Fitbit today announced a two-pronged update to its popular line of fitness trackers, adding support for in-depth bike-tracking on the Fitbit Surge and allowing users to easily switch between multiple Fitbit models with “Multi-Tracker Support.”
The company says the added support will grant customers more ease-of-use in switching amongst Fitbit devices throughout the day, or week, allowing them to choose “the right tracker for any occasion.” The update lets any one user pair up to six Fitbit trackers – the maximum amount of Fitbit variants on the market – to their Fitbit account.
After the initial pairing stage, Fitbit will automatically notice when a user switches trackers without needing to enter the Fitbit app. The company notes that as a user transitions amongst trackers throughout the day, for example wearing a “Fitbit One to work, Fitbit Surge for a run, or Tory Burch for Fitbit for a night on the town,” the Fitbit app never pauses or hiccups in curating the usual array of steps and calories burnt as a single statistic across every device.
Also announced today is an update specifically to Fitbit Surge, using GPS and “other advanced sensors” to provide a comprehensive overview of various bike riding statistics, including: distance, duration, average speed, heart rate, and calories burned. Already the beefiest Fitbit, with a 7-day battery life and on-board GPS tracking sensors, the company hopes to broaden its fitness-friendly device with the new cycling-specific features.
“Our users are passionate about fitness and have consistently requested a way to track their outdoor cycling activity. We are delivering this feature on Fitbit Surge for active consumers looking to track and better understand performance during rides, in addition to their other workouts,” said Tim Roberts, VP of Interactive, Fitbit. “Our goal is to provide users with the tools it takes to track their exercise and reward them for doing the activities they love to do most – like biking and running.”
Fitbit noted that while the Multi-Tracker Support is slated to hit later this week, the bike-tracking features won’t roll out in North America until sometime in April, “with global availability coming soon.” The nebulous April launch window for the cycling-focused update sees the company beefing up the features of the Fitbit Surge, the tracker most in direct competition with the Apple Watch, which at $249 is still $100 cheaper than the 38mm Apple Watch Sport.
