CESpotlight 2016: Fitbit wants to set your wrist ablaze (not literally, of course)

The wearables market keeps chugging along, with consumers vocal on both the hits and misses. Joining this year’s roster of wrist candy is the Fitbit Blaze, which debuted at CES 2016 last January 5. Read on and see if Fitbit can convince you to wear it and keep wearing it (if you haven’t gotten into wearable tech already), or if you should hold off for the meantime—or opt for the often-mentioned rival, Apple Watch, etc.

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The usuals
As a watch targeting the sporty and stylish crowds, the Blaze’s feature set will make both happy. Users get a heart rate monitor with PurePulse Heart Rate; workout tracking and analysis through different sport modes (running, biking, cardio); and the ability to control audio playback, incoming/outgoing calls and texts, and calendar events.

For consumers who aren’t as physically active, Fitbit Blaze will track daily activity and movement through number of steps taken, distance walked, and burned calories, as well as the total number of active minutes. You’ll also get sleep tracking, and display customization options for the color LCD touchscreen—the first in the Fitbit family to get the color-display treatment.

The upsides
We like that the Blaze’s wrist band and frame can be swapped out for other variants, depending on the user’s mood and preference. Unlike other wearable devices, this makes it easier to coordinate outfits, or tweak the Blaze’s look according to the occasion. Another perk is the addition of Fitstar workouts and coaching to the Blaze—the direct result of Fitbit’s 2015 acquisition, and a helpful feature for users who want to add something new to their workout routines.

The Silent Alarm feature, which will make the watch vibrate instead of having it make noise, sounds (hah!) cool to us, and we’re looking forward to saying goodbye to being startled to awareness every morning. It works with iOS, Android, and Windows smartphones, so almost everyone’s covered, compatibility-wise. And if that projected five-day battery life holds up in actual usage, it’ll give us more time to move around between charges, and free up some space on our almost-crowded extension cords and charging docks.

The unusuals
Unlike other smartwatches, the Blaze doesn’t have onboard GPS. Instead, you’ll need to connect your smartphone to the watch so it can sync data and track your location and road route. People are saying it’s too big. And while we’re all for increasing our wearables options, it seems Fitbit’s investors aren’t too keen on this newcomer. The company’s stocks went down more than 18 percent the day after the Blaze’s debut.

The price
If you have US$199.95 (around P9,500) at your disposal, you can preoder the Fitbit Blaze online. Go to the Fitbit website for more information about the Fitbit Blaze, as well as the bands you can use with the device.

Source: The Verge + TechRepublic + BBC + TechCrunch