Whenever we get a Fitbit device to review, it makes us excited. This time, we got Fitbit Luxe, which is even targeted towards women, so we were all the more eager to find out what the activity tracker is like. We spent almost two weeks with Fitbit Luxe, and here’s our review detailing its pros and cons:

Fitbit Luxe review: Design

As far as the design of Fitbit Luxe goes, we found it to be quite nice to look at. It is very compact and is one among the smallest fitness trackers we have come across. In fact, the dimensions of the device are just 1.43 x 0.69-inch x 0.4 inches. While the front is dominated by a 0.76-inch colour AMOLED display, there are charging pins and sensors placed on the back, and they are used for various functions of the activity tracker including heart rate and Sp02 tracking. Interestingly, there are no physical buttons on the activity tracker – something that we quite liked about it as it made our user experience better. The housing of the Fitbit Luxe is accompanied by rubberised straps that are available in four colour options – Lunar White/Soft Gold, Black/Graphite, Orchid/Platinum, and a Gold coloured model that’s touted as a special edition by the company. The one that we got for review was dressed in Black. It is worth mentioning that the body of Fitbit Luxe is water-resistant up to 50 meters and hence, you can wear it while you go for swimming – something we count as a big plus. The display of the device showed all the figures clearly and its sunlight readability was not a problem too. It should also be pointed out that during our time with the fitness tracker, its display never got any scratches. On the downside, the tiny size of the display meant that at times, we had difficulty reading the text, especially the notifications of calls and messages. This was a real problem. Now, let’s talk about setting up the Fitbit Luxe. It was pretty easy to get started with the device. All you have to do is put it on charging and then download the Fitbit app on your smartphone. Enable Bluetooth and then follow all the steps mentioned on the app. You would have to give some information about yourself, and a few permissions to access notifications and more, and then enter a four-digit number that appears on the tracker to complete the pairing. It was a smooth process and didn’t take long at all. Once paired, the device runs well. We didn’t encounter a problem like seeing characters in a different language or not getting notified about the activity on our phone.

Fitbit Luxe review: Performance

Coming to the performance of Fitbit Luxe, we don’t see any reason for you to not be happy with it. Let’s first talk about what all it can do. Fitbit Luxe tracks your steps, identifies and monitors your exercise and workout sessions, keeps a track of your heart rate, Sp02 level and sleep. In fact, the sleep data that we got was pretty extensive and the Fitbit app showed us the time we spent awake in bed, our rapid eye movement or REM, and Light and Deep Sleep. The time depicted in the stats taken by the tracker were mostly accurate too. We have always maintained that tracking steps is not the best thing to do with any activity tracker or smartwatch because most of them track movement, and Fitbit Luxe is no exception to it. So if you wear it while driving or even finding something in your closet, be prepared to see around 500 extra steps. But besides that, other data like heart rate, Sp02 and even workout was correct. We compared the heart rate and Sp02 stats we got on Fitbit with those on other devices, and it always matched. As far as the workout tracking goes, the activity tracker was smart enough to recognize when we started exercising on its own. Fitbit calls this feature as ‘Auto Exercise Recognition’ and, as the name suggests, it helps the device know what kind of exercise is being performed by the person using the tracker. During our time with the device it recognised Aerobics, Walking and Running. The app showed us detailed data that included Average BPM, Time Spent and Calories burnt. It is vital to note, however, that Fitbit Luxe does not support GPS, so for best results, you must keep it close to your phone when exercising, or rather specifically – running. But is it really practical to keep your phone with yourself while running? We don’t think it’s always possible. The battery life of Fitbit Luxe was decent too, and it lasted a little more than 5 days for us on a single charge, which means that it meets the expectation that the company has set.

Verdict

Although there are a lot of good aspects of the Fitbit Luxe, like its beautiful design, smooth performance, and lasting battery, it also lacks some important features like GPS. Even the display of the device is so small that it can be difficult to read the text at times. There are more affordable options in the market that offer more features. However, if you are a Fitbit fan, then and only then should you spend Rs 10,999 on it. Pros

• Beautiful design
• Smooth performance
• Lasting battery

Cons

• No GPS
• Small display
• Too pricey for features it offers

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