Accessorising has never been a strong suit of Fitbit’s. While the Flex and Zip series came with choices of coloured clips and wrist straps, customisation was always left to 3rd party producers such as Tory Burch. It was only with the launch of the Fitbit Blaze that we started seeing Fitbit’s re-entry to customisation in the form of changeable straps. The just announced Fitbit Alta further reinforces this trend with a choice of classic, leather and stainless steel wrist straps. Let’s take a look.
The Fitbit Alta ia a timely update to the Fitbit Charge and Flex series. It features a sleek OLED screen that is capable of displaying smart notifications in the form of texts, calender alerts and even phone calls; clearly making up for Fitbit Charge’s shortfall in this area.
You’ll also find Fitbit’s SmartTrack technology tucked within the tracker band where your exercises are automatically recognised and recorded. Other small features such as move reminders and choice of vertical or horizontal orientation layout on the OLED screen adds the finer touches to a comprehensive tracking experience.
I personally found the Fitbit Alta unobtrusive and can easily pass off as an accompanying accessory. The new slim look is also a move away from the broad flat design that is characteristic of the Fitbit Charge and Surge.
The choice of wrist strap materials from silicon to leather and stainless steel allows for ease of swapping between workouts and more formal occasions when the sporty look is not preferred. We all know how “painful” it can be seeing steps go unrecorded!
List of features:
- All day activity tracker
- Tracks steps, distance, calories, sleep, active minutes
- SmartTrack automatically recognises and records exercises
- OLED tap display
- Smart notifications
- Vibration alert for alarms and movement reminders
- 5 days battery life
- Accessory bands
Unfortunately the Fitbit Alta does not come with Fitbit’s PurePulse technology so that means no heart rate monitoring. Needless to say, the presence of an optical HR sensor would have increased the size of the Fitbit Alta, reduced battery life. It would have been awesome too.
The Fitbit Alta will ship in March 2016 and pre-orders have already started. The RRP is $129.95 and accessory bands are respectively priced at $29.95 for the classic band, $59.95 for the leather band, and $99.95 for the stainless steel band.
Source: Business Wire