Fitbit

Just a few weeks after announcing its intentions, Fitbit and Google have today announced that clearance has been granted in the United States for select trackers and smartwatches to detect irregular AFib heart rhythms.

Last year, Google introduced a new Bug Hunters platform to encompass all its Vulnerability Reward Programs. An expanded “Android and Google Devices Security Reward Program” now brings Nest and Fitbit into the fold with Pixel.

Evidence within the Fitbit app suggests that Google’s acquisition has multiple fitness wearables on the horizon, none of which appear to run Wear OS.

Fitbit today offered a number of guided programs as part of its premium subscription. The Google-owned company is now testing one called Quantified Self that’s personalized and involves using “Fitbit data to figure out which strategies can meaningfully boost your stats.”

Like last year, Fitbit has taken until the end of January to release a personalized “2021 Year in Review” based on your health and fitness metrics. Owners of the Google-owned wearables started receiving the email on Saturday.

In recent years, Fitbit has offered a few months of free Premium when purchasing a new tracker or smartwatch. Subscribers that took advantage of that offer are now discovering that they’re eligible for another free trial.

For the past several years, Fitbit has used aggregated and anonymized user data to release global health stats. The 2021 year in review reveals that Fitbit users around the world slept 6.5 hours every night.

The “Sleep Score” is one of Fitbit’s most alluring metrics that people like to compare and improve on. Fitbit is now testing “Sleep Animals” as a friendly but surprisingly smart way to encourage “better sleep health.” 

Alongside sleep tracking updates for the 2nd-gen Nest Hub, Google-owned Fitbit is rolling out the Daily Readiness Score to its latest smartwatches and trackers, while the Charge 5 gets an ECG app.

Fitbit OS 5.3 is rolling out as a smaller update for the Sense and Versa 3 that introduces status indicators. It follows the bigger release in June that added audible Google Assistant responses and better clock face switching.

At the end of last month, the Charge 5 went on sale as Fitbit’s first tracker to feature an always-on display mode. Fitbit is now adding an AOD to the Luxe through a firmware update. 

Starting today, Fitbit’s latest health tracker is shipping to customers. The Fitbit Charge 5 is now available, and it’s coming with an upgrade to Fitbit Premium, too, in the form of new content from Calm.

With the Charge 5 and “Daily Readiness Score” announcement at the end of last month, Fitbit also confirmed our report that the Sense and Versa 3 would get “Snore & Noise Detect.” That microphone-powered feature is now beginning to roll out. 

The Apple Watch popularized the concept of “closing your rings,” and Google Fit has Heart Points. Meanwhile, Fitbit — by nature of being around for so long — more prominently emphasizes step counts and miles than competitors. More recently, it’s found branding success in people comparing Sleep Scores, while there’s also one for stress. Fitbit today announced the Daily Readiness Score for Premium subscribers as the next metric you might care about.

Despite Google’s clear focus on using Fitbit to bolster its Wear OS platform, the company isn’t stopping Fitbit from launching its own new hardware. Following the launch of the Fitbit Luxe fitness tracker earlier this year, the Fitbit Charge 5 is now going official with some huge upgrades, including being the first Fitbit tracker with an always-on display.

We’re likely still a ways out from the debut of the next Fitbit product, but the leaks are starting to trickle out. Following a first look at the Fitbit Charge 5 earlier this month, another leak details the product’s price point and more.

The Fitbit Sense is nearly a year old at this point, but with no successor on the horizon, it’s getting a slight refresh. Fitbit today announced a new Sage Green option for Sense that also debuts a silver finish for the hardware, and new bands have been released, too.

Fitness trackers are the bread and butter of the Google-owned Fitbit brand, and despite Google’s focus on smartwatches, it seems Fitbit is not done with that market. After we first leaked the design last month, a new set of renders is showing off the alleged Fitbit Charge 5.

The Fitbit wearable lineup remains split between smartwatches and trackers. The Versa 3 and Sense from 2020 are the latest devices in the former category, while the latter has seen Ace 3 and Luxe this year. Fitbit’s next tracker is codenamed “Morgan” and looks to be the Charge 5.