Fitbit is offering a major update to some of its current smartwatches. As detailed throughout Wareable, the company is making new health data available to Charge 4 users and is expanding access to information previously paid for to more users. Recently acquired by Google, Fitbit continues the trend of supporting devices long after launch with feature updates and fixes to keep them up to date.
With the update, Charge 4 users can access blood oxygen readings on the watch face, information previously only available through the app in sleep data. The update also adds skin temperature data to Charge 4, which was previously not offered on this device at all.
Owners of the Charge 4, Versa 2 and Inspire 2 will also get access to Health Metrics, which previously required a Premium subscription. This dashboard shows trends for certain health metrics – including sleep breathing rate and heart rate variations – over a recent period. Premium subscribers will still get some extra information as their dashboards will show a full month of information, while the free version will show only seven days.
Fitbit is also continuing to expand access to its EKG feature on the Sense, making it available to customers in Canada, New Zealand, and US territories. This feature was not available in all regions when the device was launched, but was added after regulatory approval in places such as the US.
This update shows that Fitbit remains committed to rolling out new features and addressing issues proactively. It resolved ECG issues with some Sense units last year by contacting affected users and replacing their smartwatches. Fitbit has also supported Charge 4 for almost a year now, with an earlier update to add new features and better manage things like GPS usage. So while we’ve seen devices with their share of bugs at launch, Fitbit users can rest assured that the company is at least listening.