Smartwatch makers have been adding motion sensors and heart rate monitors to their wearables. Now one of the biggest companies in the activity tracker space seems to have decided turnabout is fair play.
Fitbit is launching its first full-fledged watch.
The Fitbit Blaze is a $200 watch with a color touchscreen LCD display, support for displaying smartphone notifications, and a battery that should be good for up to 5 days of use. Of course it can also track your steps, heart rate, and other fitness stats.
Fitbit’s watch isn’t quite a full-blown smartwatch, at least not by 2016 standards. It doesn’t run third-party apps like an Android Wear, Tizen, or Apple Watch device.
But it will display notifications about incoming calls, text messages, and appointments. It can also pair with your smartphone and use your phone’s GPS to keep track of your distance and pace when you’re running.
Since the Blaze has a larger screen than any of the company’s other fitness trackers to date, it can also display workout instructions as well as basic notifications.
