Update: Now that Fitbit has fully embraced smartwatches with the Fitbit Ionic there's a good chance that the Fitbit Blaze 2 will get smarter.
The Fitbit Blaze is almost two years old now, and although the company’s first attempt at merging the design of a watch with a fitness tracker was a success, it is probably in need of some updating as health-based tech has progressed.
Fitbit seemingly agrees, as there are rumors of a Fitbit Blaze 2 brewing, which the company may be ready to launch in 2018. Here's where you'll find all the news, rumors and other details as we hear them.
We’ve also included a variety of the things we’d like to see on the Fitbit Blaze 2 when it launches, so read on below for everything you need to know about the Fitbit Blaze 2.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The next Fitbit fitness tracker merged with a watch
- When is it out? Rumors of an early 2018 release date
- What will it cost? We expect it to be around $199 (£160, AU$330)
Fitbit Blaze 2 release date
This is the big question. Fitbit doesn’t have an established release schedule for its fitness trackers and instead releases new tech when the company thinks it's worth updating.
A report from Bloomberg suggested Fitbit is planning to release the Blaze 2 in 2018, so we may see it then. The company took to IFA 2017 to announce its new Fitbit Ionic smartwatch, but we didn't hear any more word on the Fitbit Blaze 2 or the Fitbit Charge 3 alongside that launch.
Fitbit Blaze 2 specs and features
Little is known about the Blaze 2, but the report from Bloomberg suggested it will come with a sleeker design than the original version of the watch. It also claimed it would have a color display, but that’s true of the original Blaze.
Fitbit is likely to also make it more of a smartwatch given that it's launched the truly smart Fitbit Ionic and claims to be working on more smart wearables. Not only that, but smartwatches are growing in popularity while basic wearables are getting less popular, so Fitbit is sure to want to capitalize on that.
The company already classes the original Blaze as a smartwatch, but it's very limited as one, for example many apps won't display notifications on it.
Many existing Fitbit Blaze features will likely remain for the new model, including its heart rate monitor, but we can comfortably speculate that Fitbit will also bring a new variety of fitness-based features to the Blaze 2, such as GPS.
Fitbit Blaze 2 price
Nothing is certain for the price of the second Blaze, but the original’s price is a good indication of how much you’ll have to shell out to upgrade to the new tracker.
We’d expect Fitbit to stick to a similar launch price of around $199 (£159.99, AU$329.95).
Fitbit Blaze 2: what we want to see
The Fitbit Blaze isn't the perfect fitness tracker, so while we don't know what's under way for the sequel we've put together a selection of the features we want to see.
1. A larger display
The bezels on the original Fitbit Blaze are fat. There's no hiding that and we’d like to see those trimmed down for more display space in the upcoming fitness tracker.
If Fitbit manages to limit the amount of wasted space it may be able to fit a much more attractive display in the center of the tracker. We'd also like to see the company improve the quality of the display, to help it compete with full-blown smartwatches.
2. A responsive display
This was one of the biggest problems with the original Fitbit Blaze, as an unresponsive display is a really irritating problem to have on your fitness tracker when you’re sweating and need to play around with specific features really quickly.
If Fitbit can improve the screen tech used on the Fitbit Blaze 2 so that it reliably responds to taps and swipes it will make for a much more comfortable experience.
3. Expanded fitness features
The Fitbit Blaze was meant to be one of the best trackers in Fitbit's range, but it still didn't include a fully-integrated GPS tracker. Instead you have to use it alongside the positioning tech in your phone.
We'd like to see Fitbit focus on its fitness roots and include better tracking tech within the Blaze 2, including GPS, but maybe even more unconventional features such as a VO2 max calculator to give you smart feedback on how to recover after exercise.
4. Third-party support
Rumor has it Fitbit is trying to garner third-party app support for its new rumored Fitbit smartwatch, but we'd like to see some of those features travel over to the Blaze 2.
It'd be great to be able to run Spotify directly from your wrist (rather than simply pausing and skipping tracks that are playing on your phone), or even have apps like Map My Run ready to download directly onto the Blaze 2.
5. A round design
The original Blaze has a divisive design. Not everyone loves the look of the Fitbit Blaze, so it may be time for the company to opt for a round design to make it look a little bit more like a traditional watch.
That said, people like the square design of the Apple Watch as well as some of the square faced Android Wear alternatives so maybe the Fitbit Blaze 2 will stick with a similar shape after all.
from TechRadar - All the latest technology news http://www.techradar.com/news/fitbit-blaze-2
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