Good news, everyone: Fitbit has announced their newest fitness tracker, the Alta HR ($150 USD).
Alright, ‘new’ is a stretch; it’s actually an update on the original version that debuted in 2016. But whether you’re in the market for a new wearable, or can’t decide if you should upgrade your existing Fitbit, the Alta HR is a noticeable upgrade over its predecessors.
Here’s what you need to know about the Alta HR.
The look
Fitbit calls their tracker “the world’s slimmest wrist-band, continuous heart rate tracking device.”
What they might be trying to say is, get rid of that clunky, heart rate monitor – this sleek substitute is all you need. They’ve removed the original snap-closure band, opting for a traditional, buckle-style instead.
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And if you’re really vain, you may notice the colours of the interchangeable bands include different hues this time around.
The features
In case you don’t know, the HR stands for ‘heart rate’. So yes, this little bad boy can record your ticker all day long, giving you tons of useful data, from your resting heart rate, to your HR during physical activity (peak, cardio, fat burn) – all in real time.
The new ‘Sleep Stages’ feature is a nice, practical addition, too. Alright, the add-on isn’t available on the Alta HR just yet, but it’s set to launch this spring (Blaze and Charge 2 owners can access Sleep Stages at this time as well).
But here’s what it does: using the aforementioned, continuous heart rate monitoring, the device can estimate the different stages of your sleep (light, deep, Rapid Eye Movement), and even how often you wake up in the middle of the night. This all helps you figure out the quality of your sleep. The data works with ‘Sleep Insights’, another new feature, which creates personalized advice on how to improve your sleep. As an added bonus, you can compare your sleep patterns to folks of similar age or gender.
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An underrated, but highly useful, upgrade is the extended battery life. The latest juice supply can last seven days on a single charge (40% longer than its predecessor), which is ideal for people on the go, or who are extra forgetful.
Is it worth it?
The Alta HR is more than a wearable tracker – you get neat smartphone features like text, email, and calendar notifications in addition to the device’s HR monitoring, auto tracking runs, and helping you sleep better. And if you’re an understated kind of person, the Alta HR is 25% smaller than the Fitbit Charge 2.
If you can use the many features this new Fitbit has to offer, you’ll likely get a lot of mileage and good bang for your buck!
Photo credit: Faiz Zaki/Shutterstock
