Fitbit Inspire 3 vs Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)

🗓️ Release Year

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: 2022

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): 2022



🏃 Activity

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: The Fitbit Inspire 3 delivers essential activity tracking, accurately logging steps, distance, and calories burned. Its Active Zone Minutes feature is particularly valuable, guiding users to optimize workout intensity by monitoring time spent in personalized heart rate zones. Real-time progress updates and configurable movement reminders actively support the user in achieving daily activity targets, promoting consistent engagement with fitness goals.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): The Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) offers the core Apple Watch activity tracking experience, making essential fitness monitoring accessible. It accurately records steps, distance, calories burned, and active minutes, utilizing the intuitive Move, Exercise, and Stand rings to encourage daily movement. It supports a variety of workout types with reliable metrics for tracking physical activity.



❤️ Health Monitoring

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Beyond basic heart rate monitoring via PurePulse technology, the Inspire 3 offers crucial health insights. Continuous 24/7 heart rate tracking provides valuable data on resting heart rate trends. Integrated SpO2 monitoring allows for tracking blood oxygen levels, a key indicator for overall wellness and potential sleep disturbances. The inclusion of guided breathing exercises provides practical tools for stress management, enhancing the device's holistic health focus.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): This device provides continuous heart rate monitoring and notifications for high or low heart rates and irregular heart rhythms. While it lacks some of the advanced sensors of higher-end models (like ECG and SpO2), it serves as a capable tool for monitoring foundational heart health and overall daily activity levels.



🔋 Battery Life

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: A standout feature is the exceptional battery life, offering up to 10 days on a single charge. This longevity minimizes downtime for charging, ensuring continuous tracking of activity and sleep, which is a significant advantage for users prioritizing uninterrupted data collection.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): The Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) provides up to 18 hours of battery life on a single charge under normal usage, consistent with the standard Apple Watch experience. This is sufficient for a full day of activity tracking and smart feature usage, typically requiring nightly charging.



😴 Sleep Tracking

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Advanced sleep stage tracking (light, deep, and REM) coupled with a comprehensive Sleep Score provides detailed insights into sleep architecture and quality. Personalized sleep recommendations empower users to identify areas for improvement. The Smart Wake function, utilizing subtle vibrations, aims to rouse users during an optimal sleep stage for a more refreshed start.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): Detailed sleep tracking is available on the Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), monitoring sleep stages (light, deep, and REM) and sleep duration within the Health app. This helps users gain insights into their sleep patterns and work towards better rest habits.



📍 GPS Tracking

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: While lacking integrated GPS, the Inspire 3 leverages connected GPS through a paired smartphone. This allows for accurate real-time pace and distance tracking during outdoor activities like running, walking, and cycling, providing essential data for these workouts when your phone is with you.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): With built-in GPS, the Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) accurately tracks outdoor activities like running, cycling, and hiking without needing a paired iPhone. It provides precise route mapping, pace, and distance data, essential for monitoring performance during outdoor workouts.



🏋️ Workout Modes

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Supporting a diverse range of activities, the Inspire 3 includes dedicated modes for running, cycling, swimming, yoga, HIIT, and strength training. These modes provide real-time statistics, such as heart rate, calorie expenditure, and active minutes, enabling users to monitor performance and optimize training efficiency.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): The Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) supports a wide variety of workout modes, including running, walking, cycling, swimming, yoga, hiking, and more. Users can select specific modes to get tailored real-time statistics and post-workout analysis within the Fitness app.



💫 Exercise Recognition

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: The implementation of SmartTrack technology provides seamless automatic detection and recording of common exercises, including walking, running, cycling, and elliptical training. This functionality ensures comprehensive activity logging, even when manual workout initiation is overlooked.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): The smartwatch features automatic exercise recognition for common activities such as walking, running, and cycling, ensuring that workouts are logged even if the user forgets to manually start tracking, providing a more complete record of physical activity.



🍎 Compatibility

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Ensuring broad accessibility, the Inspire 3 is compatible with both Android and iOS platforms, utilizing Bluetooth for synchronization. Google Fast Pair is supported for streamlined setup on Android devices, simplifying the initial connection process.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): Seamlessly integrating with the Apple ecosystem, the Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) requires an iPhone 8 or later running the latest iOS version for full functionality. It connects via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, offering tight integration with Apple Health and other Apple services.



📲 App Support

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: The Fitbit app serves as a robust central hub for comprehensive data analysis, offering detailed visualizations of activity, sleep patterns, and key health metrics. Seamless integration with popular third-party platforms such as Google Fit, Apple Health, MyFitnessPal, and Strava facilitates a unified fitness ecosystem.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): Leveraging the App Store, the Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) provides access to a vast ecosystem of third-party apps, enhancing its capabilities for fitness, productivity, communication, and entertainment, offering a comprehensive smartwatch experience at a more accessible price point.



💡 Smart Features

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Core smart functionalities include on-wrist notifications for calls, texts, and various applications, enhancing connectivity without requiring constant phone access. Essential utilities like Do Not Disturb mode, silent alarms, and customizable watch faces contribute to personalization and user convenience.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): As a capable smartwatch, the Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) provides comprehensive smart capabilities, including on-wrist notifications for calls, texts, emails, and apps. It supports Siri for voice commands, Apple Pay for contactless payments, and offers key safety features like Fall Detection and Crash Detection, providing peace of mind.



💦 Water Resistance

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: With a water resistance rating of 5 ATM (up to 50 meters), the Inspire 3 is engineered to withstand swimming, showering, and general water exposure. It effectively tracks swim duration and estimated calorie burn during water-based activities.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): With a WR50 water resistance rating, the Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) is suitable for swimming and showering, making it a durable companion for everyday wear and aquatic activities. It is capable of tracking swimming workouts.



⌚ Display Quality

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: The bright, full-color AMOLED touchscreen offers excellent visibility, even in challenging lighting conditions, and supports an always-on display mode for at-a-glance information access. Customizable clock faces allow users to tailor the visual interface to their preference.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): The Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) features a bright Retina LTPO OLED display. While it lacks the always-on capability of higher-end models, it offers sharp resolution and good brightness for clear visibility of notifications and stats when the wrist is raised.



👌 Ease of Use

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Featuring an intuitive touchscreen interface, the Inspire 3 is designed for straightforward navigation. The lightweight form factor combined with the user-centric Fitbit app ensures a frictionless experience for tracking and interpreting health and fitness data.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): The device offers an intuitive user interface with a combination of the responsive touchscreen, Digital Crown for precise scrolling, and a physical side button for navigation. The watchOS operating system provides a familiar and user-friendly experience with customizable watch faces and complications.



✨ Design and Comfort

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: The design prioritizes comfort and a modern aesthetic. Its slim and lightweight profile, coupled with a soft silicone band, is optimized for continuous wear. The availability of interchangeable bands in various materials allows for personalization to suit individual style and comfort preferences.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): The Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) features a sleek and familiar Apple Watch design with a lightweight aluminum case. It offers a comfortable fit for all-day wear and comes with a wide variety of interchangeable bands for personalization, providing the core Apple Watch aesthetic.



🩸 SpO2 Monitoring

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: The integrated SpO2 sensor provides valuable data on blood oxygen saturation levels during sleep, offering insights that can be indicative of respiratory function and overall well-being during rest.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): It is important to note that the Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) does not include SpO2 (blood oxygen monitoring) functionality.



💖 ECG Functionality

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: It is important to note that the Inspire 3 does not support ECG (Electrocardiogram) monitoring, a feature present in some higher-end models.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): It is important to note that the Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) does not support ECG (Electrocardiogram) functionality.



🧘 Stress Tracking

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Stress levels are monitored through the analysis of heart rate variability (HRV). The device provides access to guided breathing exercises, offering practical tools to help users manage stress and promote mindfulness.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): While not a dedicated stress tracking metric, the Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) contributes to overall well-being insights through features like Mindfulness and Breathe apps, heart rate variability (HRV) data (accessible in Health app), and sleep analysis, helping users understand aspects of their physiological state.



🩹 Recovery Tracking

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: The Daily Readiness Score provides a data-driven assessment of the body's recovery status, leveraging insights from sleep quality, recent activity levels, and heart rate variability to guide decisions on training intensity or necessary rest.

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): Recovery is primarily tracked through sleep analysis and insights provided within the Apple Health app based on workout data and heart rate variability (HRV). While it doesn't offer a dedicated recovery score, the collected data helps users gain a general understanding of their body's state.



💳 Subscription

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: Core functionalities are accessible without a subscription. However, access to advanced features, including in-depth sleep analytics, personalized health insights, and a wider array of guided workouts, necessitates a Fitbit Premium subscription ($9.99/month or $79.99/year).

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): No subscription is required to access the core features and data tracked by the Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) through the Apple Health and Fitness apps. Optional services like Apple Fitness+ require a separate subscription.



🏷️️ Price

1️⃣ Fitbit Inspire 3: $99.95

Check Fitbit Inspire 3 Price *

2️⃣ Apple Watch SE (2nd generation): $249.00

Check Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) Price *

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