Fitbit updates its smartwatch range

Smartwatch fitness brand Fitbit has released three new watches into the wild, none of which appear to be loaded with parent company Google’s Wear OS.

There are three new smartwatches in Fitbit’s ‘fall’ line up – the Inspire 3, Versa 4 and Sense 2. All of these use the Fitbit software so as with the rest of the portfolio they don’t differ dramatically, but you get what you pay for in terms of features, for instance they all track how far you’ve jogged, but the more expensive ones will tell you some deeper info on how your heart is behaving as well.

The Inspire 3 is the latest cheap and cheerful offering, described as a ‘great entry-level device with a rich colour display that can track important metrics at our most accessible price point.’ As well as the obvious benefits of a smaller price tag than the larger, more feature laden options, the watch also boasts a relatively long battery life of 10 days.

The Versa 4 is the middle child and offers the usual features the line runs with including 40 exercise modes, real-time stats, built-in GPS and Active Zone Minutes, but its now a bit thinner and lighter, which will no doubt make a big difference to your lap times.

The Sense 2 is the top of the line flagship watch and features all sorts of monitoring options the others don’t carry, such as sensors that can detect signs of atrial fibrillation through the ECG app, PPG algorithm heart rate variability, and skin temperature.

There is no mention of Google’s watch software Wear OS making an appearance on the new Fitbits, a move that would certainly have seemed like it was on the cards since the tech giant bought the fitness watch firm. Whether that’s coming later down the line or Google is drawing a line of delineation between the Fitbit and its other wearables, who knows. But the Fitbit app seems to get a fair amount of good press so perhaps they don’t want to spoil a good thing. Yet.

Elsewhere in wrist based gadget news, Apple has just announced it will host one of its product launch extravaganzas on September 7th. There’s the usual glut of speculation bouncing around the consumer tech press and beyond as to what Apple might pull out of its hat during the performance, but one of the more likely punts would seem to be a new version of the Apple Watch.

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