is not as clean as Fitbit's) so I don't worry about things not working. And, if nothing else, watches should be round (square watches are so 1980's).
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 7 years ago
    For me one of the biggest reasons I chose the VA3 was the round style versus the square and the fact that I can buy pretty much any band I want for the VA3 where with Fitbit you only get a few choices. I doubt Garmin or Fitbit are going to go away any time soon like Pebble did but knowing that I can continue to get new bands past the time Garmin stops supporting the VA3 is a huge plus.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 7 years ago
    Garmin is no poster boy, but have people forgotten about the two class action lawsuits Fitbit had within a 2 year period?

    Yeah... no thanks lol.



    skin rash: https://www.pcworld.com/article/2109545/ouch-fitbit-force-owner-files-a-class-action-lawsuit-for-skin-rash-problems.html

    inaccurate heart rate: https://www.theverge.com/2016/1/6/10724270/fitbit-lawsuit-charge-hr-surge-incomplete-heart-rate-tracking
  • 0 over 7 years ago
    I've heard that fitbit has sent out free Iconics to app developers to get some apps in their store (you can only test things on the watch as there's no simulator, as there is with Connect IQ).

    And developers are reporting problems with the manufacturing quality of the Iconic (they keep breaking) This should be no surprise to anyone that's used a FitBit (I did for a few years). Their devices are kind of poorly made.