Fitbit and Apple are two of the biggest players in the smartwatch space. In late 2020, both companies released new flagship smartwatches – the Fitbit Sense and Apple Watch Series 6 – packed with health sensors and smart features.
For consumers trying to decide between these popular watches, there are a lot of factors to weigh. This in-depth guide will compare the Sense and Apple Watch 6 across all the key categories – from design and displays to fitness tracking, smartwatch capabilities and value.
Brief Background
Fitbit released its first fitness tracker in 2009 and has grown into a household name for activity tracking. The $329 Sense is Fitbit‘s most advanced smartwatch to date, with sensors capable of tracking metrics like skin temperature and stress levels.
Apple entered the smartwatch market in 2015 with the first Apple Watch. The Apple Watch Series 6 (starting at $399) is the latest iteration, adding blood oxygen monitoring and other enhancements.
Design and Displays
The Fitbit Sense and Apple Watch 6 share a square design with digital displays, but there are some differences when it comes to materials, size options and durability.
The Sense has a stainless steel ring around a 40mm aluminum watch body with an Always-On 1.58" AMOLED display protected by Gorilla Glass 3. It has a sleek, uniform look and is lightweight at just 33 grams. The Sense has a 50m water resistance rating.
The Apple Watch 6 aluminum model has a 40mm or 44mm watch body and slightly slimmer profile. It uses Ion-X glass on the 40mm size or harder Sapphire Crystal on larger sizes. The LTPO OLED display is bright at up to 1000 nits and has an Always-On option. Water resistance is also rated to 50m.
Overall, the Sense has a nice streamlined design but the Apple Watch offers more customization with two size options and premium material upgrades like stainless steel or titanium. The Series 6 also has a slimmer, more watch-like profile on wrist.
Health, Fitness and Sensors
As advanced smartwatches with fitness tracking features, both the Sense and Apple Watch 6 are equipped with a range of sensors to monitor health metrics. There are some key differences in the specific sensors included:
Heart Rate – Both use LED lights to track continuous heart rate. Apple‘s 3rd generation optical sensor is more accurate in tests.
SpO2 – Measures blood oxygen levels. Apple uses red/infrared while Fitbit has red/infrared/infrared.
ECG App – Can take on-demand ECG readings to detect signs of atrial fibrillation. Available on both models.
EDA Scan App – Unique to Fitbit Sense, tracks electrodermal activity to assess stress.
Skin Temperature – Also exclusive to the Fitbit Sense, provides overnight skin temp tracking.
Other Sensors – Apple includes an always-on altimeter; Fitbit hasgyroscope/brightness sensor.
Overall, the Sense brings more unique health sensors to the table. But Apple’s existing heart rate, SpO2 and ECG sensors perform better for accuracy. Both provide an excellent range of health tracking abilities.
Smartwatch Features
As smartwatches, the Sense and Apple Watch 6 serve up notifications, music controls, contactless payments and access to built-in apps and third-party apps. There are some differences:
Notifications – Both receive call, text and smartphone app notifications. Sense shows basic info which can‘t be actioned on the watch. Apple gives more interaction ability.
Music – The Sense provides music controls for Pandora or Deezer. Apple Watch allows offline music storage for playback without phone.
Payments – Fitbit Pay and Apple Pay allow for contactless payment transactions.
Voice Assistants – With the Series 6 you can dictate messages or set reminders via Siri. No voice control on the Sense.
Apps – Thousands more apps available for Apple Watch vs Sense. But Sense gives access to popular apps like Starbucks, Strava, Weather.
Battery Life – Sense lasts 6+ days while Apple Watch 6 needs near-daily charging.
The Apple Watch‘s deeper integration with iOS, App Store and services like Siri and Apple Music give it significantly more versatility and functionality overall as a daily smartwatch. But the Sense still handles all the basics – notifications, payments, music and apps – perfectly well.
Fitness Tracking and Motivation
As successors to popular fitness trackers, both the Sense and Apple Watch excel at all-day activity tracking. Key features for active users include:
Workout Tracking – Very robust workout detection for runs, rides and other exercise on both watches. Apple provides more advanced metrics for some workout types.
GPS – Onboard GPS allows pace and route mapping without phone. Available on all Apple Watch 6 and Sense models except basic Sense.
Active Zone Minutes – Sense exclusive metric tracks time spent in fat burn, cardio or peak zones. Helps optimize intensity.
Sleep Tracking – Both automatically track sleep stages plus SpO2 via Sense and heart rate via Apple Watch 6.
24/7 Tracking – Steps, calories, hourly movement, resting heart rate all monitored continuously.
When it comes to motivating users to stay active, Apple and Fitbit take different approaches. The Apple Watch uses colorful Activity Rings show progress towards Move, Exercise and Stand daily goals. Fitbit has traditional metric-based dashboards but emphasizes motivation through community challenges.
For casual fitness fans, the Apple Watch provides enough data to stay motivated and ample workout tracking. But the Sense offers more advanced health metrics and deeper community features that appeal to devoted health seekers.
Smartwatch Ecosystems and Phone Compatibility
The Sense was designed for Android users while the Apple Watch is optimized for iOS. But both work with either OS:
Android – Sense seamlessly connects for notifications, apps, music and payments. Apple Watch works with Android for basic activity tracking and notifications but lacks deeper integration.
iOS – Apple Watch has extremely tight integration with Apple services like iMessage, Siri, Apple Pay etc on iPhone. Sense functions fine for notifications/tracking but lacks native app integration.
So while technically cross-compatible, each smartwatch is better suited for either iOS or Android based on the level of integration with each mobile OS and its native apps/services.
Conclusions – Which Smartwatch is Best For You?
Both the Fitbit Sense and Apple Watch Series 6 stand out as top-tier smartwatches that deftly combine comprehensive activity tracking and health monitoring with useful smart features.
For iPhone users who want the deepest integration with iOS apps and services – or anyone who prioritizes music storage, voice assistant access or the largest app selection – the Apple Watch 6 is the best choice.
For Android users, athletes focused on metrics and recovery insights or anyone intrigued by stress or skin temp tracking – the Fitbit Sense makes more sense.
Both are impressive innovations that push the capabilities of wearable technology forward. So rest assured with either smartwatch choice, your wrist will be armed with an advanced health and fitness partner.
