The interface is designed to make the most important information accessible at a glance, such as a wearer’s heart rate, the time, and their progress towards their fitness goals. The Blaze’s affordability and rich feature set makes it a great choice for consumers who want a fitness tracker but have also been considering a smartwatch. Says a company spokesperson when asked for comment: “Fitbit trackers are designed to provide meaningful data to our users to help them reach their health and fitness goals, and are not intended to be scientific or medical devices.” Meanwhile, Fitbit is fending off accusations that the heart rate sensors in its trackers are inaccurate. But the fact that there’s a discrepancy suggests one or both devices could be off the mark. It’s possible that wearing the devices on opposite wrists affected the results. It’s impossible to tell which device is more accurate from this test. The Fitbit Flex has its own separate options for personalization, but no other Fitbit products have swappable straps.
The Blaze and recently introduced Alta wristband are the only Fitbit products that can be customized this way, with options including straps made of leather and stainless steel in addition to the classic model. Blaze owners can remove the device’s face and place it in different wristbands to match with various outfits. On the hardware side, what separates the Blaze from Fitbit’s previous offerings is the higher level of customization it affords. The sleep data from the Blaze seemed accurate based on my testing, as it correctly showed the amount of sleep I had gotten in a night as well as any nocturnal disruptions.
That also means, thankfully, wearers won’t have to tell the device they’re headed to bed before actually hitting the hay. The Blaze, like some of Fitbit’s previous trackers, can automatically detect when users are exercising or sleeping to better capture a long-term picture of their daily habits. Wearers must hold down the button in order to access notifications and controls, as a quick tap might instead launch another action, such as pausing a workout. Similarly, notifications can be accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the watch face on the home screen or by holding down the bottom button on the side of the Blaze. Wearers can also access the Blaze’s music controls by swiping down from the top of the display when on the home screen, or by holding down the top button on the watch.