Fitbit has cemented itself as one of the leading brands for fitness and activity tracking. From their first iterations to the most recent Fitbit Charge 5, they are the go-to choice for people that want to live an active lifestyle. While they all have a uniquely ‘Fitbit’ style, some people may want something a bit sleeker to wear every day. This is where the Fitbit Luxe enters the picture, a minimal looking wearable that packs all the features you know and love, delivering one of the cleaner looking devices you can currently buy.
The Fitbit Luxe is one of the smallest wearables the company makes and takes inspiration from previous trackers such as the Inspire 2. While the Fitbit Inspire 2 was a plastic device, the Luxe is a much more premium offering, delivering a stainless-steel casing that comes in black, gold and silver. It also has a stainless-steel buckle that gives the Luxe a much more clean, premium feel that many people will appreciate.
Offering two variants of the Luxe, buyers have the choice of a soft silicone band, or one with a gold-toned stainless steel link bracelet by jewelry designer Gorjana. Our test unit featured a black silicone band, and it was very comfortable to use, even over the long term of testing or while active. The buckle and band, even in silicone, looks sharp and clean, even if it is not quite as stylish as what Apple offers in their watch.
While the overall look of the Luxe feels very similar to past offerings, the screen is the real stand out. Past Fitbit devices are known to have monochrome OLED display, that while they get the job done, are not the most exciting thing to look at. The Fitbit Luxe mixes up the formula and offers a full color AMOLED with a 206 x 124 pixel resolution. Along with being beautiful to look at, the screen feels fast, responsive, and easy to use, even with the Luxe having no physical buttons.
As one would expect with a fitness tracker of this nature, the Luxe offers a myriad of watch faces to customize your experience. With both analog and digital designs, you should be able to get the Luxe looking the way you want thanks to the easy companion app. These faces include all the needed information you would hope from a wearable, with a few details like current heart rate also thrown into the mix to keep the fitness lovers happy.
“Along with being beautiful to look at, the screen feels fast, responsive, and easy to use, even with the Fitbit Luxe having no physical buttons.”
The Luxe feels very similar to past fitness trackers available from Fitbit, delivering fantastic performance and overall fitness routines that should keep most people happy. Fitbit has streamlined the process with each iteration, and that attention to detail is visible when you first set up the device. By default, the Luxe comes with six workouts. These are walk, run, swim, cycle, general workout, and treadmill, and these can be changed as you see fit. Sadly, there is a limit of six, but for most people, this is more than enough.
The size of the Fitbit Luxe makes it easy to wear for all kinds of activities, including running, Yoga, or your daily routine. As mentioned before, adjusting the activities it is set for is easy, in the app, you can swipe away ones you don’t want, and replace them for ones that you would use in your daily routine. It is good to see Fitbit make the process as painless as possible, and that is further exemplified by SmartTrack, a feature that will detect and monitor activities without you telling the Luxe you are active. It is a great way to monitor your daily routines even if you forget to tell the tracker to do so.
Heart Rate worked as well as past trackers, delivering very similar results to other trackers we have tested in the past. Due to the size of the Luxe, and the fact it uses optical technology, you may face some interference based on what you are doing. This being said, it was no worse than other devices we have used and should be good for most people’s needs. As always, it is good to remember that while the Fitbit is a good benchmark to see your heart rate, it is always better to have a medical device at the ready should you need precise results.
It also works well for running or other outdoor activities, but due to the simple fact that it has no built-in GPS, if you want to have the best possible readings, you will want to pair the Luxe with your phone. As a stand-alone device, it will get the job done, but you will not have details on the routes taken or more granular information about the specific runs. This is a minor gripe but one to take into consideration when purchasing this premium offering.
On paper, the Fitbit Luxe offers around five days of battery life, and in testing this felt true. Granted, this could vary based on what activities you do daily, and if it is connected to your phone’s GPS, but overall, I was impressed by what the Luxe delivers, especially for a device this small that has a screen that looks as good as it does.
Fitbit has a winner with the Luxe. It is a powerful fitness tracker that delivers style and performance in a very small package. With a fantastic build, and a host of features on offer, if you are in the market for a new fitness device, it is hard to deny the style and simplicity Fitbit has delivered, and top that off with the added workouts and updates the company keeps delivering with their premium service, it is hard to deny the Luxe is a great offering and is a must own at the $150 USD price tag.
