Are you trying to become more active but just can’t get motivated? Maybe you need a little help. Sometimes being able to track and be accountable for your progress can give you the nudge you need, and if that doesn’t work, getting reminders to get up and take a few steps can also prove motivating.
Fitbit Inspire Review
For many years, Fitbit has been at the forefront of fitness and activity trackers, and they keep right on innovating and redesigning their wrist bands. The newest is the simple, sleek and infinitely wearable Fitbit Inspire.
What is Fitbit Inspire?
Fitbit Inspire is Fitbit’s newest budget activity and sleep tracker that you wear on your wrist. At $99 it’s the least expensive Fitbit you can get now and it puts it in reach of many consumers. The tracker comes with a basic silicone band and a simplified monochromatic touchscreen display.
Read the Fitbit Aria2 wireless smart scale review here.
You can upgrade to Inspire HR with heart rate tracking for about $129CAD, and you can also customize the different bands to add just the colours and styles you want to match either your workout or your wardrobe.
In the box, your Fitbit Inspire includes:
Tracker with small wristband (color and material vary)
Charging cable
Additional large wristband
Setting up Fitbit Inspire
Usually, set up will be a simple process. Before you do it, make sure your Fitbit app is up to date, or download it from the Apple store or Google Play.
If you already have a Fitbit tracker installed on your account, that could complicate your set up. The last couple of times I’ve added a new tracker, the app won’t ‘see’ the new device. Reboot the app, reset the tracker by pushing and holding the side button and try again. You may also need to remove any existing device from your account and restart the app before you can set up the new one.
To begin setup, plug your tracker in. Go to Settings> Add Device> and then choose Inspire. The app will search for the device, so keep it close. You may also need to install a firmware update. It took quite a while to set up the device and install the update when I did it, so be prepared.
When it’s all ready, the app will tell you and you’ll see the current time displayed.Strap it on and get moving!
You can turn on ‘move reminders’ that will nudge you if you’ve been sitting too long, and you can also set silent alarms that will buzz you at certain times too. There’s so many ways to get you moving.
What can Fitbit Inspire do?
Since Inspire is what you could call an entry level Fitbit, it doesn’t have the bells and whistles of some of the other Fitbit devices. And that may be just fine for some of you. Using either the touchscreen to swipe through the screens on the device or the app you can see your progress at any time.
Fitbit Inspire will:
Track Activity, Track Sleep, Help you set and meet goals and give you extra motivation.
This Fitbit will not track your floors climbed, Sleep Stages (REM, deep, Lite) Swimming (but you can wear it in the water), or heart rate.
It will give you call, text and calendar alerts direct to your wrist, but you can’t reply to them or respond; you’ll need to go to your phone for that. It also doesn’t support Fitbit Pay.
To get alerts you’ll need to make sure your Bluetooth is on on your phone,a nd you’ll need to turn on ‘All Day Sync’ in settings.
How to Calibrate & Customize your Fitbit
One final tip; you can calibrate your Fitbit to count your exact steps, not a universal average as many other fitness trackers do. To calibrate your steps and adjust stride length go to Settings> Advanced Settings> Stride Length. You can choose to have it configured automatically or to input your specific stride length. I’ve found doing this makes Fitbit wildly accurate.
You can also change the clock face in Settings as well, choosing simple displays and fonts or the option of showing more data.
What does Fitbit app do?
The Fitbit app is your command centre for all your stats. You can check your steps, sleep, and exercise at a glance. You can also sync it to a Fitbit scale like the Aria 2 and have it automatically track your weight.
Read the Fitbit Aria2 wireless smart scale review here.
The Fitbit app launched female health tracking also not too long ago. It can track your periods and fertile days as well as other things like mood and any symptoms. Once you start adding your cycle, the app can give you an idea when your period will fall in the future.
In the app you can also add goals like how much sleep you want to get, and choose if you want your Fitbit to remind you it’s getting close to bed time.
How’s battery life on Fitbit Inspire?
A fully-charged Inspire has a battery life of up to about 5 days. The battery is definitely long lasting and doesn’t need as much attention as something like a smart watch, which is nice. It charges up by clipping into a small cradle and plugging into a USB port. Charging fully takes about 1-2 hours. While the tracker charges, you can press the button to check the battery level. A fully-charged tracker shows a solid battery icon with a smile.
Fitbit Versa Review: read it next!
Reading the screen
While the screen on the Inspire is small, it’s easy enough to read. Plus you can change the font size somewhat to make it easier if you need to.
Swiping through the screens you can see your steps, calories, active minutes, and total kilometres.
Who is Fitbit Inspire for?
Who is Fitbit Inspire for?Inspire’s price tag makes it an entry level tracker. Plus, it doesn’t boast the colour display of some more expensive models. This version is definitely for those looking for something unobtrusive and not obvious to wear so they can keep tabs on Fitness.
Accuracy of Fitbit Sleep & Steps
How accurate is Fitbit Inspire? I’ve used numerous Fitbit devices over the years and found them very accurate. You can easily test it by counting your steps in your head and comparing that against the readout. If it’s off at all, just adjust your stride length inside the Fitbit app.
As for sleep, I found it also very accurate, calculating my sleep stages to match when I might have woken up in the night. I’ve tried numerous Fitbits and especially when calibrated, they’re the most accurate fitness and activity tracker (or smartwatch) I’ve ever used.
Overall review of Fitbit Inspire
Overall Fitbit Inspire gives you most of the smart features you want and all of the fitness and activity tracking you need. I’ve recommended Fitbits for a long time, because they’re easy to set up and use and they work well, have a long battery life and they’re accurate as all get out, so I can recommend this one too. If there’s any downsides, it’s just what this one is missing because it’s a smaller, cheaper option; things like Fitbit Pay so you can leave the wallet at home, plus heart rate tracking. The screen is also pretty small, but again, these are all things you can get as you step up the Fitbit device ladder; this one is all about your budget.
It sells for about $119 CAD from places like Best Buy or Amazon.
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