There’s a saying that good things come in small packages, and it rings true with the new Fitbit Inspire 3 – an affordable fitness tracker with a color AMOLED display and fantastic battery life. In a world of huge smartwatch screens and even higher power prices, this affordable little tracker is perfect for anyone looking to take their first steps into fitness, without a huge flashy wrist gimmick or a huge bump. in their pocket.
The Fitbit Inspire 2 was one of best cheap fitness trackers in the market, but was disappointed with its lackluster display. The new and improved Inspire 3 is the answer to that; the little tracker has had a facelift but is it worth the investment and how does it compare to some of the best fitness trackers and some of best Fitbits on the market? Read our Fitbit Inspire 3 review below to learn more.
Fitbit Inspire 3 review: Price and availability
The Fitbit Inspire 3 costs $99 / £84.99. It’s available for pre-order and will be released on September 22, 2022. The Fitbit unit itself is only available in black, but comes with three different band colors: black, lilac, and morning glow. The bracelet is available in two sizes: small and large. As with all the best Fitbits, there’s also a range of accessories, including metal bands and an exercise clip, that let you wear the tracker on your clothes during workouts.
Fitbit Inspire 3 Specifications
Price: $99.99
Cut: 1.5 x 0.7 x 0.5 inch
Display: AMOLED
Water resistance: 164 feet
GPS: Nope
Battery life: 10 days
The tracker comes with six months of Fitbit Premium – Fitbit’s subscription service that gives you access to deeper features, such as more in-depth sleep analytics data and Fitbit’s Daily Readiness Score. After six months, Fitbit Premium costs $9.99 / £7.99 per month, or $80 / £79.99 if you sign up for a one-year subscription. Is Fitbit Premium worth it? Here are the pros and cons.
Fitbit Inspire 3 review: Design
The Fitbit Inspire 3 looks just like its predecessor when you first take it out of the box – the tracker itself is about the same size, with the same rounded edges. It’s small and neat on the wrist, especially next to my Apple watch 7and is light enough that you can easily wear it 24/7 without really noticing it.
The main difference, however, is evident as soon as the Fitbit Inspire 3 turns on – the new model has a clear and bright AMOLED display. I immediately liked how the color of the screen matched the lilac of the strap and found it bright and easy to read, even in direct sunlight. As with the Fitbit Charge 5the brighter screen instantly gives the tracker a more premium feel, even though the price is the same.
Like the Fitbit Inspire 2, there are two haptic buttons on the side of the tracker, reducing the weight of the tracker and making it easier to navigate. Of course, the screen itself is quite small, especially compared to the likes of the new Apple Watch Ultra and the Galaxy Watch 5, but I’d say this little tracker isn’t designed for someone who wants to check their Whatsapp messages from their watch – I found the messages scrolling endlessly on the small screen, so I quickly turned off the notifications smart. Instead, it’s for someone looking to get a better look at their overall health, without being weighed down by a complicated tracker.
Fitbit Inspire 3 review: Fitness tracking
Like all the best Fitbits, the Fitbit Inspire 3 will track your heart rate, steps, calories, active zone minutes, stress, SpO2, and sleep, all for under $100. From a fitness perspective, you can load up to six different exercise shortcuts onto the watch, but there are 21 different options to choose from, including running, walking, cycling, kickboxing, Pilates , tennis and golf.
During an activity you can scroll and see live feedback on the watch, but on such a small screen that’s not the easiest thing to do. During testing, I preferred to start the activity and then clip the tracker to my sports bra. Again, you wouldn’t be training for a marathon with this watch – while running, I found the touchscreen wasn’t the most responsive when I had sweaty fingers, and the screen wasn’t not the easiest to see, but as a fitness tracker doesn’t have built-in GPS, I’d say it’s not designed to be a serious workout tool, so it would be wrong to rate it because of that.
When I wore the Fitbit alongside my Apple Watch 7 for a 30-minute Peloton ride, the heart rate data was roughly identical on both trackers. Both recorded an average heart rate of 142 beats per minute, with the Apple Watch reading my max heart rate at 168 and my Fitbit reading it at 163. I wish I had worn a chest strap now too, but my point is, both readings are incredibly similar and the Inspire 3 is a fraction of the price.
Like some of the other popular fitness trackers on the market, you can also set up a motion reminder on the watch, to save you from spending too much time sitting behind your desk. There are also weekly exercise goals to encourage you to exercise for five days of the week – Fitbit automatically recognizes common exercises like walking, running and cycling, and these all count towards reaching your objective.
Fitbit Inspire 3 review: Sleep and health tracking
Of course, a fitness tracker these days isn’t designed to track fitness alone, and Fitbit has, for a long time, been incredibly good at tracking sleep. The Inspire 3 is no different – I’ve been wearing it to track my sleep for a week and found it to work accurately the moment I fell asleep (rather than the 30 minutes I lay down in my bed scrolling through Instagram), and when I woke up at night.
The only thing that bothers me about Fitbit’s sleep tracking is that they put some of the most detailed information behind a paywall. While free Fitbit members can track their time spent sleeping, Fitbit Premium gives subscribers deeper insight into their sleep, along with a sleep score. The overall nighttime sleep score is based on your heart rate, the amount of time you spend awake or restless, and your sleep stages during the night. There are also guided programs to help you improve your sleep and have a better bedtime routine.
Sure, it’s an affordable tracker, so spending $9.99 a month to get more data isn’t the end of the world, but I feel like once you buy the tracker, you should be able to see all the data, as you can with the best Garmin watches and the best Apple watches.
In terms of health tracking, you can use the Fitbit Inspire 3 to track your water intake, weight changes, and your menstrual cycle. As a runner, I always love being able to see where I am in my menstrual cycle from my wrist, because I know that some days of the month I might not perform as well as others. I found Fitbit’s period tracking element impressive and appreciated the clear reminders on the Inspire 3.
Fitbit Inspire 3 review: Battery life
Fitbit says the Inspire 3 has up to 10 days of battery life, and I was intrigued to see if that worked, especially with the addition of the brighter colorful display. I used the Fitbit Inspire 3 pretty solidly, with the display always on, doing at least one workout a day, for a week, and ended up with the tracker at 10%. Pretty good, especially considering I’d been charging my Apple Watch 7 every night at that time (maybe that’s an unfair comparison – the Inspire 3 doesn’t have built-in GPS, so activities trackers don’t take too much of a toll on battery life, unlike the Apple Watch 7).
Obviously turning off the AOD could have extended the tracker’s battery life, but it’s still impressive. It also recharged from 10% to a full charge in just under two hours.
Fitbit Inspire 3 review: Verdict
The Fitbit Inspire 3 is a great, affordable fitness tracker for anyone looking to take their first steps into fitness or just want to better understand their overall health. The color screen upgrades this watch from good to great, and for the price, you won’t find a fitness tracker that tracks all the basics in such an attractive package.
That said, if you’re training for a run or looking for a Fitbit that will track your outdoor runs, it’s worth spending a bit more and investing in the Fitbit Charge 5, which has built-in GPS and an equally bright display. But if you’re looking for the best fitness tracker under $100, the Fitbit Inspire 3 should be at the top of your list.
