The big picture: Fitbit cited research suggesting adults who considered buying a wearable in the last year are more interested in a tracker (42 percent) versus a traditional smartwatch (36 percent) due to their slimmer design, streamlined experience, easy-to-use feature set and lower price point.
Fitbit on Monday expanded its Charge family of products with the addition of the Charge 3, a new fitness tracker that offers a swimproof design that’s water resistant to 50 meters and an inductive button.
The Charge 3 features an aerospace grade aluminum chassis and an OLED touchscreen display coated in Corning Gorilla Glass 3 that Fitbit says is nearly 40 percent brighter than its predecessor. The aforementioned inductive button is similar to the Home button on some of Apple’s newer iPhones in that it isn’t really a button at all - it fakes the tactile feel of a real button through haptic feedback.
By eliminating the button’s moving parts, Fitbit was able to free up space for more battery capacity and additional sensors. Getting rid of the button also made the wearable easier to waterproof.
Other noteworthy features include 15+ goal-based exercise modes, the ability to sync with your phone’s GPS, female-specific health tracking, sleep tracking and up to seven days of battery life.
The Fitbit Charge 3 is available to pre-order from today priced at $149.95 in black with a graphite aluminum case or blue gray with a rose gold aluminum case. There's also a Fitbit Charge 3 Special Edition in the works with Fitbit Pay that'll sell for $169.95, we're told. Global retail availability is set for October.
https://www.techspot.com/news/76044-fitbit-charge-3-gets-touchscreen-inductive-button-improves.html
