Fitbit's Charge 3 offers an upgrade over the old fitness tracker
Fitbit has launched the Fitbit Charge 3 as the latest update to the company's Charge lineup of fitness trackers. The new Fitbit Charge 3 is an upgrade from the two-year-old Fitbit Charge 2. While the company has been foraying into the smartwatch market, it clearly has not given up on simple fitness trackers. Fitbit has announced that the Charge 3 comes with several new features, such as an upgraded display, swim tracking, and more. There are some changes in terms of the casing too, as the Charge 3 comes with an Aluminium body and Gorilla Glass 3. The price in India of the Fitbit Charge 3 starts from Rs. 14,999.
The Fitbit Charge 3 features an elevated, premium swim-proof design with a touchscreen display, over 15 goal-based exercise modes, up to 7 days of battery life, and what is claimed to be the company's "most advanced sensor and algorithm technology in a tracker". Notably, the Charge 3 is available for pre-sale in the US, with global retail availability starting October 2018.
The display on the Charge 3 is claimed to be nearly 40 percent bigger and brighter than the display on the Charge 2. Notably, it' is the first in the Charge lineup to have a touchscreen. Fitbit has replaced the physical 'home button' with a new inductive button. Meanwhile, the new Aluminium casing has made the Charge 2 water-resistant, with coverage up to 50-metres. Users will also be able to see real-time data with a 'Swim Mode', or use SmartTrack automatic exercise recognition to see them later.
However, the most interesting boost is in terms of battery life, as the Fitbit Charge 3 promises to last up to 7-days on a single charge. The Charge 3 has several similar features as the Charge 2, including a 24/7 PurePulse heart rate monitor and connected GPS. Notably, the Charge 3's also the company's first fitness tracker with a SpO2 sensor, also found in the Fitbit Ionic and Versa smartwatches, for monitoring blood oxygen levels.
The new Charge 3 will ship with two different configurations. As mentioned, the regular variant has been priced at Rs. 14,999 in India, while the upgraded 'Special Edition' model that delivers support for NFC payments will cost Rs. 15,999.
Additionally, Fitbit has also promised the rollout of a new Sleep Score beta feature. It uses the PurePulse heart rate tracking to help users get a better idea of their sleep quality. Fitbit says that any of the fitness trackers will be able to provide a score to help give you a more complete picture of your overall sleep quality and what factors affect it. This feature will arrive "later this year.
Meanwhile, Fitbit has claimed that its Charge lineup is the "most popular of Fitbit's lineup", with 35 million devices sold to date. The company says that a research has shown that out of the total number of adult consumers who considered buying a wearable in the last year, 42 percent wanted a tracker while only 36 percent wanted a smartwatch. The reasons cited were "slimmer design, easy-to-use features, streamlined experience, and price point."
"With Charge 3, we are building on the success of our best-selling Charge franchise and delivering our most innovative tracker, offering an extremely slim, comfortable and premium design, along with the advanced health and fitness features our users want. Charge 3 gives existing users a compelling reason to upgrade, while also allowing us to reach new users who want a sleeker, more affordable wearable in a tracker form factor," said James Park, Co-Founder and CEO of Fitbit.
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