Fitbit Inspire 3 Fitness Tracker – Tiny package, big Value

Fitness trackers have come a hell of a long way in a very short time. A case in point is Fitbit’s Inspire 3. Not only is it more affordable than their Luxe fitness tracking bands, the Versa 4 and Sense 2, but it also comes with a pile of upgrades over the Inspire 2.

From a design perspective, the Inspire 3’s compact, lightweight and super-slim design makes it more of a fitness tracker than a smartwatch. Its fit is so comfy and unobtrusive that when plonking on my wrist, I lost count of the number of times I forgot I was even wearing it.

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One downside with earlier Inspire models was their display. Fitbit has remedied this by adding a colour AMOLED touchscreen that adds improved readability into the mix, greatly extending the Inspire 3’s usability. As crisp and vivid as the AMOLED display is, it’s small. For reading longer notifications (such as email alerts), I found it too cramped to be useful. At a glance, however, it was more than ample for fitness stats.

Fitbit has stuck with the haptic-style button built into the side of the Inspire 3’s case. In use, they work well and, as with earlier models, will take you back to the home screen. While its design is good, Fitbit has shot itself in the foot by using a silicone strap. While the strap is easily removed, and there are lots of (costly) third-party straps available, the silicone strap is a skin irritant. If I worked up a sweat, I’d develop a rash under the strap, meaning I couldn’t wear the Inspire off for a day or two. Call me a grumpy old cynic, but this limited its usefulness somewhat. How about alloy or leather straps, Fitbit?

The Inspire doesn’t use the Fitbit OS as found on the Versa or Sense 2 smartwatches. Still, its user interface is sufficiently intuitive that you won’t need a manual. It uses the standard Fitbit mobile app (iOS/Android). The setup process on my Oppo Find X5 Pro was sufficiently pain-free and idiot-proof that even I got it right first time. While you get fewer smartwatch features such as contactless payments and smart assistants/apps, you do get an affordable sticker price and ultra-petite form factor and a shit tonne of nifty fitness/health tracking capabilities.

There are still a pile of useful features baked in. I appreciated being able to view notifications, even if I had to stop what I was doing and swipe the screen to fully read them. Setting a silent vibrating alarm is handy, and I lost count of the times I used the “Find my phone” feature. I also liked that I could customise the Inspire 3’s look by adding one of the 21 different clock faces.

The Inspire 3 offers plenty on the fitness and health tracking front. Much of its health/fitness tracking chops come from its comprehensive array of sensors. There’s a 3-axis accelerometer for tracking movement/sleep. There’s an optical heart rate sensor plus sensors for measuring blood oxygen levels and a GPS as well as a thermometer for tracking your body temperature.

To get the most out of all those sensors, you’ll need to sign up for the free trial (and then, after 6 months, pay to use the Fitbit Premium subscription service). You will get Daily Readiness Scores, video workouts, detailed sleep analytics and mindfulness sessions with it. Much of this stuff is free on other fitness trackers from players like Huawei or Samsung which, along with the silicone strap, held the Inspire 3’s score back a tad.

With basics like counting steps and monitoring your sleep/heart rate, the Inspire 3 shines. As you’d expect from Fitbit, you also get reminders to haul your lazy ass off the sofa.

Its comfy design meant it could be worn to bed and not be a distraction, allowing it to gather sleep data. Thanks to Fitbit’s premium trial, sleep data was insightful. It told me how long I’d slept (not long enough) and what the quality of my sleep was (terrible). Heart rate measurements were comparable to my Huawei watch D, and it detected atrial fibrillation. This handily meant it’d tell me when the upper chambers of my heart decided to hold their own dance party.

The other wellness metrics tracked are comprehensive. Breathing, heart rate variability, skin temperature, oxygen saturation and resting heart rate are all captured and recorded. Fitbit also has stress management scores and guided relaxation sessions. These are standard features and don’t need a premium subscription. Your stress levels are scored out of 100, and a higher score is better. As you’d expect from a Fitbit, you also get a metric tonne of workout tracking features. You can track walks, runs, cycling and swims (the Fitbit Inspire 3 is water resistant up to 50 metres), all of which contribute to Active Zone Minutes. What I really liked was its ability to automatically detect exercise activity.

I managed to wring just over 10 days of use between charges, but that was without the screen set to always-on mode (when I tried that, I got around four days of use). Charging it up wasn’t all that onerous, taking two hours to go from 0-100% charged. Annoyingly, Fitbit decided to stick with the small proprietary charging cradle, which is easily lost. Here’s hoping they eventually adopt Qi wireless charging.

Fitbit’s Inspire 3 not only comes with a colour screen but is also incredibly affordable. It might not have some of the latest smartwatch features. Still, Fitbit has managed to cram a surprising number of useful fitness tracking goodness, making it decent value for money.

https://www.fitbit.com/global/nz/products/trackers/inspire3