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Add to SafariWhen comparing Fitbit Alta vs Garmin Vivofit 3, the Slant community recommends Fitbit Alta for most people. In the question“What are the best fitness trackers?” Fitbit Alta is ranked 5th while Garmin Vivofit 3 is ranked 24th. The most important reason people chose Fitbit Alta is:
For its size, the Alta fitness tracker has a large display. The display will show steps, distance, calories burned, active minutes, and sleep time. You can switch between these by tapping the side of the display (there is no button). The screen is easy to read at a glance while on the move except in bright settings.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Informative and clear display that's easy to read
For its size, the Alta fitness tracker has a large display. The display will show steps, distance, calories burned, active minutes, and sleep time. You can switch between these by tapping the side of the display (there is no button). The screen is easy to read at a glance while on the move except in bright settings.
Pro Many different wrist band options available to suit your taste
The Alta itself comes in 4 colors: black, teal, purple and plum.
While expensive, you can swap out the band. Classic bands cost $30, leather bands cost $60, and stainless steel bands cost $100.
Pro Reminds you to move every hour
The Alta will remind you about your move alerts each hour. By default, it suggests 250 steps each hour and it will vibrate 10 minutes before each hour is over to give you enough time to accomplish the micro-step goal.
Pro Will fit almost any wrist size
The Alta is available in three different sizes (small, large, and extra large). Each size can be adjusted by a minimum of 1 inch.
This is a great tracker for people with wrists below or above average size who may have trouble finding a comfortable fit with other trackers.
Pro Lightweight and comfortable to wear
As a result of the Alta having a slim design, it is both lightweight and very comfortable to wear.
Pro Week long battery life
The fitness tracker's battery can last a full week before you need to recharge it - quite a bit longer than most activity trackers.
Pro Completely safe for swimming and showering
The Vivofit 3 is waterproof up to 50 meters. You can confidently take it swimming, or wear it in the shower without risk of damaging the tracker.
Pro No need to recharge the tracker
The Vivofit 3 runs on battery so there is no need to worry about keeping it charged.
With a battery life of up to 1 year, it can go longer without a battery change than most other fitness trackers.
Cons
Con Fairly basic features which limits the information you'll receive from the tracker
The Alta fitness tracker is designed to be more of a passive tracker for the Average Joe as opposed to a complete activity tracker for enthusiasts. There is no GPS or heart rate monitor, so the stats you get are limited to steps, rough distance traveled, estimated calories burned, active minutes, and sleep tracking.
Con The device cannot be used without a smartphone or a computer
In order to activate the device for usage, it must be paired with a smartphone and/or a PC (through a USB dongle), and an account must be registered through Fitbit.
Con Difficult to see the display when outdoors
The display is quite dim which makes it very difficult to read when in bright settings.
Con Display is off by default
To manually turn on the display you must double tap the side of the tracker which can be difficult to do properly.
It can also turned on automatically by the appropriate wrist/arm movement for checking the time.
There is no way to keep the display on so it may take some fumbling every time you want to look at the display.
Con Too unreliable for the cost
The Vivofit 3 has multiple serious issues impacting its reliability which means you're taking a gamble by purchasing it. At $80, you can get trackers with much better build qualities and a similar set of features.
Con Software that detects different activity often doesn't work
The "Move IQ" software in the tracker, which is supposed to detect different types of exercise, often doesn't work. Either it will track everything as walking, or will not start tracking them all.
Con It's easy to lose the watch because of the weak clasp
The clasp frequently comes undone during physical activity because of its poor design. If you aren't constantly paying attention to it or add re-enforcement to the clip, it would be easy to lose the tracker.
Con Syncs with a limited number of devices
Con Not for people with small wrists
The tracker is available in two sizes, regular or extra large. The regular band is too long for people with below average sized wrists.
