Fitbit Flyer - Review 2022 - Robinson Afferore1989

Fitbit is moving on upward. To your ears. A far cry from the wrist-based fitness trackers the company is known for, the $129.95 Fitbit Flyer wireless earphones are chic, simple, sweatproof, and deliver rather good audio quality for a first foray into sound. They confront very stiff competition across the board, but a comfortable, secure fit and powerful bass-additional audio lets the earphones keep upward with other, more established names in the field.

A Fitbit for Your Ears

The Flyer earphones are available in ii colors: Lunar Gray and Nightfall Bluish. Both are bonny, with metallic accents on the earbuds and control box (rose gilt for the Lunar Gray and gunmetal for the Nightfall Blue). The cablevision connecting each earpiece is apartment, with an adjustable prune that slides up and down the midpoint of the wire to reduce slack and bouncing when y'all're active.

There'southward a three-button control box near the right earpiece, with buttons for adjusting volume, answering calls, and cycling through your playlist. The correct earbud holds a small power push button that'south also used to initiate pairing. It's a somewhat strange location, and slightly inconvenient when y'all want to quickly turn off the power; most wireless earphones with an inline remote integrate the power and pairing functions into one of the buttons on the remote, rather than putting those controls on an earpiece.

Fitbit includes a protective pouch, a micro USB charging cable, and an array of eartips, wings, and fins and so y'all tin can customize the fit to your liking. The default fins have a flat, faceted shape that slots into the ridge of your ear; you tin swap them out with more secure wings for a tighter fit. After a bit of experimentation, we were able to get a very secure, comfortable fit with no awkward force per unit area or annoying wiggling.

Focused on Fettle

Contrary to what yous might wait from a Fitbit product, the Flyer can't measure your heart rate or runway your steps, like the Samsung Gear IconX or Jabra Elite Sport earphones. They just play music, probably because they were designed to be a companion accompaniment to the Ionic, Fitbit'south debut smartwatch. But even without any special tracking, the earphones were clearly designed with fitness in mind.

Fitbit Flyer They have a hydrophobic nanocoating and an IP67 rating, making them sweatproof. Y'all can become them every bit wet equally you want, but you shouldn't wear them (or any not-diving-specific earphones) in the pool, since they don't seal off your ears enough to proceed water from getting in and preventing you from hearing your music properly.

You tin pair the Flyer with ii Bluetooth devices at once—a characteristic that emphasizes potential use as an Ionic accessory. In essence, this gives you the option of a phone-complimentary conditioning since you can directly play music from the smartwatch. To be fair, yous tin pair whatever Bluetooth earphones with the Ionic, only whether you lot can keep them connected to the smartwatch and your phone at the same time depends on how well they can handle multiple devices.

Fitbit estimates bombardment life to exist six hours, though the effective bombardment life will depend on what type of music y'all play and at what volume. The Flyer doesn't last quite equally long every bit the Jaybird X3, which boasts viii hours of battery life. It should still be more than than enough for even the nigh intense workouts, though, with plenty of additional listening time to spare.

Music Performance

Without whatever specific fitness features, the Flyer's performance ultimately comes downwards to sound quality. For Fitbit's first foray into sound, the sound is surprisingly strong and well-balanced. The earphones let you toggle between two sound settings: Signature, for everyday listening, and Ability Boost, which amplifies bass for those thumping conditioning playlists. We've found that Power Heave provides the best results for giving you exciting sound during your conditioning, fifty-fifty if it makes the overall audio signature a bit less balanced.

The earphones put out some satisfying bass with Ability Heave on. They handled our bass test track, The Knife'south "Silent Shout," without a hint of baloney even at maximum volumes. The kick pulsate hits audio pleasantly thumpy despite not producing head-rattling vibrations in Signature fashion, but with Power Boost you actually become some solid rumbling for an heady sound.

Yep' "Roundabout" gives a expert sense of the sound signature. It'due south largely balanced, with a slight emphasis on the low-mids and high-mids. The acoustic guitar notes in the runway'southward opening come through conspicuously, merely lack the higher frequency presence to give much more than a hint of the texture of the cord plucks. The electrical bass sounds punchy in Signature fashion, with a nicely rounded presence that lacks very deep resonance. The vocals come through prominently in the mix, but don't overcome the percussion. Power Boost gives the bass much more than slappy, funky presence, but it pushes the higher frequencies of the vocals and high chapeau out of the spotlight.

Industrial music distinctly benefits from Power Boost being turned on. The driving guitar riff in KMFDM's "Ultra" is energetic and prominent in the mix, only the bass drum hits backing it lack much of their power and the overall sound isn't quite equally frantic and oppressive as it should in Signature mode. Turn on Power Boost, nonetheless, and it becomes a wonderfully sludgy, angry cacophony that properly antagonizes your ears with thumpy thrashing. The vocals lose some of their presence in this mode, but they're still like shooting fish in a barrel to discern in the mix.

Comparisons and Conclusions

Fitbit has made a very good first attempt at fettle-friendly earphones in a market that'southward already saturated with them. The Flyer's fitness angle doesn't extend beyond a gym-friendly, sweatproof design with heart rate monitoring or conditioning tracking, and its integration with the Fitbit Ionic smartwatch is footling different from any other Bluetooth earphones. However, its sound is powerful and rich, ideal for keeping yous motivating whether y'all're at the gym or on the track.

The Jaybird X3 is an excellent alternative with the same $130 price tag, and the Jam Comfort Buds present a very appealing value with strong bass response for only $fifty. Yous tin can besides spend a bit more to become completely wire-gratuitous with the Editors' Choice JLab Epic Air. All three alternatives characteristic gym-friendly, sweatproof designs. Still, the Fitbit Flyer earphones are worthy of your consideration even without whatever tracking or monitoring tricks their pedigree implies.