Fitbit Sense is Fitbit’s most advanced health smartwatch yet

Fitbit has revealed Fitbit Sense, its most advanced health smartwatch yet–featuring the world’s first electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor on a smartwatch to manage stress, alongside several other new sensors to track health and wellbeing. The company also introduced the refreshed Fitbit Versa 3 smartwatch and Fitbit Inspire 2 fitness tracker, and continues to push its Fitbit Premium subscription to users as a holistic health and wellness solution.

Fitbit Sense

Depending on how you look at it, the Fitbit Sense looks disappointingly similar to the Fitbit Versa. For a new product line, one would have expected a fresh form factor. Oh well.

From this point on, the disappointment ends. Because this new smartwatch is packed with the latest Fitbit tech—both hardware and software.

Headlining the plethora of new sensors that come with the Sense is the new EDA sensor that measures electrodermal activity responses. With the EDA sensor and the new EDA Scan app, the Fitbit Sense can gauge your level of stress.

All you need to do is fire up the EDA Scan app and place your palm over the face of the device. The app will detect small electrical changes in the sweat level of your skin. Measuring EDA responses help you understand your body’s responses to stressors and help you manage your stress. You can use it to see your current responses, or pair it with guided mindfulness sessions in the Fitbit app to see how your body responds during meditation or relaxation.

A new stress management tile available in the Fitbit app displays a Stress Management Score (1-100) based on your heart rate, sleep and activity data. Fitbit Premium members get a detailed breakdown on how the score is calculated. Fitbit explains that it consists of over 10 biometric inputs including exertion balance (impact of activity), responsiveness (heart rate, heart rate variability, EDA), and sleep patterns (sleep quality).

Additionally, a new mindfulness tile available within the Fitbit app lets you set weekly mindfulness goals and reminders. Premium members have the additional options with more than 100 meditation sessions from Aaptiv, Aura, Breethe, and Ten Percent Happier.

Product render of Fitbit Sense, 3QTR view, in Lunar White and Soft Gold.

Another first on the Fitbit Sense is the integration of an ECG app. The app can assess your heart rhythm for signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib), a condition that affects more than 33.5 million people globally.

To scan, simply hold your fingers on the corners of the stainless steel ring around the watch while being still for 30 seconds. The watch will then display a reading, which can be downloaded to share with your doctor.

Fitbit’s new PurePulse 2.0 technology is the company’s most advanced heart rate technology yet, featuring an all-new multi-path heart rate sensor and updated algorithm. Coupled with 24/7 continuous heart rate tracking, an innovation Fitbit pioneered in 2014, Fitbit Sense offers personalised, on-device high and low heart rate notifications.

Next on the list on new sensors, Fitbit Sense also gets a new skin temperature sensor that detects changes that may potentially be a sign of a fever, illness, or start of a new menstrual phase. When worn to sleep each night, it regularly measures your skin temperature variation to see trends.

Making sense of all the data extracted from these sensors, Fitbit Premium’s new Health Metrics dashboard displays daily metric and trends over time to see potential changes to your wellbeing.

For Fitbit smartwatch users such as the Sense and Versa series, Fitbit Premium also provides new insight into your nightly average Sp02 levels (levels of oxygen in your blood). Premium members can track this data over time to see important changes to their fitness and wellness.

In Fitbit’s COVID-19 study, it was discovered that changes in some of the metrics in the new Premium dashboard (breathing rate, resting heart rate and heart rate variability) can aid in the early detection of infectious diseases such as COVID-19.

Over 100,000 Fitbit users joined the study so far and the company found that its algorithm can detect nearly 50 per cent of COVID-19 cases a day before the onset of symptoms with 70 per cent specificity.

Fitbit said the research shows promise to help them not just understand and detect COVID-19, but also serve as a model for detecting other diseases and health conditions in the future.

In terms of fitness features, Fitbit Sense offers key fitness and smart features offered on other Fitbit smartwatches including on-board GPS, 20+ on-device exercise modes, SmartTrack automatic activity tracking, Cardio Fitness Level and Score, and advanced sleep tools.

Its range of smart features include a built-in speaker and mic to take calls and reply to texts with voice commands. It supports a choice of Amazon Alexa or Google voice assistance, contactless payments, thousands of apps and clock faces.

The premium smartwatch made with aerospace grade aluminium and stainless steal offers an impressive six days of battery life and water resistance of up to 50m.

Fitbit Sense comes with a larger AMOLED display with an integrated ambient light sensor and an optional always-in display mode.

Fitbit has also completely redesigned the interface, now more intuitive and focused—with customisable widgets, redesigned notifications and on-screen apps.

Pricing and availability

Fitbit Sense is available for pre-order on Fitbit.com and online at select retailers. Broad worldwide available is expected starting in October.

It retails for MYR1,498 in carbon/graphite stainless steel and lunar white/soft gold stainless steel.

Fitbit Sense accessories are available in a range of styles, including Repreve recycled woven bands in camo, charcoal, coral, and rainbow; sports bands in black/lunar white, evergreen/lunar white, grey/mint, melon/rose, and sapphire/fog grey; infinity bands in black, lunar white, midnight, and pink clay, starting at MYR168.

Also available are Pendleton for Fitbit Repreve woven bands in blue/grey Canyonlands and blue/pink Basket Maker, and Victor Glemaud for Fitbit Repreve knit bands in chevron red/gold, layered black/red and metallic gold/black, starting at USD39.95 (~MYR168). Fitbit Repreve is curently only available on Fitbit.com.

Fitbit Premium is available for USD9.95 (MYR39) per month or USD79.95 (MYR335) per year. Fitbit Premium + Health Coaching is now available to adults in the US for USD54.99 (~MYR229) per month. A seven-day free trial is being made to users new to Fitbit Premium.

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