Fitbit has put years of expertise to work and launched a smartwatch you can wear proudly in the light of day. Fitbit Ionic couples the most popular smartwatch functions you can think of with a gorgeous touchscreen #objectmagic
The latest smartwatch from Fitbit isn’t striving to be the slimmest or sleekest on the market. Instead, it takes advantage of its form to include a beautiful 1.42-inch, 348 x 250 LCD screen that makes every notification and routine shine. With 1,000 nits brightness, you won’t have any problem checking out your messages even in harsh sunlight. This display is encased in a rectangular frame, surrounded by lugs, with a unibody design made from aerospace-grade aluminum. Even so, thanks to the slight curves of the screen and the strap that stays flush on the wrist, you won’t feel any discomfort wearing it.
Fitbit Ionic is an opportunity to test the new FitbitOS. The operating system helps you stay atop your reminders and app notifications. Some of them come pre-installed, including a Pandora app that allows you to listen to your favorite stations from the wrist via Bluetooth headphones. To check notifications, you can swipe up from the home screen. To access a specific app, just swipe left to open the menu. You can exit apps or go back to the home screen by pressing the left physical button. Buttons also come in handy when you want to start or finish a workout. It can be confusing at first but after a while, you’ll get accustomed to the UX.
Developing an operating system for Fitbit Iconic also meant giving more freedom to developers to come up with their own apps for the smartwatch. That’s how Fitbit Studio was born. It’s a new web-based platform for coding, easy to access and use.
By the way, another Fitbit surprise is their payment service. Fitbit Pay allows you to pay with your smartwatch wherever Mastercard, Visa and Amex contactless payments are allowed. All you have to do is press and hold the left button until a card image appears, then put the watch face near the terminal.
You’ll also notice a couple of new functions. One of them is SpO2 blood oxygen tracking. Fitbit Ionic uses LEDs and a camera to check the oxygen in your blood and alert you if it senses any dramatic, all-of-a-sudden changes. Another unexpected addition is Coach, a service that not only suggest workouts but shows how those need to be done via short videos with human instructors. Thanks to the upgraded screen, these are very easy to follow.
As usual, expect Ionic to work in water (and track your swimming laps), track your sleep (sensing the stage of sleep you’re in) and movements. It’s supposed to last four days on a charge and up to 10 hours when you’re making use of GPS. Couple that with the possibility of using it in sync with the Flyer wireless earphones or Fitbit’s smart scale and you get one of the best smartwatch propositions on the market!
How much does it? About $300 but we say it’s pretty worth it (there’s even an Adidas model coming up!). What do you think?
Follow TechTheLead on Google News to get the news first.
