A Complete Fitbit Luxe Review: This Solid Tracker's Deluxe Price Delivers On Looks, Not Features

The Fitbit Luxe looks just what its name suggests. In black, golden, &''' silvery stainless steel, it can be paired with various attractive clothes, and it comes with various elegant accessory bands. Of Fitbit's offerings, this is the tiniest and least noticeable model—it has a slim, narrow design that sits comfortably on your wrist. Nonetheless, this more costly version of Fitbit's Inspire 2 watch has a more sophisticated look. You won't benefit from this new model's increased glamour if you're a fitness fan. It's much worse than the Inspire 2 when it comes to performance, thanks to a few major hardware changes. Below is a complete Fitbit Luxe review: This solid tracker's deluxe price delivers on looks, not features:

Good Looks, But Not Many High-End Features

The 0.75-inch color AMOLED display, around the same length and width as the Fitbit Inspire 2's monochromatic PMOLED panel but on a smaller body, is among the Fitbit Luxe's most noticeable advances. (The Luxe is somewhat shorter, broader, and slimmer than the Fitbit Inspire 2, at 1.42 x 0.68 x 0.4 inches or 36.2 x 17.5 x 10.3 mm.) At first impression, the screen seems to be clear and bright, allowing for simple reading.

Luxe's user interface, on the other hand, completely ruins the display's allure. (The Luxe's interface is a common gripe; we'll get to it in a moment.) When it comes to font size and word wrapping, it's almost funny. Message alerts are where you'll see this the most; there's usually simply one word for every line. Unlike some other Fitbit devices with restricted screen real estate, I lost patience and struggled to catch up with conversations or email. It would've been helpful if there was an alternative for smaller letters or narrower line spacing.

Touch-only controls on the Luxe are another issue. It may seem like a good idea to remove the side buttons, but they make menu navigating more difficult. On certain devices, you have to need to do double tapping on the screen in order to return to the previous menu. No matter how hard you try, tapping and swiping don't always work the first time. Because you'll be interacting with your tracker on a regular basis, emphasizing aesthetics over functionality is out of the question. To utilize the gadget, you must do the same actions over and over again.

The SpO2 sensor is the only Luxe addition that meets our needs. Most individuals will be able to get a basic sense of how their health is changing based on blood oxygen level measurements. However, the precision of this device falls short of that of a pulse oximeter. When compared to a pulse oximeter, the Luxe indicated my oxygen saturation as being three to four percent lower. However, Luxe has a distinct edge in terms of style. You don't have to take off your nail paint as you would with a pulse oximeter to get a good reading.

Excellent Fitness Monitoring and Long Battery Life

Despite its lack of flashy hardware features, the Luxe does a fantastic job tracking your vigorous exercise and overall health. The tech in fitness bands and smartwatches has advanced sufficiently to show you how effectively you're doing in terms of things like distance traveled, pulse rate, nap, and so on.

With the Luxe, you can monitor your steps, pulse rate, and sleep phases, as well as your period health and the "Active Zone" moments (the period when your pulse rate rises to the point where your activity qualifies as moderate or high). It is possible to monitor certain activities, such as walking and running, using an app but don't rely on precise results. As with every other fitness tracker I've tried in the last eight years, the Luxe failed to recognize my strength training sessions. There were two separate workouts recorded: one for swimming and one for aerobics.

The Luxe has an IPX8 certification and can withstand water immersion up to 50 meters. Submersion in water has no effect on this tracker; however, it can have an adverse effect on your skin. Luxe uses phone-based GPS to plot your path and estimate your speed while you're riding. Tap on the activity under the Exercise option and slide down to turn it on &''' off for walks, sprints, and bike rides.

The Inspire 2 costs less and has a battery life of up to 10 days, so the five days you will get from this device is decent but not as long as the Inspire 2. Battery life suffers greatly when switching to a color display. During my two months of using the Luxe, I could go as many as eight or nine days between active sessions (just daily walks). However, Fitbit trackers with minimal activity frequently have longer battery lives, so that's not a feature unique to the Luxe.

A Too Simple User Interface

To live up to its moniker of Luxe, you'd anticipate its user interface to be just as sleek. When it comes to the user interface, the Luxe is no different from the rest of Fitbit's trackers. When you touch the screen, the menus respond quickly, and they're simple enough that you won't need the instructions to figure them out. Simply slide up, down, or sideways to access your phone's various data, settings, and applications. Unfortunately, there is no way to customize any of the user interface elements. It's possible to delete the SpO2 app from your phone's list of applications to limit swiping, but only six apps are available for the Luxe. You can't reorganize them, so you're left with what initially displays when you flicker to the left or right on your screen.

For example, Fitbit doesn't provide universal clock faces; thus, Luxe's clock face possibilities are limited. Because most clocks display just one stat, you'll have to settle with a face that focuses on looks rather than utility. For additional information, you'll need to touch the screen. It's become my habit to alter the clock face according to my current state of mind, which is quite inconvenient. It doesn't happen quickly.

Conclusion

The Luxe costs $50 more than the Inspire 2, but it still falls short of the Charge 5 in regards of tracking quality. Even with technological enhancements, you're paying for improved aesthetics. Fitbit's Luxe offers comparable monitoring, but it also has a more attractive design, which is a plus if you're like me and want to wear your watch even when fashion isn't an issue. This premium resort's concentration on superficial glamour is a genuine pity since it neglects enhancements that might improve the experience's value.