Tough Choice For Fitness Junkies: Samsung Gear Fit or FitBit Flex

It’s a tough choice to make between the Samsung Gear Fit and FitBit Flex. Both devices are similar in many ways yet different in significant ones. We can all finally agree that this is the age of mobile. Technology is progressing to make life easier while on the move. You can now take information everywhere you go and you can find information anywhere you are. Manufacturers have taken programming smartwatches a notch higher by turning them into fitness trackers. The existence of these fitness wearables is to encourage you to live an active life: walk more, exercise often, keep track of food intake, monitor your heart rate and even sleep better.

Thus, agony becomes when you come across awesome reviews of the two gadgets on your wishlist. One is entitled, Samsung Gear Fit is Beautiful, Inside and Out while the other is FitBit Flex Is All You Want in a Fitness Tracker.  Seriously Mashable, can’t somebody catch a break?! Anyway, time to weigh the two fitness trackers next to each other to see how they measure up.

Firstly, the Samsung Gear Fit will be available in Zambia, if not already, so we will start reviewing that one. It is expected to retail around $199 in the United States which is roughly K1,200. But we all know this price might be over-inflated which is usually the case with electronics or pretty much anything sold in Zambia. The device is only compatible with about 20 Galaxy-branded devices. The full list of compatible devices can be found at the bottom of the Samsung Webpage.

Gear Fit comes with a Super AMOLED touchscreen display and interchangeable colourful bands which are sold separately. The device allows you to easily control basic functions, such as, reject calls with messages, quick reply to messages and control alarms, among others. You can control the notifications through the Gear Fit Manager app on your compatible Samsung phone.

The design of the Gear Fit is definitely fashionably appealing and sleek. It is better looking than most smartwatches especially with its curved display screen. The smartwatch doubles as a personalized fitness motivator with the Heart Rate Sensor and keeps track of your activities throughout the day. It’s got dust and water resistant protection (IP67) to enhance your fitness experience.

Disadvantageously, other than price-wise, the Gear Fit’s screen viewing is very awkward. You have to turn your head or wrist to position it vertically because the screen is horizontally positioned. However, Samsung delivered a software to fix that mishap and also added the sleep tracker function.

On the other hand, the FitBit Flex wristband tracks just about everything you do from the steps you take to how well you sleep and laps in the pool. Priced at $99.95 in the United States, the FitBit Flex would roughly cost K600 in Zambia if it were made available. For now, we’ll have to settle for ordering online and having it shipped it here.

FitBit has been doing fitness wearables for longer than its competitors; therefore, it is no surprise that the wristband is purely a wristband and not a watch. FitBit Flex is light and easy to forget you’re even wearing it so you can carry it around with you all day as it tracks your activity. As a bonus the FitBit Flex is water-resistant and can survive stints in the shower or swimming pool.

It’s possible to connect with friends and compete with them on a leader board to see who is doing the most activity. In this way, accountability is sorted out. It doesn’t matter which part of the world you’re in, it’s even possible to compete with transatlantic friends! Even if you don’t hit the gym often or at all, the FitBit Flex can be your workout companion. The device occasionally blinks and vibrates in a gentle nudge to prompt you to stop sitting around. It syncs stats wirelessly to computers (PCs, Macs) and smartphones (iOS and some Android models, including the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note), so you can monitor real-time progress and charts and also set up goals.

The biggest downfall of the FitBit Flex is that it has no clock display. And as much as it makes sense to buy it, I couldn’t because it doesn’t have the functionality of a wrist watch. Otherwise, how would one know the time to head back home from a jog in time to get ready for work in the morning without a watch? Of course with such a large display screen for a watch, 1.85-inch, the Samsung gear Fit has a clock!

So what will it be? If you’ve got other preferences for a smartwatch or fitness tracker or both, then feel free to let us know by commenting below the article.