Fitbit's latest wearable is Alta, a low-profile activity tracker with swappable bands

AppleInsider

Fitbit on Wednesday announced the latest addition to its iOS-connected wearable devices lineup, the $130 Alta, featuring a slim touchscreen OLED and five days of usage on a single charge.

The Fitbit Alta is now available to preorder directly from the company in black, blue, plum, or teal options all priced at $129.95.

The device features a focus on fashion, offering users the ability to swap bands, including $60 leather versions and a $100 stainless steel metal bracelet option. Fitbit has also pledged that "Alta Gold" and Tory Burch Designer Collection bands are coming soon.

Like the rest of Fitbit's product lineup, the Alta will track a user's steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes. It also helps users to stay active throughout the day by giving reminders on when to move.

Fitbit's "SmartTrack" feature automatically recognizes and records exercises for the user. The company says the Alta offers up to 5 full days and nights of uptime without needing a recharge.

The unit itself has an OLED "Tap Display" that provides stats, time and smartphone notifications. When paired with an iPhone, users can receive call, text and calendar alerts on their wrist.

The Alta is the second new wearable device announced by Fitbit so far in 2016. The first model, the Blaze, debuted last month at CES, featuring a color touchscreen, heart rate monitor, and step and sleep tracking, priced at $199.95.

Though Fitbit's products compete with the Apple Watch in the growing wearables market, the CEO of Fitbit claimed late last year that Apple's wrist-worn device has had no material impact on sales of his company's devices. Fitbit CEO James Park said he feels the Apple Watch targets a different type of high-end consumer than Fitbit's more affordable offerings.

bulldogs

Thought someone would have bought Fitbit by now ...

studiomusic

Every time I see a Fitbit in the wild, it looks like a thick, bulky, rubber bracelet. Like a thicker "Live Strong" kind of thing.
I collect and wear watches. One of the reasons I didn't buy an Apple Watch for myself (my son got one though) is the thickness of it. I have other Swiss watches that are as thick, but they have interesting designs to get there, whereas the Apple Watch is just a rounded square. I know, looks before utility for me.
Give me a thinner Apple Watch and I'll buy an Edition. I don't think I would ever buy a Fitbit.

peteo

No heart rate or GPS. So basically an enhanced pedometer with notifications. Not bad, but not what I'm looking for. Wish the apple watch had GPS, but its not the biggest deal since I have my iPhone with me most of the time. Though if the watch gets GPS and 3G at some point then would definitely see me self leaving my phone at home/car during work outs, kayaking, biking.

lowededwookie

The only problem I have with the Apple Watch is that it isn't designed to be worn on the right hand. It is interesting though that I see Eddie Cue doing so.

if the next design removes the crown for some other method then I'd look at getting one. Until then Fitbit does a pretty good job for what it does. It doesn't feel bulky to wear at all.

studiomusic

lowededwookie said:

The only problem I have with the Apple Watch is that it isn't designed to be worn on the right hand. It is interesting though that I see Eddie Cue doing so.

if the next design removes the crown for some other method then I'd look at getting one. Until then Fitbit does a pretty good job for what it does. It doesn't feel bulky to wear at all.

How is it not designed for the right hand? You can put it with the crown wherever you want on both wrists and it flips the display to the correct way.

anome

studiomusic said:

lowededwookie said:

The only problem I have with the Apple Watch is that it isn't designed to be worn on the right hand. It is interesting though that I see Eddie Cue doing so.

if the next design removes the crown for some other method then I'd look at getting one. Until then Fitbit does a pretty good job for what it does. It doesn't feel bulky to wear at all.

How is it not designed for the right hand? You can put it with the crown wherever you want on both wrists and it flips the display to the correct way.

The chief problem is that the crown is designed to go at the top with the button beneath it, which makes it look odd if you flip it over to put it on your right wrist. As a left hander, I've gotten used to taking my watch off to make adjustments using the crown, but that isn't really practical for the Apple Watch.

If they feel they need both the crown and the button, I would suggest moving the button to the other side, and centering both of them. Ideally, I'd lose the button altogether. I'm sure the Apple Design Bureau have their own ideas, and made the decisions they did after careful consideration, and I am by no means an expert in usability or design, but that's what I would do.

larrya

This thing is basically the Garmin Vivosmart from last year with a better display, but inferior water resistance.  I have the Garmin, but recently upgraded to Forerunner 230 (10 day battery, 5 ATM water resistance, GPS, always-on round display, watch apps and watch faces programmable with Monkey C; but plasticity, no touch screen, display tech from the 80's). 

radarthekat

anome said:

studiomusic said:

lowededwookie said:

The only problem I have with the Apple Watch is that it isn't designed to be worn on the right hand. It is interesting though that I see Eddie Cue doing so.

if the next design removes the crown for some other method then I'd look at getting one. Until then Fitbit does a pretty good job for what it does. It doesn't feel bulky to wear at all.

How is it not designed for the right hand? You can put it with the crown wherever you want on both wrists and it flips the display to the correct way.

The chief problem is that the crown is designed to go at the top with the button beneath it, which makes it look odd if you flip it over to put it on your right wrist. As a left hander, I've gotten used to taking my watch off to make adjustments using the crown, but that isn't really practical for the Apple Watch.

If they feel they need both the crown and the button, I would suggest moving the button to the other side, and centering both of them. Ideally, I'd lose the button altogether. I'm sure the Apple Design Bureau have their own ideas, and made the decisions they did after careful consideration, and I am by no means an expert in usability or design, but that's what I would do.

Happily ambidextrous, I write and eat left handed, everything else right handed. I simply wear my Apple Watch on my left wrist.

Jort

For the life of me I can not fathom why AppleInsider continues to give so much publicity to a company that has become militantly resistant to Apple by stubbornly and intentionally refusing to implement HealthKit integration. Fitbit has made it VERY clear that they do not want their users to have access to their own Health data, and instead they want to keep it within their own walled garden.

The feature request topic in their forums for HealthKit integration has the highest number of comments and votes than any other topic, by far -- yet the company line has always been, "We don't see any need to integrate." In fact, they insultingly ask their customers to defend their reasoning to want HealthKit integration.

Fitbit has been giving the finger to Apple iOS users for a few years now and has no intentions of changing their mind of this subject now or ever.

Again: Why would AppleInsider dedicate so much space to a product that is actively hostile and anti-Apple? It's not even a competitive product, anymore -- unless of course the writer has personally invested heavily into the Fitbit ecosystem or something.

mac_128

studiomusic said:

lowededwookie said:

The only problem I have with the Apple Watch is that it isn't designed to be worn on the right hand. It is interesting though that I see Eddie Cue doing so.

if the next design removes the crown for some other method then I'd look at getting one. Until then Fitbit does a pretty good job for what it does. It doesn't feel bulky to wear at all.

How is it not designed for the right hand? You can put it with the crown wherever you want on both wrists and it flips the display to the correct way.

Have you ever seen any official Apple marketing, or even any major third party marketing where the crown is being worn, or depicted in this way?

It's fairly clear, the "correct" way to wear the Watch is crown on the top right orientation of the watch. I'm sure Jony Ive cringes every time he sees it worn that way. And frankly I agree ... it looks a bit odd "upside down", not to mention being less ergonomic. 

gatorguy

Jort said:

For the life of me I can not fathom why AppleInsider continues to give so much publicity to a company that has become militantly resistant to Apple by stubbornly and intentionally refusing to implement HealthKit integration. Fitbit has made it VERY clear that they do not want their users to have access to their own Health data, and instead they want to keep it within their own walled garden.

The feature request topic in their forums for HealthKit integration has the highest number of comments and votes than any other topic, by far -- yet the company line has always been, "We don't see any need to integrate." In fact, they insultingly ask their customers to defend their reasoning to want HealthKit integration.

Fitbit has been giving the finger to Apple iOS users for a few years now and has no intentions of changing their mind of this subject now or ever.

Again: Why would AppleInsider dedicate so much space to a product that is actively hostile and anti-Apple? It's not even a competitive product, anymore -- unless of course the writer has personally invested heavily into the Fitbit ecosystem or something.

It's not just Apple. They don't integrate with Google Fit either, so I don't think it has anything to do with being anti-Apple. They're simply trying to "protect their turf" for as long as they see a benefit to it. 

therev1953

There is a free App called FitBit Sync (I believe) which syncs your FitBit stats to your iPhone's Health app. I have it but forget to use it most of the time. The FitBit app has the information I need in a convenient format. I have a Surge, a Blaze and an Alta. The Surge rocks- but you can't change bands. The Surge was also ranked best tracker by Consumer Reports this year.  I wish it was water proof.