Fitbit's Cheaper Mass Market Smartwatch Exposed In Leaked Photos

by Brandon Hill — Wednesday, February 28, 2018, 11:45 AM EDT

If you've bought into Fitbit's ecosystem of fitness-oriented wearables, then you might want to keep an eye on the company's next entry into the smartwatch space. After last year's $299 Ionic smartwatch launched to an unimpressed audience, Fitbit is reportedly back with an all-new design that is said to have "mass appeal".

Leaked images of the smartwatch come courtesy of Warable, which show the device in a number of different colors with a multitude of band options. The smartwatch, which could be called the Blaze 2, will run an updated version of the Fitbit OS that debuted on the Ionic. The device is said to be smaller than the somewhat unwieldy Ionic, and more closely aligns with the original Blaze smartwatch.

To our eyes, the smartwatch looks similar to the Pebble Time. If you recall, Fitbit acquired Pebble in December 2016, and ended support for the company's watches in June.

It's also said that the new smartwatch will be water resistant up to 50 meters, and will incorporate a SpO2 sensor to help monitor your sleeping habits. Unfortunately, the watch won't have built-in GPS for those that would like to track their running or cycling activities.

Fitbit is hoping to appeal to both a male and female audience, hence the smartwatch is available in black, silver, rose gold, and charcoal. The varying colors and band options should give customers plenty of opportunity to find a "look" that best suits them.

Fitbit's latest offering will be going up against some seasoned competition, most notably the Apple Watch. Apple sold roughly 8 million watches during its Holiday 2017 quarter, putting its sales ahead of the entire Swiss watch industry... combined.

Tags: SmartWatch, Pebble, fitbit, Apple Watch, fitbit blaze

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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