Fitbit may make some of the best, and easiest to use fitness trackers out there, but when it comes to smartwatches the company makes big bold eye sores. However, according to images acquired by Wareable, the next Fitbit smartwatch, expected early this year, could be.... not ugly?
On Monday during it’s earnings call Fitbit told analysts, reporters, and investors that the Fitbit Ionic smartwatch released last year was “performance focused,” while newer watches from the company would have “mass appeal.” The Ionic was, Fitbit admitted, not the stellar seller it had hoped for, and, per its press release, “with consumer demand shifting towards smartwatches, we expect revenue to decline approximately (20%) to (15%) year over year.”
Yikes.
The company needs a good smartwatch if it wants to keep apace with Apple, which is selling so many smartwatches it reportedly outsold the entire Swiss watch industry last quarter.
If this leak is accurate, Fitbit’s new watch could be a boon. It certainly looks nicer than the outrageously ugly Ionic and Blaze. Instead of a riff on Apple that looks like it got hit upside the head, the new watch appears to riff on the excellent Pebble Time Steel.
According to Wareable, the new watch will be resistant to water at depths up to 50m, has an SpO2 sensor (but not GPS), and will use the same Fitbit OS introduced with the Ionic and based on the OS that Fitbit acquired when it gutted Pebble in late 2016.
Wareable also claims this watch is smaller than the Ionic, which means people with smaller wrists (like many women) could actually wear it without looking like the biggest asshole on the planet. In its report Wareable says, “Fitbit wants something that appeals more to the female market.”
This new watch could do that! It at least appears to be available in three different colors with what looks like five different band colors, including gray and purple fabric bands I’m really digging.
We should learn more about this device, including its (hopefully) “mass appeal” price in the next few months, and we’ve reached out to Fitbit for comment and will update if we hear back.
Update at 8:58am EST
Fitbit’s response.
“We appreciate the interest and excitement around new Fitbit products. As you know, we are constantly working on new devices to help people live healthier lives. We don’t have news to share at this time, but you’ll be amongst the first to know when we do.”
[Wareable]