Fitbit's Charge 3 borrows smartwatch-like features for fitness enthusiasts
Video: Apple Watch vs Fitbit Versa
Featured
Fitbit's latest fitness tracker takes design cues from the company's smartwatch line, but in a fitness-device form. The sleek fitness tracker is swim proof (up to 50m), boasts a touchscreen grayscale display, and is the first Fitbit tracker to take advantage of the relative Sp02 sensor.
Also: Fitbit Ace: My kids go hands-on
Using the sensor, Fitbit is able to measure blood oxygen levels to track health conditions like sleep apnea. Additionally, users of the Versa and Ionic, both of which also have a relative Sp02 sensor, will have the option to place in a new program called Sleep Score beta. Using all of the data available on modern Fitbits, the company will score your nightly sleep and give you information about your sleep quality and what kind of impact -- if at all -- it has on you.
The Charge 3 will have access to the Fitbit watch face store, with faces customized for the screen of the Charge 3. More feature carryovers from Fitbit's smartwatch push include replying to text messages (Android only), female health tracking, calendar, alarms, timer, and weather (to name a few).
It's hard to see in the promotional photos, but there is a single button on the left side of the Charge 3. Fitbit refers to it as an inductive button, and attributes the new design, in part, to the new button.
Also: How to buy a smartwatch or fitness tracker CNET
Fitbit currently puts the Charge 3's battery life at 7 days.
The Charge 3 will be available in October for $150, with Fitbit now accepting pre-orders through its website. A special edition model will cost $170, adding NFC for mobile payments through Fitbit Pay.
Announcing another fitness tracker, as opposed to a smartwatch, is something Fitbit is committed to right now. The company's approach is to offer multiple solutions across various price points and feature sets, and not look at the wearable market as a one-type-fits-all industry.
Also: Photos: Fitbit's new Ionic smartwatch and accessories TechRepublic
According to Fitbit's own market research, 42 percent of people who are considering a wearable are looking for a fitness tracker, while 36 percent are only considering a smartwatch.