Fitness tracking company Fitbit has added four new wearables to its lineup. They include a Lite version of its Versa smartwatch, two new bands and an update to its fitness tracking wristable for whipper-snappers. The company has also said it’ll be giving its app a major facelift in coming months… but it’s not committed to a release date for that, yet.
Versa Lite Edition
Like its namesake, the Versa Lite offers automatic activity tracking, full-time heart rate tracking, sleep tracking, built-in GPS, basic smartphone notifications, and around four days of battery life. It’s also got the SpO2 sensor found on a range of Fitbits… but for which the company hasn’t yet found a use. According to Fitbit, the sensor “has the potential to estimate changes in blood oxygen levels and help track new health indicators about health, such as sleep apnea”. We wait with baited breath for that potential to be realised. The recommended retail price for the Versa Lite Edition is R3,000, making it the brand’s most wallet-friendly smartwatch.
Inspire and Inspire HR
Fitbit’s calling the new Inspire HR its “most affordable and stylish 24/7 heart rate tracking device”. It’ll cost R2,000 when it hits retailers. It packs automatic activity, exercise and sleep tracking, the ability to record over a dozen exercises and Fitbit’s guided breathing exercises. And, as the name suggests, Fitbit’s excellent heart rate tracking.
If you’re willing to do without the heart rate tracking (though, we’d argue that’s the most useful part of a fitness tracker) you can get the regular Inspire for R1,300. Both Inspires are waterproof and should last five days or more between visits to the (no doubt proprietary) charger.
Ace 2
With an Inspire-matching R1 300 price tag, the second of Fitbit’s wearables for little ones is aimed at children six years and older. The Ace 2 has an updated, waterproof design with a built-in bumper to protect the display. As you’d expect, it comes in a range of bright hues. It also gets new animated clock faces and, according to Fitbit, “colourful avatars and cover photos to personalise their profiles within the Fitbit app”. As with the first generation Ace, parents have to create a Fitbit family account to set up their child’s wearable and keep an eye on things.
Fitbit Versa Lite Edition, Inspire HR and Inspire devices will be available from April 2019, with the Ace 2 set to follow in “winter”. Don’t worry, we have it on good authority winter is coming. It’ll be here before you know it. But fortunately, we have it on similarly good authority, that’s when summer bodies are made.
