Fitbit Launches Wearable

Fitbit Alta is a style conscious fitness tracker with last year’s features

Fitbit’s latest wearable launches next month

Fitbit Alta mixes fashion and fitness

The just-announced Fitbit Alta is a new style conscious fitness trackerlaunching in the US in March for $130 and April for everyone else.

After the disappointing Fitbit Blaze, the wearable tech company has come out with a Misfit Ray rival which has custom wristband accessories and even satin and silver finish bangles. Let’s be honest, it still looks very much like a fitness tracker, what with its OLED display, but Fitbit is launching a range of leather, metal-look and different coloured quick-release bands to make the stainless steel Alta look more like jewellery.

Read this:Fitbit Blaze vs Apple Watch – battle of stylish smartwatches

Tory Burch Alta bands are also coming soon, hopefully similar to the gorgeous Fitbit Flex accessories we’ve already seen from the designer.

With a 3-axis accelerometer, the Fitbit Alta tracks the usual steps, distance, calories burned and active time in minutes. Select activities are auto detected and added as workouts within the Fitbit app, as usual. It automatically tracks sleep, too, and reminds you to move enough every hour with 250 step mini goals.

There’s no extra features such as GPS or an optical heart rate monitor so it looks like Fitbit is very much looking to focus on the casual lifestyle tracking market it already seems to have cornered.

Battery life is five days and the device is sweat, rain and splash proof (though not if you choose leather) with three sizes available: small, large and XL. As ever, it’s compatible with iPhone, Android and Windows Phone and connects via Bluetooth 4.0.More room is given over to the screen than on say, the Charge HR, though with the Blaze, the display can show call, text and calendar alerts but not third party app alerts, from the looks of things. Again, a bit of a missed opportunity.

Essentially, this is Fitbit styling up what it already offers elsewhere and nothing more. That said, despite the somewhat basic tracking abilities, the price isn’t too bad considering Fitbit’s beginner friendly app.

The band accessory prices are as follows: classic bands for $29.95, premium hide leather bands in blush pink and graphite for $59.95 each (with camel coming soon) and finally a hand-polished stainless steel silver bangle for $99.99 with a shiny gold bangle due later in 2016.

The Fitbit Alta is up for pre-order now in black, teal, purple and plum. Despite the fact we’re not getting much new in the way of features, the customisation is really nice and – particularly with women – we predict the Alta will be a big, big wearable tech seller in 2016.