Pitting Galaxy Watch 4 against Fitbit Sense is an unlikely comparison. One is round, most up-to-date, and is expensive, the other has a square design, a year’s old, and is comparatively affordable. However, both claim to be full-fledged health watches having a flurry of hot sensors.
Fitbit Sense has direct competition with Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 as their health and fitness features overlap. Galaxy Watch 4 comes with an additional sensor, namely BIM, that gives it a definitive edge.
Interesting Fact: As Fitbit is now owned by Google, the future watches by the company would feature Wear OS 3.0, the same we have in GW4. As soon as this happens, Fitbit & Samsung watches would have more in common than at any point in history.
We are starting this comparison with a presumption that the Galaxy Watch 4 would beat the Fitbit Sense in all battles. The Galaxy Watch4 banner has essentially two watches namely Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. For the sake of this comparison, we would take only the former as its price tag is closer to that of Fitbit Sense.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at the general comparison of these watches.
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General Comparison:
Table of Contents
Galaxy Watch 4 vs Fitbit Sense: Price and Value Difference
As we pen down this comparison, the Fitbit Sense is available at $249 offering a $50 discount on its original price. There is only one size available that leaves out room for confusion.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 has two sizes and has LTE and Bluetooth models. The smaller 40mm GW4 is starting at $250 (for Bluetooth model), and goes all the way up to 300 USD (40mm, LTE variant).
So Fitbit Sense offers absolutely nothing in savings against GW4, which is clearly not a very lucrative offer. Especially when the latter is offering up-to-date tech and the future-proof operating system.
Design & Display:
Design Comparison:
| Fitbit Sense | Samsung Galaxy Watch4 | |
| Dimensions, Weight | 40.48 x 40.48 x 12.35mm 45.9-48.2g | Galaxy Watch 4: 44mm: 44.4 x 43.3 x 9.8mm, 30.3g40mm: 40.4 x 39.3 x 9.8mm, 25.9g Galaxy Watch 4 Classic: 46mm: 45.5 x 45.5 x 11.0mm, 52g42mm: 41.5 x 41.5 x 11.2mm, 46.5g |
| Band Size | 20mm strap | 20mm strap |
| Build materials | aluminum case, stainless steel ring for ECG | Stainless Steel (Galaxy Watch 4 Classic) & Aluminum casing with silicone strap |
| Colors | Sense: Carbon/Graphite stainless steel, Lunar White/Soft Gold stainless steel | Galaxy Watch 4 (44mm: Black, Green, Silver | 40mm: Black, Pink Gold, Silver) Galaxy Watch4 Classic (46mm: Black, Silver | 42mm: Black, Silver) |
| Waterproofing | 5 ATM (up to 50m) | 5 ATM (up to 50m) + MIL-STD-810G |
In the looks department, Fitbit sense and Galaxy Watch 4 seem a world apart.
Fitbit has a square face with a rounded edge. The aluminum case with stainless steel ring gives it a premium look, with an indented haptic button on the side. There is only one size available which seems to be favorable for those with small wrists. However, you get plenty of colors and finishes to choose from.
Most Fitbit watches, like Sense, come with an Infinity Band strap, which is made from soft silicone with no hard buckles or catches. The band is highly comfortable and you might not even feel it on your wrist. You can easily swap them for third-party straps.
Like most Fitbits, the Sense is supplied with two bands to fit a range of wrist sizes. The smaller band fits wrists 5.5-7.1 inches in circumference, while the larger one fits wrists 7.1-8.7 inches in circumference.
Its screen is protected with gorilla glass protection, whereas the watch is protected against water for up to 50m (5 ATM rated).
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 has a round dial that resembles the Galaxy Watch Active 2 released years ago. It is on the slimmer side and sits comfortably on your wrist. There is no rotating bezel like the G4 classic, and two size options: 40mm & 44mm.
Galaxy Watch 4 has an aluminum construction with two inconspicuous buttons on the side. Both its models are extremely lightweight but are water, shock, and scratch-proof to a high degree.
The silicone band that comes with the watch, however, has been a major letdown. It is uncomfortable to wear during sleep and can’t handle intense workouts. You might have to invest in a separate band.
The color options are not that great: The 40mm Watch 4 comes in black, gold, and silver, while the 44mm model comes in black, green, and silver.
The choice of square vs circular design depends obviously on your preferences, but Fitbit Sense is a bit more comfortable than the GW4.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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SAMSUNG Galaxy Watch 4 Classic 42mm Smartwatch with ECG Monitor Tracker for Health, Fitness,... |
$179.99 |
Check Amazon Price |
Display Features:
| Fitbit Sense | Samsung Galaxy Watch4 | |
| Display Size | 1.58-inch touchscreen | 44/46mm: 1.36-inch40/42mm: 1.19-inch |
| Screen Type & Resolution | AMOLED336 x 336 resolution | 44/46mm: Super AMOLED450 x 450 resolution40/42mm: Super AMOLED396 x 396 resolution |
| Pixel Per Inch | 339 PPI | 330 PPI |
| Screen Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Galaxy Watch 4: Corning Gorilla Glass with DX+ Galaxy Watch 4 Classic: Corning Gorilla Glass with DX |
| Always-on Display | Yes | Yes |
| Rotating Bezel | No | Galaxy Watch 4: Touch Bezel Galaxy Watch 4 Classic: Physical Bezel |
In the display department, these watches compete fiercely.
The Fitbit Sense features a touch screen with a color display, an industry for smartwatches. But that is not just the ordinary color display, rather it’s the AMOLED display, the best of its kind. Bright, sharp, and responsive, just as we expect from a premium smartwatch.
The screen brightness is enough to make it clearly viewable in bright and dark environments. The always-on feature comes very handily when your hands are full.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 covers everything Fitbit is offering. Its lush Super-AMOLED display is second to none. There is a plus in the virtual rotating bezel which makes navigation a painless process.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
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| 1 |
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Fitbit Sense Advanced Smartwatch with Tools for Heart Health, Stress Management & Skin Temperature... |
$159.60 |
Check Amazon Price |
Galaxy Watch 4 vs Fitbit Sense: Smartwatch Features
| Fitbit Sense | Samsung Galaxy Watch4 | |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz)NFCBluetooth | Bluetooth 5.0Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4+5GHz, Cellular (Only in LTE models)NFC |
| Companion App | Fitbit | Google Fit |
| Storage | 4GB (2.5GB available for music storage) 7 days of motion data, daily totals for past 30 days | 16 GB |
| Processor | N/A | 5nm Samsung Exynos W920Dual-core 1.18GHz |
| RAM | N/A | 1.5 GB |
| Notification Alert | Yes | Yes |
| Calendar, Weather | Yes | Yes |
| Offline Spotify | No | Yes |
| Timer & Alarm | Yes | Yes |
| Customizable Watch Faces | No | Yes |
| Voice Assistant | Yes (Google Assistant/ Amazon Alexa) | Yes (Bixby) |
| Music Storage, Control | Yes | Yes |
| Third-Party Apps | No | Yes (Wear OS play store) |
| Make calls, send texts & Emails | Yes but with limitations (only when paired with Android) | Yes |
| Browse Web | No | Yes |
| Contactless Payment | Yes ( Fitbit Pay) | Yes (Google Pay, Samsung Pay) |
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is hands down a better smartwatch than Fitbit Sense. It has 16 GB storage for music storage and third-party apps, the latest Exynos W920 (coupled with 1.5 GB RAM) that cuts through demanding apps like hot knife through butter.
The new OS may look like Tizen but it is a Wear OS with Samsung One UI Watch 3 on top. You have access to Google Play Store which is only second to Apple Watch Store. Along with the Google Wearable Suite of apps, you have thousands of third-party apps.
So far, Samsung has only added its own Bixby as the default voice assistant and Samsung Pay as the only mode for contactless payment, but it is only a matter of time, Google Assistant and Google Pay would make their way to GW4.
Samsung GW4 can pick up calls, send texts and even browse the web. If you opt for the LTE variant, there is no need for a smartphone connection to perform these functions.
Fitbit Sense, on the contrary, doesn’t reveal its core specs. The watch UI is significantly slow and doesn’t support third-party apps. There are two voice assistants on board: Google Assistant & Alexa. You can make contactless payments via Fitbit Pay, although only a few banks outside the US support this means of payment.
You will also receive call and SMS notifications from your phone and can dictate responses to text messages using Sense’s built-in microphone. However, this feature is only available for Android Users.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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SAMSUNG Galaxy Watch 4 Classic 42mm Smartwatch with ECG Monitor Tracker for Health, Fitness,... |
$179.99 |
Check Amazon Price |
Galaxy Watch 4 vs Fitbit Sense: Fitness & Health Features
| Fitbit Sense | Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 | |
| Built-in GPS | Yes (GPS, GLONASS) | Yes (GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, Galileo) |
| Heart Rate Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep | Yes | Yes |
| Stress | Yes | Yes |
| Blood Oxygen | Yes | Yes |
| ECG | Yes | Yes |
| Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis | No | Yes |
| Steps, Calories | Yes | Yes |
| Menstrual cycle | Yes | Yes |
| Sport Mode | 20+ | 90+ |
| Sync Data With Strava, Apple Health | No | Yes (with Starva and Nike Run Club) |
These watches have standalone GPS with quick signal locking and reliable coverage. There are plenty of sports and workout modes preloaded on the devices.
Workout options for the Fitbit Sense include bike, Bootcamp, circuit training, elliptical, golf, hike, interval workout, kickboxing, martial arts, pilates, run, spinning, swim, stair climber, tennis, treadmill, weights, workout, and yoga. Whereas, Samsung has more than 90 sports and workout modes including most of those Fitbit offers.
However, both smartwatches have pivoted away from sports to more of a focus on physical and mental health features as well as fitness features. Here, most of their functions overlap.
These watches are fully capable of ECG monitoring and have rare FDA clearance for it. Heart rate, sleep, and blood oxygen measurement has become run-of-the-mill features for smartwatches these days. However, GW4 has most of its health features reserved for Samsung Phones for now.
Samsung watch has blood pressure monitoring and the new BIA sensor as a plus. The sensor body fat, like smart scales, by moving an electrical signal throughout your body. In fact, the watch features a 3-in-1 BioActive Sensor that monitors heart rate, blood oxygen level, and body composition.
The BIA tool allows you to tap into the data of key fitness metrics such as skeletal muscle mass and body fat percentage. Fitbit Sense has nothing to offer in comparison, but it does offer reliable and accurate results for the health features it tracks.
The Samsung watch works with other third party apps like Strava and Nike Running Club.
Both smartwatches are excellent devices to track health metrics, however, Samsung simply offers more without raising the price of the watch. We ought to give it a preference for this.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Fitbit Sense Advanced Smartwatch with Tools for Heart Health, Stress Management & Skin Temperature... |
$159.60 |
Check Amazon Price |
Galaxy Watch 4 vs Fitbit Sense: Battery Life & Charging
| Fitbit Sense | Samsung Galaxy Watch4 | |
| Battery Performance | 6 days max, 3-5 days with normal usage | 1-2 days (mixed usage), It varies with the smartwatch size, and usage of features like GPS and Music, and Always-on |
| Battery Size | N/A | 44/46mm: 361mAh40/42mm: 247mAh |
| Charger Type | Magnetic doc | WPC-based wireless charging |
| Fast Charging | Yes, 1 day of battery life in 12 minutes | No (Takes almost 2 hours to fully charge) |
Fitbit Sense seems to have an upper hand when it comes to battery performance. With its 6 days battery life, the smartwatch is one among few fitness trackers on the market that can last for a week. However, when you dig deep, things start to unravel.
With an always-on mode, aggressive GPS tracking, Music, and sleep tracking, the battery life cuts down to 2-3 days. The AOD mode hits the battery real hard. Turning it off, you can comfortably get 4-5 of battery juice out of the watch.
On the other hand, Samsung doesn’t boast a week-long battery life in its latest smartwatch. GW4 has taken two steps back, as many find its predecessor Galaxy Watch 3 a better watch in battery performance. There is also a difference in performance between Bluetooth and LTE variants, the 40mm and 44mm models.
Samsung claims that the watch can last 40 hours. Users found this claim consistent with the actual performance. If you strip down the watch to the basic time-telling and notification alert feature, hitting 3 days performance is a likely possibility. Aggressive use would make it essentially a one-day watch.
Other than the battery performance, Fitbit Sense offers another plus. The smartwatch supports fast charging. You get approximately 1 day of battery life in 12 minutes of top-up. The magnetic charging dock for both watches would make the charging process a breeze.
Interesting fact: Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, just like Galaxy Watch 3, can also share power with a supported Galaxy Device.
So Fitbit Sense outlives Galaxy Watch 4 and hence the winner of this battle.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Fitbit Sense Advanced Smartwatch with Tools for Heart Health, Stress Management & Skin Temperature... |
$159.60 |
Check Amazon Price |
Key Similarities:
- Both Watches have crisp AMOLED displays.
- We can make contactless payments and access voice assistants on both these devices.
- Both have 5 ATM resistance against water and dust ingression, and also their screen is protected by the same gorilla glass technology.
- They have a speaker and microphone, so you can send calls and dictate replies on these watches.
- These watches are available in multiple colors and offer you the freedom to swap bands.
Key Differences:
- Fitbit Sense is compatible with both IOS and Android, whereas Galaxy Watch 4 can only be paired with Android.
- Samsung’s Smartwatch game is way more stronger than the Fitbit, their watches are proof of this.
- Samsung Watch offers the new body composition tools as a plus, a feature exclusive to Galaxy Watch 4 and 4 classic so far
- Fitbit Sense has a long battery life of almost a week, GW4 can hardly make it to 2 days
What should you buy? Garmin Venu 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
Without a single doubt, we would favor Galaxy Watch 4 over the Fitbit Sense. First and foremost, Fitbit is running on a now-discarded OS and ‘Sense’ would not get the upgrade to the new Wear 3.0. Its health features are so far the key strength of the watch, but GW4 beat it in its own game by offering more. Galaxy Watch Series prowess as a smartwatch is challenged by few, and when compared to the Fitbit Sense, even the older Galaxy Watch Active 2 and Galaxy Watch 3 has a better chance of winning. Lastly, Samsung is not demanding top dollars for its latest watch and so Fitbit doesn’t have the advantage of a budget device.
Note: Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is the default best watch for Samsung Galaxy Phone users.
