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New Images Reveal Fitbit's Upcoming 'Mass Appeal' Smartwatch

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Images of Fitbit's next smartwatch have been obtained by Wearable, following the fitness firm's recent confirmation of a new device launch later this year.

During an investor's call yesterday revealing weaker-than-expected results, Fitbit CEO James Park said the company will introduce a smartwatch in 2018 that will have "mass appeal", seemingly confirming lackluster sales of its Ionic smartwatch (reviewed here).

fitbit-watch-5-1519763555-9d2O-column-width-inline-800x450.jpg

According to Wearable, the new device will be the successor to the two-year-old Fitbit Blaze and will run the same Fitbit OS that first showed up on the Ionic - software that was largely the result of Fitbit's acquisition of Pebble back in 2016.

The actual name of the new smartwatch remains unclear, but Fitbit is said to want to appeal more to the female market, which is one reason why this device will be smaller than the Ionic and closer to the dimensions of the original Blaze.

new-fitbit-smartwatch-800x447.jpg

Otherwise, the new smartwatch is said to be water resistant to 50 meters and will have an Sp02 sensor for monitoring sleep apnea, but GPS won't be included. The watch will be more affordable than the Ionic, according to Wareable's sources, and will come in four colors: black, silver, rose gold, and charcoal, with a range of straps available.

Article Link: New Images Reveal Fitbit's Upcoming 'Mass Appeal' Smartwatch
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/02/28/fitbit-new-smartwatch-coming-2018/
Another dead on arrival "rival" for Apple Watch. Unfortunately for Fitbit, it's no longer about the niche that its products do very well. Apple Watch addresses that and so much more.

The best thing that Fitbit had going for it was the battery life of its products. But consumers seem to care less about that now.
 
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asdavis10 said:
Another dead on arrival "rival" for Apple Watch. Unfortunately for Fitbit, it's no longer about the niche that its products do very well. Apple Watch addresses that and so much more.

The best thing that Fitbit had going for it was the battery life of its products. But consumers seem to care less about that now.
Click to expand...

There's still the entire Android market that Apple can't reach with the Watch. If it's priced low enough it'll sell.
 
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asdavis10 said:
Another dead on arrival "rival" for Apple Watch. Unfortunately for Fitbit, it's no longer about the niche that its products do very well. Apple Watch addresses that and so much more.

The best thing that Fitbit had going for it was the battery life of its products. But consumers seem to care less about that now.
Click to expand...

Actually, my Apple Watch S3+LTE goes two full days on a charge, and I suspect newer models will get even better. But yeah, battery life as a product’s “best feature” is not a good sign.
 
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Fynd said:
There's still the entire Android market that Apple can't reach with the Watch. If it's priced low enough it'll sell.
Click to expand...

You do realize that Fitbit's products work on Android and iOS. And Fitbit faces the same challenge with Android Wear for Android users. Android Wear products are much more compelling to Android smartphone users just like Apple Watch is to iPhone users.

Fitbit's "smartwatch" features can't compete on either platform. They are better off sticking to health bands and scales. They should try and convince people to wear something on both wrists as opposed to trying to get their product to be the only one people wear.
 
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Just don’t release it if it’s not ready. Fitbit seems to be the worst when it comes to releasing unfinished products. I bought the ionic when it was released and it was so buggy from Bluetooth to onscreen controls. I called their customer support and was told, “fitbit engineers are aware of the issues and are working on a fix.” Hey if you’re aware of it don’t release it. I returned it and went back to my charge 2.

Then I purchased the Aria 2 and again it came with a whole bunch of bugs. Ended up returning that too. I guess the lesson I learned is not to buy newly released fitbit products.

I will say that it was a smart move by the ceo to not create an app for the Apple Watch. The only reason I have a fitbit is because all my friends have one and if there was a Fitbit app for the Apple Watch I would ditch my Fitbit in a second.

Ok, I’m done ranting now.
 
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Andronicus said:
Just don’t release it if it’s not ready. Fitbit seems to be the worst when it comes to releasing unfinished products.
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+1

Love the battery life on my Ultra HR, but the HR feature has quit working after four months. Resetting the device fixes it for 48 hours. All other features work and great battery life, but this is exactly the quality control Fitbit is famous for. Previous Fitbit devices have all failed within 18 months. They do have a robust social community and that is what brings me back. I love the competition between friends. But, I spend that absolute minimum with this company and exercise all available customer service remedies.
 
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It doesn't look appealing at all to me. And, truly, the world doesn't need another square watch. If I was looking for a non-Apple activity watch I think the Garmin Vivoactive 3 looks nicer. No GPS is really a non-starter in 2018. It should be a standard feature in anything priced $199 and up. How much longer before Fitbit is an also-ran company?

Kinda sad because it was a fantastic company when they first started. I lost my tracker walking around and they sent me a replacement for free. I can't say they lost their way. More like they never found it. They really didn't know how to capitalize on the activity pod genre they founded. It took them years to even figure out people wanted them on bands, not clip-ons.
 
ikir said:
With no Apple's Healt support... no thanks Fitbit
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That was the final nail in the coffin for me too. Add the fact that I can’t use data from the Apple Watch to take part in challenges too. I dumped Fitbit long ago and haven’t looked back. The thing that they did well was the social side - challenges and Fitbit buddies, that that’s not enough to stick with the outdated garbage.
 
The “Massive Apple Steal“... I mean “Mass Appeal” design does look better but it is a blatant ripoff from Apple.

The Ionic was simply an ugly watch and the price was not that different from the more refined Apple Watch.

I really enjoy my (series 2) Apple Watch for the most part but look forward to how it will be in a few more generations when the size, battery life, and speed are improved greatly.
 
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So why did they kill off the Pebble line when they purchased them? They were growing in popularity and great devices. Was annoyed they killed the line after they purchased it. Honestly not sure about my interest in this device as of yet.
 
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Well, my GF for sure wants one of these. Her series 0 rose gold isn't doing well on the battery. She doesn't use Siri or iMessage integration except to receive notifications. She and I agree this is far more gender-neutral than Apple's offering. Even in bright pink, Apple's watches are very masculine.

which I don't mind. I have a space black SS w/ link bracelet. I love it. Series 0 and Series 2 owner here. I'll stay with Apple as I get home, dock my iPhone in the bedroom and do all of my evening computing on the watch (home kit, iMessage, music control, revieww and triage emails) so I really do like what Apple has done with integration.
 
840quadra said:
So why did they kill off the Pebble line when they purchased them? They were growing in popularity and great devices. Was annoyed they killed the line after they purchased it. Honestly not sure about my interest in this device as of yet.
Click to expand...

This. I would love an e-ink display that lasts days. They killed off the only viable actual competitor. I have no sympathy for fitbit's problems, nor will I buy their devices until they bring back pebble.
 
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Infinitewisdom said:
No kidding. I guess if your own designers can’t come up with anything good, just copy Apple’s. Seems to be the trend these days.
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How many different ways can you make a square screen with a bezel, appear? The design is square glass and metal bezel. All smartwatches are going to look the same.
 
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Wife said to me once, “why have a FitBit when you can have an Apple Watch.” She isn’t tech savvy or have an allegiance to a particular brand but she is right. Apple Watch in terms of an overall smart watch is ahead of the game. Still not for me yet but I do feel they are heading in the right direction.
 
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