Smaller, Cheaper Fitbit Smartwatch With “Mass Appeal”

Are you still in the market for a new smartwatch, but your budget is modest and you’re not terribly interested in something fruity? It looks like you’re in luck, because the folks at Fitbit have confirmed that the company is working on a “mass appeal smartwatch” that will presumably be priced much more affordably than the Fitbit Ionic.

On a earnings call yesterday, Fitbit CEO James Park mentioned the disappointing sales of the Fitbit Ionic and how the company is looking to approach the market in a slightly different way. The “mass appeal” Fitbit smartwatch will not only be cheaper, but it’ll likely also be smaller.

The leaked images shown here were acquired by Wareable and they seem to depict what we can expect from a future Fitbit smartwatch. The watch itself will have a rounded square face and come in a variety of colors, plus options for plenty of different watch bands too.

If you’re thinking that the design is at least partly inspired by the Apple Watch, you’re certainly not alone. Somehow, it wouldn’t surprise me if that coppery-pink frame gets marketed as a “rose gold” or similar. Along with the metal frame and a more “female-friendly” design, the new Fitbit smartwatch should carry through many of the main features and specs we’ve come to expect.

It’ll run the same Fitbit OS as the Ionic and it’ll have a relative SpO2 sensor like the Ionic too; that’s what you use to monitor blood oxygen levels and it can be used to check for sleep apnea too. While there’s no GPS on board, we can expect waterproof protection up to 50 meters, so you can take it swimming if you want.

There’s still no confirmation on how much the new Fitbit smartwatch will cost or when it will be released, but the more premium Adidas-branded Fitbit Ionic rings in at a cool $330. You’d figure it’d have to be no more than $200 if they want to capitalize on “mass appeal,” right?