Think of fitness trackers, and Fitbit is almost always the first brand that comes to mind. The company is synonymous with things like “step counting”, “heart rate tracking”, and the like. But they’ve been pretty slow when it comes to making smartwatches, although that’s all going to change with the brand new Fitbit Ionic.
Launched last Friday (Nov 29), the Ionic is Fitbit’s first real smartwatch. It has all the fitness functions that the company is known for. GPS tracking, heart rate tracking, guided workouts, and automatic sleep tracking – you name it, the Ionic’s got it. The difference is that this time, there are smartwatch benefits to enjoy too.
Housed in a boxy, square-shaped body – with a selection of garish colours to choose from, the Ionic does what a standard smartwatch can. It makes contactless payments (via Fitbit Pay). It gives notifications. And of course, there are a range of apps and clock faces to choose from.
Music is also a big feature of the Ionic. But there’s one big problem – the only music streaming service compatible with the smartwatch is Pandora, which is only available in the US. For now, customers in Singapore have to manually upload songs. We did, however, spot a Deezer rep at the Fitbit Ionic launch in Singapore, which could be a sign of things to come.
That said; if you’re all about that fitness, then the Ionic is a beast of a gadget.
Fitbit’s accuracy is almost medical grade, and five days of battery life is nothing to sniff at. The fitness features have been improved, and go well with other products in Fitbit’s ecosystem, like the newly launched Fitbit Flyer; sweatproof wireless earphones, and the Fitbit Coach app, which is like your own personal trainer.
Just be warned though, it’s not going to come cheap. Right now, the Fitbit Ionic is retailing for $458, and is available at authorised retailers, including Challenger, Courts, and Harvey Norman. The Fitbit Ionic comes in Silver Gray, Smoke Gray, and Burnt Orange.
For more information, visit fitbit.com.
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