Fitbit Sense and Samsung Watch 4 are popular smartwatch options for people looking at a value for money smartwatch. Fitbit Sense, in particular, ticks all the boxes and is very cost friendly. Samsung Watch 4 is based on the latest wearOS 3 of Google. It integrates the features of wearOS as well as Samsung’s proprietary software to bring a diverse range of features for the user. We compare the main points of difference between a Fitbit Sense and a Samsung Watch 4.
Operating System compatibility
A Fitbit Sense works well with an Android phone or an iPhone. It is compatible with both mobile operating systems. There are no concerns around Fitbit Sense’s compatibility with iPhone or iOS. A Samsung Watch 4 is based on Google Wear OS 3. Therefore, the Samsung Watch 4 can only work with an Android device. A Samsung Watch 4 cannot work with iOS devices and iPhones.
Battery life
Fitbit Sense promises 6 days of battery life on the smartwatch mode. The backup time reduces when you use the watch for outdoor activity tracking, GPS connectivity or while listening to music. A Samsung Watch 4 promises 2 days of battery life.
Samsung watch 4 also offers wireless charging for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4. Wireless charging feature is unavailable on a Fitbit Sense watch.
Both watches can be fully charged in around 2 hours’ time.
Cellular model
A Fitbit Sense relies on the paired smartphone to perform phone related tasks. It does not have a cellular model on offer. A Samsung Watch 4 does have multiple cellular models that can help in handling calls directly from the smartwatch.
Heart Health Monitoring
A Fitbit Sense has an ECG app to perform a quick check of your heart and notice any heart rhythm issues. It records your heartbeat and can send in an alert of irregular heartbeats. On a similar note, a Samsung Watch 4 has an ECG app. But, it works best with a Samsung Galaxy phone as a paired device.
A Samsung Watch 4 can work in measuring heartbeat on demand. You can also configure it to measure heartbeat on a perpetual basis. Perpetual heartbeat records can be very useful in uncovering heart health.
But, most heart monitoring benefits will accrue to you if you make use of a Galaxy phone alongside the Samsung Galaxy 4 watch. This can also be explained, partly, by the limitation that Heart Rate alert settings is only available for the Galaxy Watch4, Galaxy Watch3, Galaxy Watch Active2, Galaxy Watch Active, Galaxy Watch, and Galaxy Fit.
Overheating issue
Samsung watch 4 may be prone to overheating. At least that is what some users have been complaining about. The watch overheats and shuts off to prevent damage to the watch or the wearer.
This issue has been reported by multiple users. It may be worth checking out if the overheating issue is a software issue. Or, if the sleek model of Samsung watch 4 gets heated with extended use.
No such complaints have been reported for a Fitbit Sense smartwatch.
Appearance and Display
Samsung watch 4 is sleeker than Fitbit Sense. Below, we list some fundamental differences between a Fitbit Sense and a Samsung Watch 4, in terms of display and appearance:
- Samsung watch 4 weighs 30.3 g and a Fitbit Sense weighs 48.2 g. A Fitbit Sense is almost 60% heavier than a Samsung Watch 4, in terms of the weight of the watch.
- Samsung watch 4 has a better density of pixels at 455 ppi vs 301 ppi of Fitbit Sense
- Samsung Watch 4 is thinner at 9.8 mm, a Fitbit Sense is 12.4 mm thick.
- A Fitbit Sense has a display resolution of 336 px x 336 px; a Samsung watch has display resolution of 396 x 396 px for 40 mm model and 450 x 450 px for a 44 mm model.
If you were to choose on the basis of appearance, weight, and display quality, a Samsung watch 4 trumps a Fitbit Sense very comfortably.
Fitbit Premium features
A Fitbit Sense is based on the Fitbit operating system, while a Samsung watch 4 is based on the Wear OS version 3. Fitbit Sense’s basic set of features can be augmented by availing of a Fitbit Premium subscription service.
Fitbit Premiums costs $9.99 a month or nearly $79.99 for a one-time annual payment. Fitbit Premium is a useful service that offers exhaustive health monitoring features and workout sessions. It also gives you 90 days of health and watch data retention. Some of the better know features on Fitbit premium are:
- Daily Readiness score – an automated score that is generated on the basis of your body’s stress levels. This could be used as a baseline criteria on doing physically intensive exercise or outdoor activities. The Daily Readiness Score is just like the body battery scores that are available on a Garmin Fenix watch.
- Sleep monitoring and sleep score – Fitbit premium records sleep data and offers valuable insights into sleep tracking over a period of 90 days. It assigns a sleep score that is based on time asleep, Deep & REM stages and restoration stats. Sleep score is critically useful in measuring sleep quality.
- Blood glucose tracking – You can measure your blood glucose levels and avail a high level analytical report about the glucose levels over the past 30 days.
- Skin temperature through wrist measures has been made possible on the Fitbit Sense, through Fitbit Premium services. It is, otherwise, not available on the Fitbit app.
- Over 200 workout sessions are offered through the Fitbit Premium services.
- Over 200 mindful meditation sessions are available for mindful practices.
Fitbit premium on a Fitbit Sense tries to bring the Sense to acceptable levels of health and heart monitoring. It overcomes the severe limitations of the classic Fitbit app by offering features that would cater to stress management, sleep cycles, and extensive workout sessions.
Summary
Between a Fitbit Sense and Samsung Watch 4, both models have specific things going for each. A Samsung watch 4 is sleeker and looks and weighs better.
A Fitbit Sense is more like an all-rounder. It works with Android and iOS devices. And, it definitely has much more to offer for health monitoring than a Samsung Watch 4. Especially, if you were to use Fitbit Premium on a Fitbit Sense watch. The battery life of a Fitbit Sense is much better than Samsung Galaxy Watch 4.
You may also like to read the following content related to Fitbit Sense and Samsung Watch 4:
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- Daily Readiness Scores on Fitbit
- Fitbit operating system update 5.3 for Fitbit Sense and Fitbit Versa 3
- Apple watch 7 Vs Samsung watch 4 LTE 44 mm
Helen Kurt is a geeky nerd who loves to cover the wearables space. She has over 5 years of experience in the smartwatch domain. You can reach her on email at [email protected].