Like many things in life, things come and go. What’s old is new again. With a renewed focus on creating better habits, I wanted something that would log my activities. In particular sleep and hikes. Step per hour, day to day cardio and burn minutes etc don’t interest me. I’ve intentionally avoided the word ‘healthy’ as for me, that is not the main motivator. It is true that health is being capitalised by many looking to market things for us to buy or invest in. At risk of sounding like a cut away from a Law and Order episode, this is about the new Fitbit Inspire 2 and this is my story. 

Once upon a time, I had a Fitbit.

The Charge 2 model in fact but led to the demise of being sold at a Sunday Market for $20 (insane loss/ bargain). With so many models of fitness devices, I looked at branching away. I began taking an interest at the Garmin trackers but the pill or rather, price, was hard to swallow. At almost $600, I began to seriously question the level of investment I was planning on making with it. Was my casual affair with a fitness tracker worth $579? So I scaled down to a relatively cheaper smart watch, a Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2. I was drawn to the idea of having notifications and navigation on it but seriously, that’s what my phone is for. I wouldn’t gain much usefulness on a 1.2 inch screen plus charging every other day. 

So further down the ladder I stepped — right back to the range of Fitbits that were just released. I’ve been told about the inaccuracies of proper tracking but like I said, technical accuracy is not my intent for the device. The point was to monitor sleep, track my hike distances and the occasional workout. The Inspire 2, Versa 3 and Sense were added to my shortlist for comparison. At the time, there were only a few reviews out mainly for the Versa 3 and Sense. Not least of their more “conventional” smart watch like aesthetics but the new sensor technologies embedded in them. At $399 and $499 respectively, they were exactly cheap pieces of disposal items. Plus, did I really need a fancy stress monitor, temperature sensor or electrocardiogram (which isn’t currently enabled in many fitness devices sold in Australia). The answer was a resounding no. 

In the end, I decided on the Inspire 2 which seemed to cover my basic needs. There were hardly any reviews of how well it performs or real world battery life. Reviews were mainly focused on the much higher end devices. I figured why not try it and see how it goes? 

First impressions

Currently the Inspire 2 retails for $179. I certainly did not pay full price for it and it wasn’t long before it was discounted. 15% off a new release within the first two weeks of release isn’t too bad. It also comes with one year of Fitbit Premium subscription to try which is reportedly worth $179.88 per year. So I can delude myself and feel like I got a free Fitbit? 

Unboxing the Fitbit was a non affair. Both incredibly light and minimal looking, you’d almost be forgiven for being sold an empty box. I remember thinking: “is this it?”.  The box comes with the device, clip on charger, both small and large size bands. The bands are apparently easy to change not that I’ve had to and the strap is soft and flexible with a watch buckle clasp. Just remember not to have it too tight or the heart rate sensor module under the device digs in.

Otherwise it’s a fairly nondescript, bordering on, shall I say, uninspiring tracker design which I appreciate. So after almost two weeks of usage, I’ve come to the following conclusions.

What I like

  • It’s super lightweight. You don’t feel it on your wrist when you wear it during the day or at night for sleep tracking which is great. While I don’t feel the weight of it, the size of it won’t make you accidentally forget about it. Kudos for it to also look proportionate on my skinny wrists (thanks genetics). 
  • This little modest chunk is sturdy. While lightweight, it’s not fragile. It can take knocks and bumps on table corners and walls with no issues. 
  • Battery life. I’ve been getting 12 days of battery life which is fantastic. No need to remember to charge it every other day which means one less thing to worry about. You will find the more notifications you turn on, the battery will drain a bit quicker from the vibration motor. 
  • Easy to understand sleep tracking results. 

What I’m not a fan of

  • The device itself is about 12mm high. So it won’t fit under shirt cuffs or slimmer sleeves. I haven’t run into this issue yet as I’ve been living in looser clothing these days. 
  • The silicone/ rubber strap grips onto dust pretty easily especially if you wear it during bed for sleep tracking. But nothing a a quick wipe with your fingers or tee can’t solve.
  • The display could stand to be brighter in sunlight. I found myself cupping the display to properly see and set activity tracking when it’s very bright outdoors. 
  • Lack of altimeter. Given this is the lower end of Fitbits, I didn’t expect for it to include on. However it would have been nice to have for the hikes I do and see the elevation levels. But it was a trade off as I did not want to have something more chunky on my wrists or go pay Versa 3 prices. 
  • Hiding features behind the Premium subscription is my bug bear. Want to know your sleep score and in depth analysis? Better cough up $14.99 a month. 

Bonus grab bag

  • It’s super simple to pair with your phone. It auto recognises the new device and pops up a notification to start pairing and setting up. 
  • The Inspire 2 comes with 5 presets of activities to track from the device: run, swim, cycle, workout and interval – all of which I don’t really participate in. You can’t delete or add them in the Fitbit app. Instead you have to log into the Fitbit website to access a greater list of exercise to choose from and update your settings from there. Why? 

Overall, the Fitbit Inspire 2 seems to perform to the expectations of an entry level fitness tracker. It’s worth the discounted price I paid given the basic functions. There should be little complaints for the occasional fitness usage like myself who can’t bear to drop $600 on a disposal item. It’s a simple and easy tracker. Just don’t set your hopes up too high.