It’s slimmer and more streamlined than the Charge 4, too: 10-percent thinner than the old model, Fitbit says. The softer edges now have stainless steel side-panels, which also double as sensors for the EDA and ECG systems.

Despite the reduction in size, though, you should still get up to 7 days of battery life, depending on use. The ambient light sensor for the new AMOLED screen should help there a little, and there’s a new always-on display mode so that you can always see the time, workout tracking metrics, and other details.

Flagship feature for the Charge 5 is Daily Readiness, which requires a Fitbit Premium subscription. It’s designed to help balance workouts with recovery time, based on the principle that your overall fitness improves more rapidly if you have a mixture of high-intensity workouts and active recovery. Daily Readiness aims to make it easier to figure out which day should be for which of the two.

It’s based on three factors: your level of activity and exertion, measured 24/7; your cumulative sleep over the past few days; and your heart rate variability. That all comes together in a score for physical preparedness for exercise each day, along with recommendations: if Fitbit thinks you’re up to it, it might recommend some HIIT and a target Active Zone Minutes goal. Alternatively, it might suggest some guided meditation, yoga, or other relaxation.

Building on that is an EDA sensor, the first time the technology has been used on a Fitbit tracker since the company launched it on the Fitbit Sense last year. It scans the body for stress levels – measured through changes in the sweat glands on your fingertips – and helps reduce that over the course of a two minute session. Fitbit also has a new partnership with Calm, and will soon be offering Fitbit Premium subscribers access to relaxation content from there. That’ll join the 300+ existing meditation and mindfulness sessions already on offer.

Also in the pipeline is an on-device ECG app, which will allow the Charge 5 to track signs of AFib (atrial fibrillation). It’s designed for wearers aged 22 or over, and will produce a PDF report after each use that can be shared with a healthcare provider. Charge 5 also tracks heart rate 24/7, with notifications if you go above or below your usual range. There’s SpO2 and VO2 max calculations, and Sleep Score, with premium subscribers getting more information and guidance on improving sleep quality.

As for smart features, the Charge 5 has 20+ different faces, supports Android and iOS devices, and shows smartphone notifications. You’ll need to pair it with an Android device, though, if you want to respond to those notifications from your wrist. Android phones also get Google Fast Pair support.

The Fitbit Charge 5 will be available from this Spring (we can only image this is late September) priced at R3 999 with a six month trial of Fitbit Premium included; various silicone, Velcro, and leather band options will be available. Daily Readiness, meanwhile, will be added to Fitbit Sense, Versa 3, Versa 2, Luxe, and Inspire 2.

Described as the company’s “most elevated tracker,” Luxe takes its inspiration from jewellery more than the tech world, with a smooth stainless steel case and interchangeable bands and straps.

If looks could kill

The casing on the Luxe is made using metal injection moulding, for a more seamless finish. Then, there’s metal vaporizing plating for the soft gold and platinum finishes.

There’ll be silicone, Horween leather, woven, stainless steel mesh, and other bands and straps, and Fitbit has partnered with gorjana on a Fitbit Luxe Special Edition with a Parker Link Bracelet in soft gold stainless steel and a swim proof silicone peony band.

Everything is controlled via the narrow AMOLED touchscreen with a combination of taps and swipes, and there are no physical buttons on the Luxe at all. It’s water resistant to 50 meters, and has a battery which should last for up to five days, Fitbit says.

The fun stuff

Despite the size, though, it’s still a full-featured Fitbit. There’s 24/7 heart rate tracking and oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring, and the Luxe will track pace, distance, and whatever other activity you get up to through the day. There are 20 exercise modes to choose between, and the wearable will automatically begin logging the most appropriate when it spots you starting to work out.

That includes swim tracking, and there’s also sleep tracking with differentiation between stages of sleep. Fitbit’s menstrual health tracking is included, to log periods, record symptoms, and track ovulation.

On the relaxation side, there’s guided breathing and “Mindful Minutes” to try to distract your brain from daily stresses. That’s one of a number of stress management tools, which will track physical signs of stress, Fitbit says, and then give you a score on your levels out of 100. Breathing rate and heart rate variability are also logged, and if you have a Fitbit Premium subscription the app will help join the dots between the various metrics being tracked.

As you’d expect, there are basics like call, text, and smartphone notifications, silent alarms, timers, a stopwatch, and a Do Not Disturb mode for when you’re trying to focus. Fitbit Luxe will be available starting this winter (exact date would be useful tbh), priced at R3 399 while the gorjana for Fitbit Luxe Special Edition will be available in selected retailers for R4,399.

For starters, the Fitbit Ace 3 will prompt kids to get 60 active minutes in each day and serve up reminders to get at least 250 steps per hour. Kids themselves can set activity and step goals for the day, and when school returns to normal, that reminder schedule can be customized to fit an in-person school day rather than a remote one.

The Ace 3 also allows for sleep tracking and bedtime reminders, which can be used to help kids stick to a consistent sleep schedule. Parents, of course, have control over much of the social experience, whether that’s approving friend requests or deciding what is shown on the Ace 3’s watch face. The Ace 3 requires a Fitbit family account to use, and with that, parents can keep tabs on their kid’s activity each day.

It probably won’t come as much of a shock to learn that a big part of the experience involves customizable, animated clock faces, of which there are more than 20 to choose from with this iteration of the Ace. There are also customizable bands to swap in and out, and for the first time, Fitbit says that it will be launching Minions-themed bands with “more engaging Minions features and offers coming soon.” It seems that even in the world of wearables, Minions are inescapable.

Finally, Fitbit says that the battery in the Ace 3 is good for around 8 days on a full charge.

Fitbit Ace 3 will be available at Fitbit.com, Hi Online, TAL, IC, Totalsports, Dis-Chem, eBucks, Superbalist and Momentum starting March 15, 2021. Ace 3 retails for R 1 799 with classic, comfortable and secure silicone bands, featuring a bumper design to withstand spills and tumbles, in Black with a Sport Red clasp or Cosmic Blue with an Astro Green clasp.

What made us warm up to this little companion? Upon unboxing, it was very easy to underestimate the performance quality of the watch due to its small size. This quickly changed when we put it on and felt how light and comfortable it was, especially considering that it will be worn throughout the day and night, and most importantly, during intense workouts. The fact that the face is the same width as the band is a positive as it doesn’t dig into your skin no matter how much you twist and turn during exercises or sleep. The display was also simple and easy to navigate because it doesn’t contain complex options, other than the time and a slide through menu of your tracker metrics, starting with total steps and heart rate amongst others. 

Now you might be asking, “What’s so special about the watch if it’s small and simple?” Well, like all superheroes, the Charge 4 has a companion that backs it up and allows it to perform as impressively as it does, the Fitbit App. Let’s jog your memory, remember that there are great features like 24/7 heart rate tracking and fitness challenges amongst others? Well the app is the sidekick that carries all the equipment you need to be fully immersed in an amazing world of fitness and wellness. On the app you can access in-depth fitness and wellness reports such as, total steps for the day and a detail of how your daily progress has been over the past week or month. We found this especially cool because you can set a minimum number of steps per hour and the watch nudges you (via a soft vibration) 10 minutes before the end of each hour reminding you of the number of steps you need to complete to meet your preset quota. 

Other reports include sleep data, where the quality of your sleep is scored out of 100 and can be assessed using the detailed reports; Heart rate and calories are also reported on the app. The calories aren’t just counted during workouts but throughout the day, including in your sleep. How in the world does that work? When you register your profile on the app, you provide your height, weight, age, body shape and fitness goals, these are used to estimate the number calories you burn per minute. In the app, you can also input your meals which will automatically calculate the number of calories per food type, making it extremely simple to measure whether you are burning more calories than you take in, which has been said to be the best way to lose weight or maintain weight levels by many experts.

The Discover area of the app gives you access to a variety of guided fitness programmes, challenges & adventures, mindfulness programmes and workouts that range from beginner to expert levels. This is one of our favourite areas on the app, it allows you to get creative, challenge friends or other unknown users and stay motivated with new and different movements. This is especially welcomed during lockdown and COVID-19 as it allows you to be connected to the fitness world in the comfort of your own space.

Well stretched is the perfect description of how much has been packed into the Charge 4 and the accompanying Fitbit App, let’s summarize the main points:

Push-ups:

• Great size – weightless feel on wrist;
• 24/7 heart rate and calorie counter;
• Long lasting battery (2 to 3 hour charge lasted at least 6 days)
• Sleep monitoring;
• Competitive pricing;
• Wide-range of in-app features;
• Fitbit pay (paying through watch, which is positive for social distancing);

Pull-downs:

• Limited watch face display due to small size;
• App requires premium (paid) account in order to access some report details (this costs R149pm);
• Reliance on app features instead of watch.

Chin-up, you don’t have to give up an arm and a leg to join the Fitbit Charge 4 club, with the watch retailing at a reasonable R2 999 and offered in black, rosewood, and storm blue/black.

First up is the Fitbit Versa 3. The Versa 3 looks like an evolution of its predecessor, with a number of tweaks and updates in the Sense-like shell for 2020. There’s built-in GPS, with the ability to log and show different heart rate zones on a post-workout map, and 24/7 heart tracking. It uses the same PurePulse 2.0 system as the Fitbit Sense, for more accuracy.

There’s a built-in speaker and microphone, and you’ll be able to use Versa 3 to take calls and – only if you’re using an Android device – reply to text messages by voice. There’s also Amazon Alexa support and, coming later this year, Google Assistant support. Fitbit Pay for contactless payments is included, too.

The casing is swim-proof to 50m, and the battery lasts over six days on a single charge. A full day’s charging can be completed in 12 minutes, and Fitbit is using the same magnetic charge cable for both Versa 3 and Sense, to make life easier. The quick-release watch strap design is also shared between the two watches, so you can exchange bands.

Deezer, Pandora, and Spotify are offering curated playlists for Versa 3 (and Sense), and you can sign up not only to Fitbit Premium for more in-depth health metric analysis, but Fitbit Premium + Health Coaching – at $54.95 per month – for access to a dedicated health professional to build a custom fitness plan.

The Fitbit Versa 3 is goes up for pre-order in September, priced at R5 699, in black/black aluminium, pink clay/soft gold aluminium, and midnight/soft gold aluminium. It’ll reach stores late October. Bands start from R399 for Fitbit’s range.

Next up is the Fitbit Inspire 2. It is a sleeker and more discreet than the Versa 3 or Sense, the Fitbit Inspire 2 is a more traditional fitness tracker design; that makes it cheaper, but also means you could feasibly wear it as well as a regular watch without it looking strange. It gets a new, slimline design and a brighter display for easier outdoor visibility, while the button controls on the side have been swapped for a touch sensor.

There’s activity zone minutes in the Fitbit map – using the GPS on your phone for logging – and 10 days of battery life. There are over 20 goal-based exercise modes, 24/7 heart rate tracking, and sleep tracking, plus the ability to log menstrual health and food/hydration intake. Fitbit Premium adds guided workouts and other features.

The Fitbit Inspire 2 will also reach us in October, priced at R2 399. It’s available in black, lunar white, and desert rose. Bands and straps include Horween leather bands in midnight blue and black double wrap, mesh in silver and rose gold stainless steel, printed silicon, silicone, and a new clip band in black; they start at R399.

The EDA – or electrodermal activity – sensor basically tracks the electrical changes in the sweat level of your skin. To take a reading, you place your palm over the watch and wait a moment. Fitbit then asks you to rate your current mood, so that it can link the two readings.

The results can help better understand the body’s reaction to different stressors, Fitbit says, and they also work with the guided mindfulness sessions available in the Fitbit app. At the end of those meditation or relaxation sessions, you then get an EDA response graph – on both the watch and in the app – to show how well it all worked.

Fitbit calculates a Stress Management Score out of 100, which takes into account not only the EDA sensor’s results but heart rate, sleep, and activity level data. A new tile in the app focuses on stress specifically. Higher scores are better; lower scores are a sign for concern; and Fitbit Premium subscribers get a breakdown of the 10+ biometric inputs that made up the score, such as exertion balance, responsiveness, and sleep quality.

Premium subscribers also get 100+ meditation sessions – including content from brands like Aaptiv, Aura, Breethe, and Ten Percent Happier – and relaxing sounds. Non-subscribers can still set weekly mindfulness goals and reminders, along with logging their moods and meditation settings.

Working alongside the EDA sensor is a 24/7 heart rate monitor, now using PurePulse 2.0 on the Fitbit Sense. It promises to learn your usual heart rates, and then warn you if they’re too slow – a possible sign of bradycardia – or too fast – possible tachycardia – during the course of the day. An ECG sensor, for the first time, can track signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib) as you’ve been able to do on Apple Watch for some time now.

You’ll also be able to touch the Sense’s stainless steel border ring and, after 30 seconds, get a heart rhythm read-out which can also be shared as an export for your doctor. That, along with skin temperature changes – which can indicate the onset of illness, fever, or a new menstrual phase – is logged in the Fitbit app. Premium subscribers get a new Health Metrics dashboard, which shows things like average breaths per minute, resting heart rate and heart rate variability, and skin temperature variation. It also flags changes over time.

SpO2 blood oxygen tracking is included too, and Premium subscribers will have that data included in their trends. Of course there’s sleep tracking as well, along with onboard GPS for tracking exercise sessions. You can see colour-coded maps of your progress in the Fitbit app, showing where you exerted yourself more.

A built-in speaker and microphone have been added, for hands-free voice calls, and responding to messages (if you have an Android device), and there’s Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant integration too. Fitbit Pay is onboard for contactless payments, and there’s the usual third-party apps and watch faces on offer. Battery life, Fitbit says, is 6+ days, and Sense uses the same charger as Fitbit Versa 3 to make things easier.

The AMOLED display has an ambient light sensor, and there’s a faster processor onboard, all wrapped up in a glass and metal body that’s water resistant up to 50m. A new watch strap mechanism – also shared with the Versa 3 – has been used, and Fitbit will have a verity of bands plus special Pendleton woven bands and Victor Glemaud sustainable knit bands.

Fitbit Sense goes up for preorder in September, priced at R7 999, in either carbon/graphite stainless steel or lunar white/soft gold stainless steel. They’ll start arriving in-stores later in October 2020. Bands start from R399 for Fitbit’s range.

Fitbit Premium is $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year, with a six month trial included for new Sense buyers.

Fitbit has officially revealed the new Charge 4 fitness band, and as expected it’s a case of new tech hiding inside a familiar wearable. While it may look like the old Charge, the new version adds onboard GPS along with other sensors, and introduces an Active Zone Minutes feature that promises to better track your health.

Active Zone Minutes is based on the principle that activity is more than just step-counting, and will vary from person to person. It starts with the Charge 4’s 24/7 heart rate tracking, to figure out a personalized resting heart rate metric and then track exercise effort across whatever increases that. That way, whereas other fitness wearables might not count your power yoga as exercise, the Charge 4 can tell if it’s actually helping you burn fat.

There’ll be credit allowed for each minute of moderate activity that takes place in the fat burn zone, as well as double the credit for more vigorous activity in the cardio and peak zones. The Charge 4 will alert the wearer when they change between those zones.

Thanks to the integrated GPS, there’s now location tracking for running, walking, and other outdoor activities, without requiring you take your phone with you. Fitbit has added seven new GPS-enabled exercise modes, and they all synchronise to a “heat map” in the Fitbit app that shows not only your route, but where the intensity of the workout changed alone it. Despite on-board GPS, Fitbit says you can still get up to seven days of battery life from the Charge 4, though that drops to up to 5 hours with continuous GPS usage.

Elsewhere, there’s sleep tracking and a relative SpO2 sensor. The latter promises to give an estimate of oxygen level variability in the bloodstream while you’re asleep. It’ll be possible to set alarms and activate Sleep Mode from the Charge 4 itself, too.

Spotify Connect & Control support allows playback control – including shuffle, skip, and liking songs – from the wrist. There are also notifications for your paired phone, and if you have an Android phone you can use quick replies too. Fitbit Pay is supported, too, and if you’re a Fitbit Premium subscriber the Charge 4 will unsurprisingly integrate with that guided fitness tool.

Fitbit Charge 4 will be on sale the minute COVID-19 restrictions are lifted in April. It’ll be priced at R2 999 and offered in black, rosewood, and storm blue/black. There’ll also be a Charge 4 Special Edition, priced at R3 399, bundled with both a granite reflective/black woven band a classic black band. Fitbit will have a variety of bands – including reflective, silicone, and leather – starting at R399.

While not exactly a new device, it is a redesign of one of 2016’s most popular models, and it comes with some improvements that fans of the first will definitely want to consider. The most important is likely the addition of PurePulse technology, which Fitbit says was the most requested feature from Alta users.

The problem, however, was that in a device like the Alta, which is focused on design as much as utility, the hardware required to include PurePulse was too large. For the Alta HR, Fitbit has developed a new PurePulse chip that reduces the number of necessary components, ultimately making the Alta HR 25% smaller than the Fitbit Charge 2.

What is PurePulse, precisely? Essentially, it’s meant to help you better track your health and fitness goals throughout the day. It offers improved calorie burn measurements that aren’t based purely on step count, allowing you to measure the calories you’re burning when you’re doing something like yoga. PurePulse can also help you look at long term trends with your heart rate, allowing you to find the ideal heart rate for your fitness goals when you’re both working out and at rest.

The device includes continuous tracking for statistics like heart rate, steps, and active minutes

Beyond PurePulse, the Alta HR will offer the same Fitbit features you’ve come to expect from the company’s line of trackers. This includes continuous tracking for statistics like heart rate, steps, and active minutes; reminders to move during periods of inactivity; and push notifications for your calls and texts. Fitbit is also saying that the Alta HR offers a seven-day battery life, which is significantly better than the original Alta’s estimated life of five days.

The Alta HR will have a full launch coming at the beginning of next month. Sleep Stages will be available for Fitbit devices that feature PurePulse (meaning the Alta HR, Blaze, and Charge 2), while Sleep Insights will be available for all devices capable of tracking of sleep. Both utilities will be going live within the Fitbit app this spring.