It may be under Google’s umbrella now, but Fitbit is still doing its thing. Just a few weeks after unveiling the third generation of its kid-friendly Ace tracker, Fitbit has unveiled a brand new “fashion-forward” tracker that may just be its smartest device yet.
Fitbit is calling its new device Luxe, and as its name suggests, it’s meant to blend fashion and fitness. It looks somewhat like the Inspire 2, but it’s actually a bit smaller (36.3 x 17.6 x 10.05 mm versus 37.3 x 16.7 x 12.7mm) and far more luxurious, with a softer curved stainless steel case crafted using the same metal injection molding in precious metals and gold alloys in jewelry. I haven’t had a chance to try it on yet, but in pictures, it seems tailor-made for smaller wrists.
The Luxe is Fitbit’s first tracker with an OLED color screen. It has a heart-rate sensor and a red/infrared Sp02 like the Charge 4 and Inspire 2 trackers, but it’s not loaded with sensors like the Sense. Instead, Fitbit is leaning into its health metrics and algorithms to bring Stress Management Score and skin temperature without an electrodermal activity sensor or an EKG app. Like the rest of Fitbit’s devices, you’ll be able to see your scores in the Fitbit app and Fitbit Premium users will get deeper insights into blood-oxygen and skin-temperature trends (both arriving after launch).
The Luxe doesn’t include built-in GPS, but you will get Active Zone Minutes notifications as well as five days of battery life. Like the Charge, you only get rudimentary access to a handful of apps and clock faces, and since it’s not a full smartwatch, Luxe doesn’t support Google Assistant, but it does offer smartphone notifications as well as Google Fast Pair for Android phones.
But the main appeal of the $149 Luxe is the design. Where other Fitbit devices give only a passing consideration of fashion via colors or band options, the Luxe was clearly designed from the outside in. Where the Sense, Versa, and Charge appeal to tech-minded athletes, the Luxe is made for users who care more about how the device looks on their wrist. It’s one of the few devices that take smaller and female wrists into account. In pictures, the Luxe looks more like a bracelet than a smartwatch, especially when paired with one of the gojana or Horween bands, which range from $30 to $100.
The Fitbit Luxe is available for preorder today in gold, graphite and platinum finishes at Ftitbit.com for shipping later this spring.
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He’s still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.
