Fitbit Ionic: Adidas Edition adds new workouts for extra $30
A special Adidas-branded version of Fitbit's top-end smartwatch gets workout extras and custom colors. But it also costs a bit more.
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If you're excited about the Fitbit Ionic, Fitbit's feature-studded fitness smartwatch that debuted last fall -- hang on. There's a new Adidas-branded version. The Fitbit Ionic: Adidas Edition comes with its own unique-colored bands, like Apple's Nike-branded watch. And it comes with a handful of new workouts, too. But it also costs $30 more than last year's Ionic, at $330 (roughly AU$420 or £236 converted).
In addition to Fitbit Coach, the Ionic: Adidas Edition has six running-focused workouts in a new Adidas Train app. The workouts last about 5 to 15 minutes, but are separate from the three exercise routines on Fitbit Ionic already. The extra workouts sync to the Fitbit app as always, but there's no other way to get them, and you can't download them from Fitbit's app store. You have to buy the Ionic: Adidas Edition to access them.
Apple's Nike-branded Apple Watch Series 3 also has exclusive Nike+ watch faces and functions, but it doesn't cost more to buy. That's the key difference.
New workouts and training modes are exactly what the Fitbit Ionic could use more of. I'm less excited about having to buy a whole new, more expensive watch to use them. But if you haven't gotten an Ionic and was considering one, there's an outside chance these extra functions might be of interest. Just keep in mind, with Ionic's growing apps and watch faces on tap plus Fitbit's promised expansion of its Fitbit Coach premium subscription service, you might find an alternative solution, too.
The Fitbit Ionic: Adidas Edition is available March 19.