In this final post I’ll show you around the Fitbit iOS app.
When you launch the Fitbit iOS app it syncs the linked device immediately. It does this each time you open the app as well. To do this it activates a Bluetooth connection to the device, does a sync, then deactivates the Bluetooth connection. You will see the Bluetooth status indicator come on and go off. The main screen displays the sync progress at the top under your configured name.
Navigation is simple. A menu bar at the bottom to select the section you want access to, and a bar at the top showing the day you are working with, and left and right buttons to change days.
Dashboard
Once open the first section displayed is the iOS version of the Dashboard. It has statistics for each tracker (calories burned, steps, distance, floors climbed, weight, food, sleep and water).
Activities
Next is the Activity section. This provides an overview of your logged activities and step summary. You can also enter new activities here, which is very simple to do.
Weight
Then comes the weight section. Here you can see and enter your daily weight measurements. If you have a smart scale it should already be there. This also has a nice graph of your weight fluctuation so you can get a visual on how you are doing. Swiping left and right on the graph lets you change it between weight, fat %, and body mass index.
More
Since there is limited width on the iPhone screen you select everything else through the last menu tab which is “More”.
Food
Food is up first. Here you can see and enter what you eat. It’s grouped by meal. Each item shows the quantity and calorie count. Each meal group shows the total calories for that meal. The top of this section shows the total calories consumed for the day.
Water
Water is next on the list. Here you view and enter water consumed. Do it each time you drink some, or one bulk entry at the end of the day. When you’ve consumed enough the person icon will be all blue.
Sleep
Last but not least, sleep. Here you can view your last (and other days) sleep session summary and sleep pattern. It shows how long you were asleep, how many times you woke up and the overall pattern. I don’t know how much activity is required to qualify as awake, but it seems like it counts more times awake than I do.
When you go to bed you should slip the One into the wristband which you then wrap comfortably on your wrist. Then go to this section of the app, and add a log entry. You choose between adding a sleep log (where you enter the start and stop times manually) or beginning sleep now (which puts the app in a sleep timer state).
When you wake up, if you told it to begin sleep, start the app and you just tap the “I’m Awake” button. This failed for me the first couple of times until I realized you need to let the device finish syncing before ending sleep. Since you can’t see the sync progress in this mode, just watch the Bluetooth icon and iOS activity spinner at the top of the screen. When those stop, the device is done syncing and you can safely end sleep mode which will then create your sleep log.
The wristband hasn’t bothered me one bit. It is a very soft material and if you don’t wrap it too tight you don’t even know its there.
Settings and Devices
The More section is also where you access app Settings and Devices. I won’t bore you with Settings. Devices is where you setup the Bluetooth pairing with your tracker. You can also see the devices current battery status.
Conclusion
So far I’m very pleased with the One and the apps (web and iOS) that Fitbit has provided. My only, minor, disappointment falls with the iOS app in that you can’t access all the available trackers, like Blood Pressure, Journal, Heart-rate, and Glucose. Overall though, a well put together package for fitness management.