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Good news wearable enthusiasts: Fitbit just announced its latest fitness tracker, the Alta HR (starting at $150; nordstrom.com, target.com, and other retailers). OK, it isn’t exactly new; it’s an update to the original version, which launched in 2016. Still, after testing it for any week (on the ski slopes, in boot camp classes, during runs, as well as for general everyday life dealings), I must admit that I am impressed. I like to consider it the small sister to the predecessor-same great genes, but just a little spunkier.
In the marketplace for a new device? Or, just attempting to decide whether or not you should upgrade? Here’s the scoop.
According to the folks at Fitbit, this tracker is “the world’s slimmest wrist-band, continuous heartbeat tracking device.” Basically, that boils down to you don’t need a big old clunky heart rate monitor, because this sleek version has got your back. The original snap closure band is gone, and has been substituted with a more traditional buckle style one. You’ll also observe that the colours of the interchangeable bands include slightly different hues this time.
There are figured it right now, the HR means heart rate. And, yes, this mini device is continually recording your ticker the whole day, giving you access to everything from your resting heart rate to those zones on your sweat sesh (peak, cardio and fat burn) in real time.
Also handy: the new Sleep Stages feature. While it continues to be announced, it was not pushed through to the Alta HR at this time. (If you possess a Blaze and Charge 2 you will also have access to this feature when it officially launches later this spring.) But here’s the gist: It’s going to use that heart rate it’s been continuously monitoring to assist estimate the different stages of your sleep (light, deep, and REM) along with how frequently you wake up mid-snooze. The result: a better knowledge of your sleep quality. This data will help you together with your overall Sleep Insights, another new feature, which will offer personalized assistance with how you can improve, yep, you guessed it, your zzz’s. Bonus: It also shows the slumber trends of folks your same age and gender.
But my absolute favorite feature is a longer battery life. In fact, the battery lasts as many as seven days on a single charge (that’s 40% more than its predecessor), which is amazing for people like myself who are notorious for forgetting to plug in their gadgets nightly.
The Alta HR provides you with cool options that come with a smart phone, like email, text and calendar notifications, inside a streamlined silhouette that also auto tracks your runs, maintains together with your ticker and helps you are sleeping better. And if we’re doing size comparisons, it’s 25 % small compared to the Fitbit Charge 2. My vote: thumbs up completely!
