FitBit introduced it’s latest fitness device, a “Fitness Smartwatch” called “Blaze” with a color screen and a design that sort of makes it look like a framed Apple Watch that bounced on its corners after someone dropped it.
The usual features
Like the Charge HR and the Surge, the Blaze features FitBit’s continuous heart rate monitoring, it also features music control, call and text notifications, on screen workouts, and multiple watch faces, and aftermarket bands and frames.
More of an update than a new product
The Blaze looks more like an updated Surge with similar battery life, and a brighter color screen, but it does not seem like a new product line, and it certainly doesn’t seem like a valid competitor to any of the real smartwatches out there. It is still first and foremost an fitness tracker.
Cool reception
The company’s investors don’t seem to be onboard with the new wearable.
FitBit saw it’s stock drop to $24/share, an all time low, after the announcement (down from an almost $31 opening earlier in the day).
The public will vote with their own wallets soon enough, but we suspect investors are right, the Blaze is not a smartphone killer, it seems to be an update Surge with a color screen.
The FitBit Blaze is available for pre-order for $199.