The Verge
A Fitbit, for better or worse, looks like a Fitbit. For the past seven years Fitbit’s product design has skewed toy-like, friendly, utilitarian. A Fitbit won’t be mistaken for jewelry; it’s not high-fashion, though it may try; it’s a Fitbit.
But that doesn’t mean Fitbit isn’t susceptible to the trends of its own industry, one that it helped firmly establish, and the new $130 Fitbit Alta is the best example of that. The company has eschewed a clunky wristband for one that’s a little bit more delicate. The Alta is slimmer and sleeker than Fitbit’s Charge, Charge HR, and Surge wristbands. The plastic band that ships with the Alta can also be swapped out for a softer, genuine leather one, giving it even more aesthetic appeal.
The Fitbit Alta HR is a compact-sized fitness tracker that packs a lot of functionality under the hood and competes well with the big boys.
I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready for Fitbit to drop something genuinely new on the world. Over the past couple years, the company has put out a few new activity trackers that seem to package the same stuff — an accelerometer here, a heart rate sensor there — into slightly different wristbands sold at slightly different price points.
Out of curiosity, who here actually owns a Fitbit here? My boss has one and seems to swear by it. Are they really that beneficial?
Pocket Lint - Best Fitbit design to date, excellent 5-day battery life, comfortable to wear, nice display, notifications, accurate step-tracking, fantastic app platform.
I’ve had two Jawbones and they’ve both had to be replaced through wear and tear to the band (as the bands themselves are not modular) despite the tracker itself still working. For this reason the Alta seems like a much better option than a Jawbone although I now use the Withings Activité Pop, which has an 8 month battery life, still tracks sleep and exercise and saves me from wearing a watch and a tracker together. It even uses a generic 8mm watch band so you can customise it however you like.