The "Your Fitbit Ionic is running low on battery" notification arrived on my phone and in my inbox at the same time around one yesterday afternoon, suggesting I take a moment to charge my smartwatch.

Incredible battery life

Ugly design and buggy software

For as long as it could, Fitbit tried to avoid using the word 'smartwatch'. Even when it introduced the Blaze two years ago, which was more or less a smartwatch in terms of its shape and features, Fitbit declined to call it that.

Superb battery life; Built-in GPS works great; Light; Waterproof; can track swims; Fitbit OS is easy to use

Lack of third-party apps; Can't reply to notifications; Proprietary charging cable

Does not have basic features that I really expected from smart watch, for example, "find my phone" is not available in fitbit. Only exclusive oxygen sensor does not add any value, because, per customer support only installed for a future use. Music player is very limited, e.g.

A gigantic first step towards the smartwatch market from Fitbit, but is also plagued with some issues and missing features.

Looks; New functions are great; Built-in storage for music

Very finicky step counter; Prevailing Bluetooth issues

The Fitbit Ionic is an admirable first attempt to rival the likes of Apple, Google and Samsung on the fitness tracker-cum-smartwatch front, but it's definitely much further from the latter. Its software lacks the polish its physical design shows, and app support is sparse at present.

It's surprising how long it has taken for Fitbit to launch a smartwatch. Focussing on budget or mid range fitness trackers, we finally got the Blaze in 2016 which had a smartwatch like interface but none of the capabilities.

Payments made easy Fitbit Ionic includes a built-in NFC chip, which lets you store and use your credit cards right on the watch with just a few simple swipes. The above is the claim in the product description on the John Lewis website.

When I say know, obviously I didn't know about the problem until after I had purchased it. But after the first use with huge distance errors I searched the internet and found a Fitbit Community help page for the GPS problem that went back to October of 2017.The problem is that somehow Fitbit...

While Fitbit has long excelled and dominated in the fitness tracker space, the Fitbit Ionic is the brand's first truly smartwatch-focused device. It is meant to go head-to-head with the likes of

Large screen; Good battery life for capabilities; Robust fitness and sleep tracking tools; Built-in GPS; Swim-proof; Inactivity reminders; Contact payment functionality; Guided breathing sessions

Limited app integration; Design can be somewhat polarizing

Fitbit Ionic is Fitbit's take on its first smartwatch. It is definitely the Fitbit that we all love, with smartwatch capabilities like apps, app notifications, music storage, and even contactless payment.