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Add to SafariWhen comparing Fitbit Zip vs Garmin Vivosmart, the Slant community recommends Fitbit Zip for most people. In the question“What are the best fitness trackers that pair with iPhones?” Fitbit Zip is ranked 8th while Garmin Vivosmart is ranked 16th. The most important reason people chose Fitbit Zip is:
The Zip keeps you motivated through friendly competition. Along with giving you a rank among your friends, you can also cheer them on or taunt them.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Social component to help keep you motivated
The Zip keeps you motivated through friendly competition. Along with giving you a rank among your friends, you can also cheer them on or taunt them.
Pro Easy to hide under your clothes
The Fitbit Zip fitness tracker is very small, so you can easily wear it somewhere that it will be hidden (belt, pocket, bra strap, etc.). Unlike most trackers which have wrist bands, you don't have to worry about trying to make it blend in with what you're wearing.
Pro Fitbit app lets you track a variety of health-related stats
The app doesn't only display the stats from your device, it also lets you track a variety of different health-related stats by entering them manually. You can log your food for the day, how you slept, activity, weight, and more.
Pro Automatic synching that's easy to setup
The Fitbit Zip fitness tracker wirelessly syncs with both PC and smartphones via the Fitbit app. After getting it set up you don't even think about syncing, it's just automatic.
Pro Smartwatch-like functionality
Vivosmart is capable of showing smartphone notifications and control music playback.
Pro Logs exercise
Pro Week's battery life
Pro Some customization options
Pro Displays time
Pro Good step counter
Cons
Con Lacking many of the features that fitness trackers often offer
The Fitbit Zip only tracks distance, steps, and calories burned. It's basically a pedometer with a smart tracking platform you can use for manually tracking the rest of your day. It can't tell you stairs climbed or heart rate, and there is no alarm, sleep tracking, or GPS.
Con Issues with the battery not working
The contacts in the device are very sensitive. If you don't place the battery in just right, it will only work for a short period of time before the battery needs to be readjusted or replaced.
Even when following instructions provided by the company, some people report that still can't get it working properly. The battery may end up lasting days instead of the promised 4-6 months.
You can see how to properly change the battery here.
Con Easy to lose
The tiny size of the Fitbit Zip makes it very easy to lose track of.
Rather than a wrist watch like many other trackers, it only has a slide on clip. The clip is fairly secure for normal activity, but you may knock the tracker off without realizing it.
Con Lacks a rechargeable battery
The Fitbit Zip fitness tracker runs on a 3-volt lithium-ion battery that lasts between 4 and 6 months. It requires getting a new battery every time it runs out of charge.
Con Companion app is difficult to use
The way the information is presented is confusing and incoherent and there's no logical way to find necessary information.
Con No activity autodetection
Vivosmart does not automatically detect when you start to walk or run, you have to start and stop activity manually.
Con Reps counting feature does not work for some exercises
Reps counting feature is not reliable, sometimes it misses few reps and with some exercises it can count 1 rap, even if you did 10 reps for example. And it can't detect when you start the exercise, so you have to start and stop the counter manually. In practice I frequently forget to start and to stop the counter so after some time I simply sopped using this feature.
Con Difficult to check current time because display most of the time is turned off
In order to turn on the display, for example to see current time, you need to raise you hand and after some delay display some times turns on, sometimes not.
Other option is to double tap the display, which requires both hands.
If you frequently checking current time, it is really annoying.
Con App requires you to provide personal data in order to work
You have to register in the app providing information about your age, gender and weight.
Con App does not work without internet connectivity
It is not possible for example to enter your weight if you are not connected to the internet.
Con No GPS data is collected
