Fitbit’s next smartwatch leaks with OLED screen and built-in Alexa
Just yesterday, Fitbit was lamenting the weaker-than-expected performance of its Versa Lite smartwatch, but 24 hours later, it seems we have an early peek as to what its successor will look like.
Prolific leaker Evan Blass has posted pictures of what he describes as “the next Versa-class smartwatch from Fitbit.” The pictures, as you can see above, are pretty clear and seem to see the company reducing the thick bezel around the edges of the display, which is also rumoured to be making the jump from LCD to OLED.
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Also pictured: some virtual assistant functionality. It looks like the new Fitbit will have Amazon’s Alexa built in, so you can issue your watch instructions in the same way you would with an Echo. This isn’t entirely new with smartwatches, but most tend to use Google Assistant instead, while the Apple Watch, of course, uses Siri.
Otherwise, things look pretty familiar, as you would expect given the success of the original Versa. There’s still a heart-rate sensor, it looks like Fitbit Pay is still in place – although it’s still woefully under supported in the UK – and it seems to still have 50 metres of water resistance.
Fingers crossed it’ll have GPS built in. So far, only two Fitbit devices have had that – the long-discontinued Surge, and the rather expensive Ionic. The rest of the range piggyback off phone GPS, meaning you have to carry your handset with you if you want your run or bike ride to be accurately tracked.
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There’s no indication as to when you can expect to see this mystery new Fitbit on your wrist, but there are a couple of pointers that suggest it can’t be too far off. Firstly, these shots look like promotional material from the company itself, with a range of straps included. That would point to a company planning on making an imminent announcement.
But perhaps more importantly, Fitbit offered hints in its Q2 earnings report that it anticipated a rise in the average selling price this quarter. Given the majority of its Q2 revenue came from cheaper fitness trackers, you’d imagine that means fancy new hardware…
What features would you want in a new Fitbit smartwatch? Let us know on Twitter: @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
