Fitbit launches their cross-platform Ionic smartwatch

After many months of leaks, Fitbit has now finally made their Ionic smartwatch official.

Focussed on health and fitness,  the Ionic is the first mainstream fitness band to track blood oxygen content, via a new SpO2 sensor, making it possible to track deeper health insights like sleep apnea.  The band also offers industry-leading GPS tracking, on-device dynamic workouts, improved heart rate tracking, and water resistance up to 50 meters.  As a smartwatch however, it also offers essentials such as contactless payments, on-board music, smart notifications, and a variety of popular apps and clock faces available in the Fitbit App Gallery.

The Ionic also has all the core features Fitbit users love such as 4+ day battery life, automatic activity and sleep tracking, and cross-platform compatibility.

“Ten years ago, Fitbit pioneered the wearables category with the introduction of its first health and fitness tracker. Since then, we have become the leading global wearables brand, setting the pace of innovation in the category and establishing the largest social fitness network that helps millions of people around the world be healthier,” said James Park, co-founder and CEO of Fitbit. “With Ionic, we will deliver what consumers have not yet seen in a smartwatch – a health and fitness first platform that combines the power of personalization and deeper insights with our most advanced technology to date, unlocking opportunities for unprecedented health tracking capabilities in the future.”

The device features:

• Personal trainer with Fitbit Coach: Access dynamic, on-device workouts that adapt based on feedback you provide on your wrist, or listen to expert-designed running and walking Audio Coaching sessions (available 2018) to increase endurance, speed and form on your schedule.
• Running companion: Automatically track your run with the new Run Detect feature that kicks in GPS tracking – just step out the door and go; see real-time pace and distance; auto-pause to grab some water or take a breather and automatically resume when you start running.
• New swim exercise mode: With water resistance up to 50 meters and industry-leading lap counting, use Ionic in the pool and see your real-time laps, exercise duration and calories burned for pool swims.
• Industry-leading GPS: The unique design and integrated antenna inside Ionic provide a stronger connection to GPS and GLONASS satellites, delivering industry-leading GPS performance. Leave your phone behind and see pace and distance right on your wrist, as well as record elevation climbed, split times, and a map of your walk, run or ride in the Fitbit app.
• Improved heart rate technology: Ionic has enhanced PurePulse® heart rate tracking with greater accuracy during exercises like cycling, intervals and running; better measure calorie burn, see real-time heart rate zones to optimize intensity, and track resting heart rate 24/7.
• New sensor technology: The introduction of a relative SpO2 sensor for estimating blood oxygen levels opens the potential for tracking important new indicators about your health, such as sleep apnea.
• Motivation through music: Leave your phone at home and find the motivation to jumpstart your workout by storing and playing more than 300 songs on device (2.5 GB of storage), or downloading and listening to your favorite Pandora stations. Connect Ionic to the new Fitbit Flyer™ wireless headphones, or any Bluetooth device of your choosing.
• Make payments using Fitbit Pay™: Leave your wallet and phone at home and effortlessly pay for items right from your device, wherever contactless payments are accepted. Over the coming months you will be able to add eligible American Express cards, as well as Mastercard and Visa credit and debit cards from top issuing banks in over 10 markets across the globe, including ANZ, Banco Santander, Bank of America, Capital One, HSBC, KBC Bank Ireland, OCBC Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, UOB and US Bank with more countries and banks planned soon.
• Smart notifications you need most: With extended smartphone notifications, receive call, text and calendar alerts, as well as notifications from apps on your smartphone like Facebook, Gmail, Instagram, Slack, Snapchat and more.
• Multi-day battery life: With 4+ day battery life on a single charge (10 hours with GPS or playing music), Ionic will outlast any activity you do during the day and still track your sleep all night.
• In addition to these new features, Ionic has everything you love about Fitbit – automatically track your steps, calories, floors climbed and sleep stages, see your cardio fitness level (estimated VO2 Max), maintain moments of calm and more. Read more about everything Ionic has to offer here.

Fitbit is also partnering with adidas to deliver a Fitbit Ionic special edition device and training programs in 2018. This relationship will leverage adidas’ robust performance program expertise with Fitbit data and insights from millions of global users to help athletes of all levels perform better, play better and feel better.

Ionic runs on Fitbit OS, the company’s new operating system for smartwatches that will be regularly updated to add new user experiences. This includes the launch of the Fitbit App Gallery, where you can select the apps and clock faces that appeal to you so you’re always armed with the information you want most, in a way that reflects your own personal needs and style.

The App Gallery offers a range of health and fitness apps from Fitbit like Exercise, Fitbit Coach, Relax, Timer and more, as well as popular apps that are designed to make life easier and more convenient when you’re on the go. Each app is designed specifically for Ionic so you don’t have to download an accompanying mobile app or have your smartphone nearby.

Leading partner apps available on Fitbit Ionic at launch include:

• Pandora, the most listened-to audio streaming service in the U.S., delivers a seamless music experience to enhance performance and help motivate you to reach your goals. Choose from a range of workout stations, including the new Fitbit Motivation Mixtape, or automatically sync your most listened to stations, freeing you from your phone.
• Starbucks Coffee Company, the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world, lets you seamlessly pay for purchases using your Starbucks Card and Ionic device, without having to take out your wallet or phone.
• Strava, the leading social network for millions of athletes at all levels, makes it easy to get inspired, stay motivated, track activities and analyze your performance data for your runs, bike rides and swims. Using the exclusive Matched Runs feature, you can benchmark yourself against past performances on your most common routes – right on your wrist.
• Weather, powered by global leader AccuWeather, gives you real-time weather predictions with Superior Accuracy™ from your three favorite locations. Get personalized forecast information with your exact location, so you can better plan your workout or weekend.

The App Gallery will continue to expand with more popular apps expected this Fall, like adidas All Day, Flipboard, GAME GOLF, Nest and Surfline, plus many more apps and clock faces created by the developer community.

The developer environment, which includes an SDK and the Web-based Fitbit Studio environment will be available starting in September 2017.

The Ionic hardware features a color, spherical glass touchscreen with crisp graphics and amplified brightness of up to 1,000 nits lets you read your stats wherever you are – in bright sunlight or a low-lit room and comes in a range of styles and colors with interchangeable Classic, Sport and Horween leather accessories. It is available in three color combinations : silver gray tracker and clasp with blue gray band, smoke gray tracker and clasp with charcoal band, or burnt orange tracker and clasp with slate blue band.

• Classic accessories in blue gray with silver gray buckle, charcoal with smoke gray buckle, and slate blue with burnt orange buckle – $29.95
• Two-toned breathable Sport Band accessories in blue gray and coral, black and charcoal, or cobalt and lime – $29.95
• Hand-crafted and perforated Horween leather accessories in cognac and midnight blue – $59.95

Fitbit Ionic is available for presale today on Fitbit.com and select online retailers tomorrow for $299.95. Ionic will be available in stores worldwide beginning October 2017, including major North American retailers Amazon, Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Kohl’s, Macy’s, REI, Target and Verizon.