Choosing the right fitness tracker can feel like a marathon. You want a device that motivates you, tracks your progress accurately, and fits seamlessly into your lifestyle. When it comes to Fitbit’s powerful offerings, two popular contenders often stand out: the Fitbit Blaze and the Fitbit Surge.
Both devices aim to elevate your fitness journey with robust features and stylish designs. However, they cater to slightly different needs and preferences. If you’re weighing your options between these two titans of the fitness wearable world, you’re in the right place.
This comparison dives deep into what makes the Fitbit Blaze and Fitbit Surge tick, helping you decide which one is the ultimate companion for your active life. Let’s break down their strengths and weaknesses to find your perfect match.
Specs at a Glance
| Feature | Fitbit Blaze | Fitbit Surge |
|---|---|---|
| Display Type | Color LCD Touchscreen | Monochrome LCD Touchscreen |
| Screen Size | 1.25 inches | 1.3 inches |
| Water Resistance | Sweat and splash proof (up to 10m) | Sweat and splash proof (up to 10m) |
| GPS | Connected GPS | Built-in GPS |
| Heart Rate Monitoring | PurePulse Heart Rate | PurePulse Heart Rate |
| Sleep Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Activity Tracking | Steps, distance, calories, active minutes | Steps, distance, calories, active minutes |
| Sport Modes | Running, biking, weights, treadmill, elliptical, circuit training | Running, biking, weights, treadmill, elliptical, circuit training |
| Music Control | Yes | Yes |
| Smart Notifications | Calls, texts, calendar alerts | Calls, texts, calendar alerts |
| Removable Bands | Yes | No |
| Battery Life | Up to 5 days | Up to 7 days (without GPS) / Up to 10 hours (with GPS) |
Feature-by-Feature Breakdown
Display Type
- Fitbit Blaze: Features a vibrant color LCD touchscreen display. This allows for more visually appealing watch faces and easier navigation of apps and notifications.
- Fitbit Surge: Has a monochrome OLED touchscreen display. While less vibrant, it’s highly readable in bright sunlight and offers excellent battery efficiency.
- Winner: Fitbit Blaze
GPS Tracking
- Fitbit Blaze: Utilizes connected GPS, meaning it relies on your phone’s GPS signal. This offers accurate distance and pace tracking for outdoor activities when paired with your smartphone.
- Fitbit Surge: Features built-in GPS. This allows for independent tracking of distance, pace, and routes without needing your phone, making it ideal for phone-free workouts.
- Winner: Fitbit Surge
Heart Rate Monitoring
- Fitbit Blaze: Employs PurePulse continuous heart rate monitoring. It provides 24/7 heart rate tracking, resting heart rate, and heart rate zones during workouts, offering insights into calorie burn and fitness levels.
- Fitbit Surge: Also uses PurePulse continuous heart rate monitoring. It offers similar 24/7 tracking and workout zone analysis, providing comprehensive cardiovascular data.
- Winner: Tie
Smartwatch Capabilities
- Fitbit Blaze: Offers more robust smartwatch features with a color display and app support. It can display notifications, control music, and has access to a small selection of downloadable apps.
- Fitbit Surge: Provides basic smartwatch functions like call and text notifications, and music control. Its monochrome display limits visual complexity, focusing on core fitness data.
- Winner: Fitbit Blaze
Battery Life
- Fitbit Blaze: Typically offers up to 5 days of battery life with regular use. Features like the color screen and GPS can impact this, requiring more frequent charging.
- Fitbit Surge: Boasts a longer battery life, often lasting up to 7 days on a single charge. The monochrome display contributes significantly to its extended longevity.
- Winner: Fitbit Surge
Activity Tracking
- Fitbit Blaze: Tracks steps, distance, calories burned, floors climbed, and active minutes. It automatically recognizes many common exercises.
- Fitbit Surge: Tracks the same core metrics as the Blaze: steps, distance, calories, floors, and active minutes. It also includes automatic exercise recognition.
- Winner: Tie
Design & Comfort
- Fitbit Blaze: Features a modular design with a removable tracker that can be swapped between different stylish bands. It has a more modern, smartwatch-like aesthetic.
- Fitbit Surge: Has a more rugged and sporty design, with a permanently attached tracker and a comfortable, durable band. It’s built for performance and durability.
- Winner: Fitbit Blaze
Music Control
- Fitbit Blaze: Allows for on-wrist music control, enabling you to play, pause, skip tracks, and adjust volume directly from the watch. This is enhanced by its color touchscreen.
- Fitbit Surge: Also offers on-wrist music control, allowing you to manage your music playback without reaching for your phone. This is a convenient feature for workouts.
- Winner: Tie
Winner by Category
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Display & Customization | Fitbit Blaze |
| Built-in GPS | Fitbit Surge |
| Battery Life (General Use) | Fitbit Surge |
| Smartwatch Features | Fitbit Blaze |
| Dedicated Fitness Focus | Fitbit Surge |
| Overall Versatility | Fitbit Blaze |
What They Have in Common
- Heart Rate Monitoring: Both devices utilize Fitbit’s PurePulse technology to provide continuous heart rate tracking, offering insights into resting heart rate, exercise zones, and calorie burn.
- Comprehensive Activity Tracking: They both meticulously track daily activities such as steps taken, distance covered, calories burned, and active minutes, helping users stay motivated to reach their fitness goals.
- Advanced Sleep Tracking: Users can monitor their sleep patterns with both the Blaze and Surge, gaining valuable data on sleep duration, stages (light, deep, REM), and restless periods to improve sleep hygiene.
- Built-in Sport Modes: Both trackers come equipped with a variety of pre-set sport modes, allowing users to log specific workouts like running, cycling, and weightlifting, providing tailored metrics for each activity.
- Smart Notifications: Stay connected on the go with call, text, and calendar alerts delivered directly to your wrist from your paired smartphone, so you don’t miss important updates.
- Music Control: Both the Blaze and Surge offer convenient on-wrist music controls, allowing you to play, pause, and skip tracks without needing to pull out your phone during workouts.
Fitbit Blaze Vs Fitbit Surge Buying Guide
Display and Interface
The Fitbit Blaze boasts a vibrant, color touchscreen that makes navigating its features a visual treat. Its customizable watch faces and app integration offer a more modern and smartwatch-like experience. The interface is generally intuitive, allowing users to easily access notifications, workouts, and health metrics with a few taps or swipes.
In contrast, the Fitbit Surge features a monochrome LED display. While less visually striking, it is highly readable in direct sunlight and conserves battery life effectively. Its interface is more functional, prioritizing quick access to core fitness tracking functions and workout data. The navigation relies more on button presses than touch, which some users might prefer for its tactile feedback during intense activities. (See Also: Demeyere 5 Plus Vs Atlantis )
Smartwatch Features and Connectivity
The Fitbit Blaze leans more towards a smartwatch experience with its color display and ability to show notifications for calls, texts, and calendar events directly on your wrist. It also supports music control, allowing you to manage playback from your connected smartphone without needing to pull out your device. This makes it a more versatile companion for daily use beyond just fitness tracking.
The Fitbit Surge offers basic notification alerts for calls and texts, but lacks the richer display and interactive capabilities of the Blaze. Music control is also present, but the monochrome screen limits the visual feedback. While it excels as a fitness tracker, its smartwatch functionalities are more rudimentary, focusing on delivering essential information rather than a full app-like experience.
Fitness Tracking and Sensors
Both devices are robust fitness trackers, equipped with GPS for accurate outdoor activity tracking, a heart rate monitor, and accelerometers. The Blaze offers multi-sport modes and on-screen workout guidance through its FitStar integration, providing real-time coaching. Its advanced heart rate tracking aims for greater accuracy and provides detailed insights into your cardiovascular health and calorie burn.
The Surge also excels in comprehensive fitness tracking, including automatic exercise recognition, sleep tracking, and continuous heart rate monitoring. Its built-in GPS is a significant advantage for runners and cyclists who want to map their routes and monitor pace without carrying a phone. The sensor suite is designed to provide a holistic view of your activity levels and recovery. (See Also: Nikon 50 1 8 Vs 1 4 )
Battery Life and Durability
The Fitbit Blaze generally offers around 5-7 days of battery life on a single charge, depending on usage of features like GPS and continuous heart rate monitoring. Its design is sleek and relatively water-resistant, suitable for sweat and light rain, but not for swimming. The interchangeable bands allow for customization and style updates.
The Fitbit Surge is known for its impressive battery life, often lasting up to 7 days or more, even with frequent GPS use. This extended battery performance is a key advantage for long training sessions or multi-day adventures. Like the Blaze, it’s sweat and splash-resistant, but also not designed for submersion in water. Its construction feels more rugged and durable.
Who Should Buy What?
Buy Fitbit Blaze If…
- You prioritize a vibrant, customizable color display with interchangeable bands for a more stylish look.
- You prefer a smartwatch-like experience with more advanced app integration and notifications.
- You want a device that seamlessly blends fitness tracking with everyday smartwatch features.
Buy Fitbit Surge If…
- You need the accuracy of built-in GPS for detailed outdoor activity tracking without your phone.
- You value a longer battery life, especially if you frequently use GPS.
- You prefer a more rugged and dedicated fitness-focused device.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which device has a better display?
The Fitbit Blaze features a vibrant, color touchscreen display that offers a more modern and visually appealing experience. It allows for customizable watch faces and better readability of notifications and app content. The Fitbit Surge, on the other hand, has a monochrome LED display that is highly functional and excellent for outdoor visibility but lacks the color and interactive richness of the Blaze.
Which is better for smartwatch features?
The Fitbit Blaze is superior for smartwatch features. Its color touchscreen allows for more advanced notification display, music control with richer visuals, and a more integrated app experience. While the Surge offers basic call and text notifications and music control, it’s primarily a fitness tracker with limited smartwatch capabilities compared to the Blaze’s more comprehensive offering. (See Also: Samsung Pro Vs Evo 850 )
How does GPS accuracy compare?
Both the Fitbit Blaze and Fitbit Surge utilize built-in GPS for accurate tracking of outdoor activities like running, cycling, and hiking. Users generally report reliable and consistent GPS performance from both devices. The accuracy is dependent on clear sky views for satellite acquisition, but neither device has a significant edge over the other in this regard for typical use cases.
Which device has better battery life?
The Fitbit Surge generally boasts superior battery life, often lasting longer on a single charge, particularly when GPS is used frequently. While the Blaze offers a respectable 5-7 days, the Surge can consistently reach 7 days or more, making it a more reliable option for extended periods without charging. This makes it ideal for long expeditions or users who prefer less frequent charging.
Are either of these devices waterproof?
Neither the Fitbit Blaze nor the Fitbit Surge are waterproof. Both are sweat and splash-resistant, meaning they can handle sweat during workouts and light rain. However, neither device is designed for swimming or prolonged submersion in water. For a waterproof Fitbit, you would need to look at models like the Fitbit Flex 2 or the Fitbit Ionic.
Final Verdict
When comparing the Fitbit Blaze and Fitbit Surge, the Blaze emerges as the more modern and versatile option. Its vibrant color touchscreen, enhanced smartwatch features like richer notifications and music controls, and on-screen workout guidance make it a compelling choice for those seeking a blend of fitness tracking and smartwatch functionality. While the Surge offers excellent battery life and robust fitness tracking, its dated monochrome display and more limited smart features place it a step behind the Blaze for overall user experience.
Winner: Fitbit Blaze