Fitbit’s New Alta: now not A Smartwatch, not a big Departure, just a more trendy Fitbit

more than every other firm that makes fitness wearables, Fitbit’s technique entails numerous gadgets that, through different designs, function sets, and worth factors, attempt to offer something for everyone. The Fitbit Blaze, as an example, which the company unveiled last month, is the the closest factor to a smartwatch that the corporate has introduced thus far, but with a focal point on fitness over common-purpose apps that sets it aside from the Apple Watch and its direct competitors.

and then there is the Fitbit Alta, which the corporate is asserting today. in contrast to the Blaze, it doesn’t really feel find it irresistible includes Fitbit edging its manner into a brand new category. it is only a standard Fitbit with some new features and an emphasis on type, which is still new for the corporate, which has historically tended to provide units that seemed happy with being plasticky and utilitarian.

The $a hundred thirty Alta, if you want to ship in March, is a skinny, bracelet-like band with, via historic Fitbit requirements, slick industrial design. It has an OLED display that’s in a position not just of indicating your growth towards an exercise purpose, but in addition exhibiting the time, showing notifications out of your smartphone, and conducting other feats that can be accomplished with a number of characters of textual content. Coupled with the Fitbit iOS or Android app, it has a near-full set of Fitbit options—apart from heart-price monitoring—together with the ability to mechanically establish train ranging from walking to kickboxing, and monitor your sleep with out being manually put in a distinct mode. Fitbit says it’s going to run for five days on a cost.

Like different Fitbits, this one puts the reveal and digital guts into a pod that can be separated from the band. Already, Fitbit has been using that design approach to let customers spiff up their wearable: the present Flex adaptation is available in 10 different colours and can also be personalized with Tory Burch equipment that prices as much as $200. however Fitbit’s personal optional bands for the Alta (some of which is not going to be straight away on hand) embody the fanciest ones it’s completed by itself, including $60 blush red and graphite models, a $a hundred stainless-metal bangle, and a “brilliant gold bangle” at a price yet to be introduced. along with the more standard bands in black, blue, teal, and plum, the brand new selections supply the opportunity of buying one Alta and dressing it down for exercises and up for the workplace or different occasions. 

besides the Alta, the current Fitbit models embrace the $200 Blaze “super watch,” the $250 Surge (every other tremendous watch with continuous coronary heart-charge monitoring but with out the Blaze’s shade reveal), the $150 cost HR (with steady coronary heart-rate monitoring), the $a hundred Flex (with best a rudimentary display, but plenty of shade choices), the $a hundred One (a clip-on device directly descended from the earliest Fitbits), and the $60 Zip (a clip-on cheapie with amazing battery existence). That lineup is way more numerous than the one supplied by means of Jawbone, which offers one finances variation (the Up transfer) and three fashions (the Up2, Up3, and Up4) that are diversifications on a theme. different makers of health trackers supply even fewer editions.

For now, Fitbit’s one thing-for-everybody strategy appears to be working: in line with the NPD workforce, it has 79% of the task tracker market, bordering on the kind of close to-monopoly territory that jogs my memory extra of the iPod in its glory days than the rest. And NPD says that the category is still a wholesome, ongoing problem that shows no signs of being worn out through smartwatches every time soon.