Fitbit Launches Four Affordable New Wearables

Fitbit today announced four affordable new wearables, including an inexpensive new version of its Versa smartwatch.

“Since founding Fitbit almost 12 years ago, we’ve focused on making health fun and achievable for everyone regardless of fitness level or goals,” Fitbit co-founder and CEO James Park said in a prepared statement. “Today we have a growing, supportive community of more than 27 million active users around the world who are getting more active, sleeping better, reducing stress, managing weight, and getting healthier from being ‘on Fitbit,’ which is a testament to the power of our platform and our consistent innovation across our devices, software features and mobile app experience.”

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The new devices include:

Fitbit Versa Lite Edition. This less expensive smartwatch includes the “core fitness and smart features” from Fitbit’s Versa, such as automatic activity tracking, PurePulse 24/7 heart rate and Sleep Stages tracking, over 15 goal-based exercise modes, connected GPS, smartphone notifications, apps, 4+ day battery life, and a relative SpO2 sensor. It costs $160, making it Fitbit’s least-expensive smartwatch ever.

Fitbit Inspire HR. This affordable and stylish fitness tracker is Fitbit’s cheapest with 24/7 heart rate tracking and costs just $100. It provides all-day automatic activity, exercise and Sleep Stages tracking, over 15 goal-based exercise modes, connected GPS, and Relax guided breathing.

Fitbit Inspire. Basically a Fitbit Inspire HR without the 24/7 heart rate tracking, this wearable will cost just $70 and offers up to 5 days of battery life.

Fitbit Ace 2. Aimed at kids ages 6 and up, Fitbit Ace 2 comes with a new swimproof design with a bumper screen protector and is available in fun and bold colors and accessories. Ace 2 features new animated clock faces, motivating movement challenges, and neat personalization capabilities. It will cost $70.

All of the new Fitbit devices will hit stores starting in March 2019, the firm says.

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Conversation 11 comments

  • provision l-3

    06 March, 2019 - 11:25 am

    <p>I am not terribly great at prognostication but when has that ever stopped me shooting my mouth off. I think Fitbit is kinda toast. They remind me of Research in Motion. Early on they really defined the fitness wearable market and drove most people out (Nike, Jawbone, Microsoft …). Now there is the transition in the market from the tracker to the smart watch coupled with real competition from Apple and Garmin as well as the rise of the cheaper Chinese brands. This all seems to leave Fitbit flailing. They can't match the features in the high end market so they are going to race to the bottom and try to compete on price? I just don't see this approach working well for them over the next five years or so. </p>

  • SeattleMike

    Premium Member
    06 March, 2019 - 11:28 am

    <p>And still they won't fix their terrible iOS app!</p>

    • wbhite

      Premium Member
      06 March, 2019 - 1:51 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#409442">In reply to SeattleMike:</a></em></blockquote><p>And they still don't have official support for the Pixel 2. Shameful.</p>

      • michael_charlton

        06 March, 2019 - 3:50 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#409521">In reply to wbhite:</a></em></blockquote><p>Ah heck, was just about to drop for a Versa probably… no Pixel 2 support you say?</p>

  • Sébastien Michel Harvey

    06 March, 2019 - 12:16 pm

    <p>Honestly I think wearables are dead. I don't see people replacing their first generation wearables, they don't really use them.</p><p><br></p><p>It's like an accessory for people who like to think they're health concious.</p><p><br></p><p>Most of the people I know who are fit and do a lot of gym/sports don't wear a smart watch.</p>

    • provision l-3

      06 March, 2019 - 6:14 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#409447">In reply to ezk1el:</a></em></blockquote><p>Weird, Garmin has pretty much moved their entire line to smartwatches and now it seems like just about every runner, cyclist or triathlete has a smartwatch. </p>

  • JerryH

    Premium Member
    06 March, 2019 - 1:40 pm

    <p>Wow, it is really a sign of the times that there is actually a market for a fitness tracker for 6 year olds. As an old guy I remember as kids we were always riding bikes, playing "line" (a form of 4 person baseball), practicing soccer, or just playing around in the park. Now I guess it is so much "stranger danger" that kids just sit inside and watch YouTube and play video games? Who would have thought that kids needed to be reminded to move…</p>

    • Chris_Kez

      Premium Member
      06 March, 2019 - 4:43 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#409518">In reply to JerryH:</a></em></blockquote><p>I think a lot of it has to do with the gadgets becoming more ubiquitous, less expensive, and companies looking for more markets. Kids see these things on their parents and want them. Parents use them and think it will be a fun gift for the kids (and a cheaper and less worrisome alternative to a smart phone). </p>

  • jgraebner

    Premium Member
    06 March, 2019 - 2:15 pm

    <p>I've had a Fitbit Ionic smartwatch since shortly after they first came out. I wear it every day, but I admit that I'm now seriously thinking about moving on to something else. As you'd expect, the fitness tracking features are first rate, but their smartwatch OS really is in pretty poor shape. Even after a year and a half (and having Pebble OS to use as a starting point), the OS is still way behind its competitors both in features and especially in stability. In particular, I still regularly have to re-start both the watch and my phone to get notifications to start showing up. Even when it does work, the notifications are not always appearing in a timely manner. It's pretty common that I will check my messages on my phone, see a bunch of new messages, and then have all the notifications pop up on my watch all at once. More seriously, I've never been able to get the music syncing capabilities to work at all. </p><p><br></p><p>What I've come to realize is that my priority really is the smartwatch features first and the fitness capabilities second while the Fitbit watches are skewed pretty far in the opposite direction. I'm still not really sure what I want to switch to (I'm an Android user, so Apple Watch isn't an option) and I suspect I'm probably going to have to give up the great battery life in order to get the features and stability that I want, but I've basically lost faith in Fitbit's capabilities in that space.</p>

  • jchampeau

    Premium Member
    06 March, 2019 - 2:39 pm

    <p>Not to diminish the usefulness of these types of devices–I have an Apple Watch myself and I love its health-related stuff on it–but the CEO's statement that their customers are getting more active, sleeping better, reducing stress, managing weight, and getting healthier "From being 'on Fitbit'" leaves a bad taste in my mouth. People aren't getting healthier because they wear a Fitbit, they're getting healthier because they are making conscious decisions to do things that improve their health. It's the people doing the work, the Fitbit is just measuring it, reporting on it, and encouraging it.</p>

    • Skolvikings

      11 March, 2019 - 11:07 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#409537">In reply to jchampeau:</a></em></blockquote><p>I think you're parsing hairs. You make a fair point, but so do they. As you said, wearing a Fitbit encourages people to improve their health.</p>

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