Fitbit has announced the Fitbit Charge 3 fitness tracker with a slew of upgrades that include a redesigned case, an enhanced grayscale touchscreen OLED display and improved battery life than the rest of its fitness trackers. The latest Fitbit wearable will come at a price of Rs 13,990 across Reliance Digital, Croma, Helios and other major retailers offline and online in India. There’s also a Special Edition Fitbit Charge 3 available for Rs 15,999.
The Fitbit Charge 3 looks a lot like the Charge 2 with a vertically elongated black and white screen which is of the same size as its predecessor. However, the fitness tracker has carefully refined the elements with a new aluminium body and Gorilla Glass 3 protection for the display which features grayscale colours instead of just plain black and white. The OLED screen in itself is 40 percent larger and brighter than the last generation Charge Band and thus has room for fluid animations on a larger area.
The fitness tracker is water resistant to up to 50 metres meaning the wearable can be used for swim tracking in addition to other regular activities that Fitbit has been offering. There’s a PurePulse heart rate technology for accurate heart monitoring, a SpO2 sensor for estimating differences in blood oxygen levels, automatic exercise recognition and sleep tracking. GPS is provided when connected to a smartphone, meaning there’s inbuilt support for tracking but the battery on the Charge 3 lasts up to 7 days on a single charge.
A new goal-based exercise mode allows users to set time, distance and calorie goals before every workout session. The run-detect feature automatically enables or disables tracking without needing a user to manually switch on track. In an effort to move their fitness trackers more toward a smartwatch ecosystem, Fitbit has added the ability to view App notifications, calls, calendar and texts on the Charge 3.
Additionally, the tracker comes with expanded smartphone notifications, quick replies on Android and an inductive button for an interactive experience.
Speaking about their latest product, Fitbit CEO and co-founder, James Park said “Charge 3 is our most innovative tracker yet, featuring our most advanced sensor technology, bringing the relative SpO2 sensor to the tracker form factor for the first time.Data from this sensor will feed into the upcoming launch of our Fitbit Labs Sleep Score beta, which will allow users to better understand metrics like their sleep quality and breathing disturbances. In the future, with FDA approval, this data could be used to screen and detect more serious health conditions, such as sleep apnea”.
The Fitbit Charge 3 will be available in black with a graphite aluminium case or blue-grey with rose-gold aluminium case. The wearable can be purchased In India across Amazon India, Reliance Digital, Croma, Helios and other major retailers offline starting January 1, 2019, for an asking price of Rs 13,990. The device can be bundled with other accessories ranging from Rs 2,990 to Rs 4,490. Fitbit will also release a Charge 3 Special Edition tracker for Rs 15,999 in the near future.