Fitbit Luxe Tracker Review: Pros and Cons of the Device

2022-10-10 18:14:20 By : Ms. Kyra Yu

In my experience, people tend to have strong opinions about fitness trackers: Either they relish the opportunity to gain insight into their health or they're completely opposed to diving into all those numbers. Truthfully, I'm somewhere in the middle. I want to know how my body recuperated from a stressful day, but I don't want my wristband to vibrate every time I spend a prolonged period slouching at my desk.

I figured the Fitbit Luxe might suit my tastes as a relatively affordable fitness tracker option from a popular brand that counts some of my friends and family members as fans. I also hoped their latest tracker would include adjustable customization options so I could easily zoom in on the data I actually cared about (read: more info on my sleep habits, less analytics around water intake). I put the device to the test to find out if that was the case.

Setting up the device required some troubleshooting, but that was on me since I hadn't updated my phone's operating system in ages. Once I'd figured out the issue with Fitbit's easy-to-reach tech support, I set up the device. Then, I wore the Fitbit Luxe for seven weeks, keeping it on during sleep, near-daily workouts, and everything in between. I only took it off to shower, which, FTR, wasn't necessary since the device is water resistant up to 50 meters (about 165 feet).

In the Fitbit app, you'll find statistics for the day, including activity four rings to fill similar to those you'll see on the Apple Watch. The rings correspond with your steps, miles, calories burned, and "Active Zone Minutes," aka the number of minutes you spent with your heart rate at 111 beats per minute or higher. I personally found that they were ambitious numbers to hit — I never managed to close all four rings on a single day — but you can adjust your daily goals to whatever feels right for your lifestyle and activity level.

Throughout these almost two months, I also had access to features that are only available to Fitbit premium members who pay for an annual or monthly premium subscription. Signing up for the premium membership unlocks insights and content, including various additional sleep analytics, a daily readiness score (an indication of how ready your body is for a workout), mindfulness audio clips, virtual walking/running races, step-based challenges, and recipe videos.

While non-premium users have access to 20 workout videos from Fitbit, Physique57, Daily, and more, a premium membership includes hundreds of workouts. I followed along with a few stretching videos and listened to some meditations for sleep, but I mainly wore my Fitbit Luxe while performing my own workouts. The wearable does a decent job of picking up on your activity automatically once you start moving so that you don't have to bother manually logging them. On the downside, the Fitbit Luxe is not always accurate in guessing what you were up to. For example, the fitness tracker detected that I was walking or using an elliptical when I was actually lifting weights.

The device has additional features you might be curious about even if you're not interested in recording your exercise. It has a period tracking feature, which informs you about your average cycle length and average estimated ovulation and predicts when your next period will start. With a stress management feature, you have the option to input how you're feeling on a scale of very calm to very stressed at any point during the day. I logged my stress levels several times, including when I felt exceptionally zen after a morning meditation or overwhelmed about my to-do list. That gave the device the touch points it needed to start providing a daily stress management score, letting me know how well my body recovered from stress on a given day based on changes in my heart rate, my physical activity, and sleep patterns. You can also use the Fitbit Luxe to log your weight and food and water intakes, which I did not utilize.

As someone who hates the thought of a tracker clashing with my outfit, I appreciated that plenty of Fitbit Luxe replacement bands are available, both from Fitbit and third-party brands. I alternated between the included silicone band, which let me twin with my coworker, and a silver stainless steel band that I thought was more suited for dressier clothes. You can also choose from graphite or platinum stainless steel or gold watch heads.

Given the relatively low price of the device, I was surprised by the number of features it includes, albeit most require a paid subscription. You can really get granular with tracking and analyzing your health metrics, looking into how your resting heart rate, oxygen saturation, breathing rate, and heart rate variability (HRV) change over time. I'd imagine this level of detail could be useful to an athlete who wants to optimize their training and recovery, even though I personally find the overall readiness score (which is informed by your activity, sleep, and HRV) sufficient.

Fitbit's approach to a sleep report is unique in that it pairs you with one of six animals based on your sleep style over the course of the month. While I'm a tortoise since I spend a lot of time in bed overall, my coworker found out she's a giraffe, an animal that hits the right ratio of deep and REM sleep, despite a shorter overall sleep duration, according to the app.

The Fitbit Luxe and other Fitbit devices will also stand out to those who want to use an activity tracker as a pseudo-accountability buddy. Not only can you earn badges for reaching certain milestones, but you can also add friends and create groups with fellow Fitbit users to send encouragement. You'll find a more extensive selection of groups than you would with other trackers, ranging from "Stress Less" and "New Moms" to "Vegetarian" and "New York."

Thanks to its flexibility, the Fitbit Luxe suited my needs, but I feel like it'd also appeal to people who want to rely more heavily on a fitness tracker than I do. You can commit to a premium membership and sign up for challenges, track every ounce of water you drink, and find recipe inspiration. Or, you can narrow your focus to closing your rings, tuning into your body as your primary guide to how you structure your activity.

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