Take charge of your health, wellbeing and fitness with Fitbit’s Charge 6.

The small and super light smartwatch utilizes the Fitbit app on Android or iOS to keep track of your daily activities and vitals.

Fitbit (now owned by Google) are absolutely the masters of health wearables, they’re the pioneers and have been doing them for years.

All of this knowledge and experience would mean that you’re going to get a fully accurate experience, right? Well, yes… and not always.

Firstly the watch itself.

It’s slim with a touch 0.86 x 0.58 inch face that nicely curves in to the very bright silicone strap.

To the left is one tactile button. If you’re not using ‘Always on’ for the screen, this button is essentially a wake up the screen. I hardly used it, as the screen will turn on when you raise your wrist.

As mentioned, you absolutely need the Fitbit app to not only connect the Fitbit Charge 6, but also to sync your data.

The Fitbit Charge 6 will keep an accurate track of your steps per day and you can set goals to try and beat. I don’t remember setting a goal in past Fitbit watches I have used and reviewed, but apparently I did – and I’ve never met them. So far.

There’s also a calorie burner, fitness coach, ECG, heart and stress monitor, skin temperature and way, way more.

You can set up alerts for irregular heart rhythm too.

If you’re new to the world of Fitbit, there will be some profile set up for you where you will need to enter in details about yourself, age, weight and height. This is ultimately so the tracker can ascertain vitals and fitness for your age and body type.

But according to my heart stats with the Fitbit Charge 6 my heart stops beating around midday each day. I’d always suspected it did.

The sleep tracker is mostly on point, although it did miss a few nights where it recorded zero sleep. And evidently I do not sleep enough (that’s actually true)

Notifications, are hit and miss. Better on Android (I mean it is Google to Google right?), on iOS you will generally only get SMS alerts, Android almost everything.

Being that the screen is teeny, it’s near to impossible to see any details of said notifications though. But you’ll get them.

An entire week (or more) will see the Fitbit Charge 6 being your health wrist buddy before needing a charge up. Charging time from near-to flat is a little painful. Around 3 hours.

If you forget to juice it up overnight you may want to replan that exercise you were just about to leave the house for.

I’m not using the ‘Always on’ screen, and so far a week and a half in and it’s still going strong with around 50% battery.

The Fitbit Charge 6 was a mixed bag of accuracy and not.

The app is excellent however. It takes you through your vitals and activities in to a granular micro level. There are some functions that you will need a Fitbit Premium sub for though.

From the watch face you can swipe left and right to get a quick snapshot and basic info.

If the Fitbit Charge 6 detects you’re on a walk, it will prompt you to record it. I did this a few times… it doesn’t stop recording when the walk is done though.

In all, the Fitbit Charge 6 is not bulky, a soft and light wear, always good to go and for the most part, keeps everything in check.

If you’re a fitness guru, or simply just want a smartwatch that’s not huge on your wrist and keeps things in check at a budget-friendly price point, the Fitbit Charge 6 will see you right. Mostly.

The post Fitbit Charge 6 Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Fitbit has always been focused on helping make everyone in the world healthier.

Millions of people around the globe use Fitbit every day — from checking how well they slept to doing a workout or mindfulness session in our app.

Now they have shared their next generation of Fitbit wearables that combine Fitbit’s health and wellness tools with the smarts of Google — Inspire 3, Versa 4 and Sense 2. These devices are even thinner and more comfortable, so you can wear them all day and night, and you don’t have to charge them every day.

Whether you’re focused on improving your mental health, gearing up to run a marathon, or starting a new health and wellness routine, you have a range of easy-to-use devices to choose from. By giving you information about your body that otherwise wouldn’t be top of mind, like your resting heart rate, oxygen saturation (SpO2), sleep trends and body’s responses to stressors, you can better understand how to manage your holistic health. Here’s a look at how each device can fit your needs.

First up is the Inspire 3. A fun, easy-to-use tracker that helps you stay on top of your health with 10 days of battery life. It’s a great entry-level device with a rich colour display that can track important metrics at our most accessible price point.

Fitbit’s Versa 4 is a more fitness-focused smartwatch that offers over 40 exercise modes, real-time stats, built-in GPS and Active Zone Minutes, plus Premium features like Daily Readiness Score to help you reach your activity goals – all with 6 days of battery life in a thinner and lighter design.

And lastly the Fitbit Sense 2 is their most advanced health-focused smartwatch with more than six days of battery life that helps you manage stress and track your heart health with sensors that can detect signs of atrial fibrillation through our ECG app and PPG algorithm (both FDA cleared and CE marked), heart rate variability, skin temperature and more. It also includes our new Body Response sensor, which measures cEDA for all-day stress management.

Fitbit’s newest offerings are just the start of how they aim to help you uncover information to improve your overall health and wellness.

With the Fitbit app, you can stay motivated and on track with weekly and longitudinal stats about your activity, heart health, sleep and stress. Plus you can log your hydration, menstrual health, mood, nutrition and glucose levels all in one place. Seeing all of your metrics together can help you better understand how the actions you take each day can impact your well-being and make better decisions for your daily life.

You’ll also access important health features, including Irregular Heart Rhythm Notifications, which uses our photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor to assess your heart rhythm for signs of atrial fibrillation or AFib, for users 22 years or older with no known history of irregular heart rhythm. This feature has both FDA clearance and CE marking, and it’s compatible with a range of our heart-rate enabled devices.

Fitbit Premium, which is included with all new device purchases for six months, takes your experience even further with additions like Daily Readiness Score and Sleep Profile to dive deeper into your stats and progress, and over 1,000 workout and mindfulness sessions to keep your mind and body active.

The new Fitbit lineup will be releasing September 2022.

The post New Fitbits for 2022! appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

This past year we’ve endured sickness, loss, increased stress and changes with sleep, diet and exercise.

As a result, we’ve been forced to become stronger and more resilient.

But strength has taken on a new meaning for most, and being strong in today’s world is more than what we can lift or how fast we can run. It’s also what the mind and body can handle.

As Fitbit’s approach to strength evolves, they’re introducing Fitbit Charge 5, their most advanced health and fitness tracker, to help keep a pulse on your fitness, stress, heart health, sleep and overall wellbeing – all in a thinner, sleek design.

With a brighter, colour touchscreen and up to seven days of battery life (varies with use), Charge 5 delivers the convenience features you need to focus on what’s most important. And, with six months of Fitbit Premium included, you’ll get deeper insights, actionable guidance and a range of more than 500 workouts, plus mindfulness and nutritional content to empower you to do what’s best for your body each day.

With Fitbit Premium’s new Daily Readiness experience, coming soon to Charge 5, as well as Sense, Versa 3, Versa 2, Luxe and Inspire 2 devices, you can understand if your body is ready for a workout or if you should prioritise recovery instead.

Each morning, you’ll receive a score based on your fitness fatigue (activity), heart rate variability (HRV) and recent sleep. You’ll also get an analysis of what impacted your score, and suggestions like a recommended target Active Zone Minutes goal, along with Premium content to help you make the best decisions for your body.

Charge 5 also includes built-in GPS, 20 exercise modes, automatic exercise recognition and an estimate of your V02 max. Plus, with Premium, you can access more than 200 workouts from certified trainers and popular brands like Daily Burn, barre3, obé and new high energy workouts from LES MILLS.

During 2020, a record-high 40% of adults said they experienced a lot of stress. To help you better manage stress, Charge 5 is Fitbits first tracker to include an EDA sensor, which measures your body’s response to stress through tiny changes in the sweat glands on your fingers. Fitbit first launched EDA last fall with Fitbit Sense and have found 70% of users reduced their heart rate during a two-minute EDA Scan session, showing these tools can help reduce stress.

With Charge 5 you also get a Stress Management Score in the Fitbit app, so you can see each morning if you’re mentally ready to take on more challenges, or if you need to recharge. With Premium, you get access to more than 300 meditation and mindfulness sessions from brands and experts, like Ten Percent Happier and Mindful Method by Deepak Chopra to help you manage your stress. Fitbit are also announcing a partnership with Calm, the #1 App for Sleep, Meditation and Relaxation, which will soon provide Premium members with access to Calm content.

Fitbit are also helping you prioritise your heart health. Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the world’s most common heart rhythm condition, and since launching the ECG app on Sense, users have taken more than four million assessments globally.

The ECG app will be available soon on Charge 5, bringing a critical tool to more people at a more approachable price.

Charge 5 also tracks your heart rate 24/7 and provides notifications when you are above or below your personal ranges, and while many factors can affect your heart rate, a high or low heart rate may be an indication of a heart condition that requires medical attention.

In addition to managing your heart health, Charge 5 provides a holistic view of other key wellness metrics via the Health Metrics dashboard in the Fitbit app, including breathing rate, skin temperature variation and SpO2. With Premium, you can also track long-term trends and personal ranges.

And because sleep is also critical to your wellbeing, you’ll continue to receive industry-leading sleep tools like daily Sleep Score, Sleep Stages and SmartWake alarms.

Premium members also receive a deeper analysis and guidance to improve sleep quality.

Beyond health and wellness support, Charge 5 delivers the convenience features you need.

With the swipe of a finger, view your stats, make contactless payments, receive / send notifications from / to your smartphone (quick replies with Android only), and choose from 20 colourful clock faces to customise what information you want to see most.

Ten percent thinner than its predecessor, Charge 5 has an aerodynamic design and is optimised for performance and engineered for a seamless fit. With a new AMOLED colour display, Charge 5 is their first tracker with an always-on display option for added convenience to see your stats or while training.

The display is also two-times brighter than its predecessor making it easy to see your stats on sunny days. You can also switch up your look at any time, choosing from lightweight silicone infinity bands, breathable sport bands, plush nylon hook and loop bands, and hand-crafted premium Horween leather bands.

Beginning today, pre-order Charge 5 online at Fitbit.com and select retailers, with worldwide availability spring 2021.

The post Fitbit Charge 5. Redefining strength. appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Recently Fitbit has released their luxury smartband – the Fitbit Luxe.

Designed to go with every outfit, any occasion and all fitness types and routines.

Shane at STG also got the chance to find out how the Fitbit range can assist in the real world via an interview with Jess Blair, a qualified Naturopath and Nutritionist.

Jess Blair

Shane: Hi Jess, thanks so much for chatting with us at STG. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how Fitbit has helped you with your expertise as a wellness, nutritionist and naturopath?

Jess: Thank you for having me! Sure, my name is Jess and I am a mum of two very active boys (who both love their Fitbits too!). I am a qualified naturopath and Nutritionist and am originally from Australia!Fitbit keeps me accountable but also allows me to look into my sleeping habits and also my stress levels. I’ve got those stress management tools right there on my wrist, but it also helps me when I am sitting at my desk all day working, or studying, by reminding me to get up and get moving! It’s like your own personal trainer on your wrist.. and best friend!

Shane: Fitbit is the only wearable with the owner’s health and safety in mind. How do you use the smart wearable’s functions on a daily basis?

Jess: I check my data everyday, see how I slept, and I use that to plan my work outs, I also make sure I am moving enough. Stress has been an unfortunate part of my life (and many people’s) during the pandemic. So for me, I use my Fitbit to be more mindful with breathing exercises and stress management tools, and I just use itto check what is going on with my body!

Shane: How did you get into health and wellbeing in the first place?

Jess: I have always been into sports from a young age, growing up on a farm my days, weekends and holidays were filled with sports (sorry Mum!). I did dancing, touch, athletics, horse riding and had very active childhood- I think that has trickled down into my life. Now obviously I also have a husband who played sport for a living – it was easy for me! Wellness as a whole has really shifted for me, I am more about health now than ever, and I am learning new things everyday.

Shane: For those that are keen to follow in your footsteps and advice, what tips would you give them?

Jess: So my whole philosophy is small changes for big results, get yourself moving, track your movements, the Fitbit Luxe literally takes the hard work out of the thinking for you! You can even see how well you are sleeping. Prioritise sleep, prioritise drinking water, and look after your stress levels (which Fitbit reminds you of!).

Shane: And finally, how has Fitbit changed your health and wellbeing routines?

Jess: It makes me more conscious of my movement, it’s the most simple things too – sometimes I can literally sit down all day working and Fitbit reminds me to ‘get up and get moving’. Also in terms of  my stress levels, I have tools to help with my stress management now which helps with being more mindful.  Actually funny story!  I am terrible with flying – and when on the way to Australia a couple weeks back (I was already stressed getting to the airport) my heartrate was very high, so I had to take a few minutes to myself to listen to some music. It’s so easy to see all the data, it makes tracking my health much easier too.

Shane: Excellent, thanks so much Jess for chatting with us today. I’m pretty sure you’ll inspire some of our readers to explore their health and wellbeing and your advice.

You can check out our Fitbit Luxe device review here.

The post Interview w. Jess Blair | Fitbit appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Stay healthy, active and look rather fancy with a luxury on your wrist.

Fitbit has just released their Fitbit Luxe range (including a limited edition) for the health and wellbeing conscious ladies (and discerning guys) out there.

Being a tad smaller than the traditional Fitbit and with a slim silicone strap for the standard version – it’s like wearing nothing. Lighter than air.

Fitbit sent one of them over and for a couple of weeks I’ve worn it to see what the Luxe is all about.

If you’re new to Fitbit you’ll need to set the smartwatch up via the Fitbit app on either Android or iOS (Apple).

It’s pretty much all automated, but make sure you’re at 100% battery (otherwise you may run out of juice during the setup or the setup wont proceed if the battery is too low).

From their you’re on your path to a healthier and hopefully happier you.

The Luxe features the usual’s that we have seen in other Fitbit trackers, fitness tracking, step counting, heart monitoring and managing stress levels.

But there’s more. This isn’t just a tracker to wear on a fancy night out, this is your all round fitness coach and more.

Setting goals, adding menstruation cycles (okay I didn’t do that one) and even swimming as the Fitbit Luxe is 50 meters water proof. I was lucky it was. The Fitbit is a wear and forget. I forgot I was wearing it and it joined me in the shower. Twice.

Battery life is better than alot of other smartwatches out there – Fitbit stating it being a total of 5 days. I got 5 to 6 days consistently.

The charge time is quick enough. When I received the Fitbit Luxe it was at totally 0% battery. After less than an hour 100% and I was good to go.

Another interesting thing is that the Fitbit Luxe doesn’t have any tactile buttons.

None.

Everything is done via the touch colour screen from your fitness regimes to instant access to live stats. If you’re wanting something more indepth – you’ll find that, including sleeping results via the Fitbit app which the Luxe syncs to via Bluetooth.

The Fitbit Luxe is a wearable tracker that has all of the features of larger smartwatch’s.

It’s the smart choice for those that don’t want to wear something too bulky, worries about ‘will this go with my outfit’ and wants to take steps to a healthier lifestyle, or at best aims to keep track of their wellbeing.

Cheap enough for all budgets the Fitbit Luxe is the time telling wrist bound luxury that has all of the functions of any Fitbit to date slimmed down.

The post Fitbit Luxe Tracker Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Get ready for the new updates for Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 are on their way.

The latest FitbitOS release is jam packed with new features and updates that make it easier than ever to stay healthy, connected, and motivated, right from your wrist.

Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 users can now track SpO2 levels from the Today dashboard on-wrist, plus get access to new clock face switcher functionality, new celebrations, and hear audible responses from Google.

Versa 3 users will also join Sense users in being able to better understand their heart health with high and low heart rate notifications.

You can now access your SpO2, the level of oxygen in your blood, from more places.

In addition to the SpO2 clock face and within the Health Metrics Dashboard in the Fitbit app, you can now see your nightly average and trends from the past week in the on-wrist Today dashboard. With Premium, your Health Metrics dashboard shows your trends from the past month and personal ranges to help you interpret your data.

Versa 3 users can now better understand (or can stay even more informed on) their heart health with high and low heart rate notifications. Versa 3 now offers on-device high and low heart rate notifications.

With 24/7 continuous heart rate tracking, Versa 3 can detect and send a notification if your heart rate is outside of your set heart rate thresholds. If you receive a notification, you can also take a survey in the Fitbit app to help you better understand what’s going on.

With this latest update you can now get audio responses from Google.

If you ask to set an alarm, Google responds with: “Done. Your alarm’s set for tomorrow at 7am.” If you ask Google how you slept, Google responds with: “Since yesterday, you slept a total of 8 hr and 15 mins.”

You’ll see replies in text format and with audio responses as well. (Note that the audio response is optional and can be turned off).

Changing your clock face from day to night from gym to work or all of the above has never been easier. This new feature lets you swap your clock face without leaving the main screen. Simply press and hold the clock face for a few seconds to open the Clocks app to choose from a selection of your favorite clock faces.

Stay motivated throughout the day as you crush your health and fitness goals with new on-wrist celebrations that keep you inspired along the way.

Fitbit, are always striving to bring you quality experiences that will help you reach your health and wellness goals. Get the new OS update as soon as you can so you can maximise your use of your Fitbit Versa 3 or Fitbit Sense now.

The post Fitbit OS Update Delivers Even More Health & Features appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Fitbit just announced Ace 3 Special Edition: Minions, making it fun and easy for kids ages 6+ to get active and build healthy habits with the whole family alongside some of the most beloved and recognisable characters of all time: Illumination’s Minions.

The newest addition to Fitbit’s Ace kids activity and sleep-tracker line, Ace 3 Special Edition: Minions includes motivating features like hourly reminders to move and daily activity goals in a swimproof design – all powered by eight days of battery life.

Introducing a new interactive Minion clock face, Minions-inspired accessory bands and coming soon, Minions-themed activity badges at the same price as Fitbit Ace 3.

“Parents and kids love our Ace activity and sleep trackers for their engaging and motivating features that inspire kids to stay active and build healthy habits,” said Alison Ross Powers, Head of Global Strategic Partnerships for Fitbit at Google. “Introducing Illumination’s Minions to the Ace family brings fun, new Minions inspired features that weave in even more personality and surprises into the Fitbit experience for families and kids, keeping them moving and happy alongside their favorite on-screen characters.”

Ace 3 Special Edition: Minions brings the loveable characters directly to kids’ wrists with a themed design built into every aspect of the Fitbit device experience.

With an exclusive, engraved accessory band in Minions Yellow with an embossed Minions design, the device is built to withstand tumbles and spills with a comfortable and secure silicone band and bumper.

Kids with any Ace 3 device can also customise their tracker with additional Minions-themed bands in Despicable Blue and Mischief Black, so all kids with the latest Fitbit kids and activity trackers can enjoy the mischievous and larger-than-life personalities of the Minions.

On-device, a new animated clock face, available exclusively to Ace 3 devices, allows kids to become the Minions’ latest “boss” as the expressive character runs, dances, skateboards and swims, encourages kids to get moving and illustrates their progress towards daily customisable goals for either active minutes or steps.

The fun doesn’t stop with Ace 3 Special Edition: Minions. Coming soon, all Fitbit users can enjoy new Minions-themed activity badges in the Fitbit app for various step milestones featuring three of the most beloved Minions: Stuart, Kevin and Bob.

Once earned, the badges will act as glowing signs of pride in your or your kids’ profiles in the Fitbit app, and serve as a reminder to keep chasing daily activity goals.

Ace 3 Special Edition: Minions has the same extensive safeguards as the entire Ace product line, so kids can focus on building healthy habits while parents can be assured their child’s privacy is protected.

Parents can set up a Fitbit family account in the Fitbit app to access privacy controls and protections, which is strongly suggested for children ages 12 and under and required for using Ace 3 Special Edition: Minions or Ace 3. Through Parent View in the app, parents can easily see their kid’s activity, manage what is shown on their kid’s app experience, and approve their kid’s friend requests.

To promote the development of healthy habits, Ace 3 and Ace 3 Special Edition: Minions use a focused Kid View in-app that shows the data that matters most, like activity and sleep stats, as well as parent-approved friends, clock faces, avatars and badges.

The Ace 3 experience is designed to meet the child- privacy standards outlined by law where available, including COPPA in the United States and GDPR in Europe.

Fitbit Ace 3 Special Edition: Minions, the latest tracker in the beloved Ace 3 line, is available starting today at Fitbit.com and online at select retailers including Fitbit.com, JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman and Noel Leeming. Ace 3 Special Edition: Minions retails for $119.95 NZD. Additional Minions engraved silicone accessory bands compatible with all Ace 3 devices are available for $29.95 (USD) in Despicable Blue and Mischief Black.

Classic silicone bands with the same kid-friendly bumper design are also available in Black with a Sport Red clasp and Cosmic Blue with an Astro Green clasp exclusively on Fitbit.com.

The post Fitbit Debuts ACE 3 SPECIAL EDITION: MINIONS! appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Playing in the dirt, rumbling around in the playground or a bit of a swim in the local pool – Fitbit has designed the ultimate kids health and wellbeing wearable with the Fitbit Ace 3.

Designed for kids 6 years and over, the Fitbit Ace 3 will pair with the Fitbit app for either Android or iOS.

Most kids have a low-end smartphone, but if not the Fitbit Ace 3 can be paired with your current smartphone so you can keep track of your child’s adventures throughout any given day.

Via the app you can also set activities for your child to complete. This not only keeps them active, of course, but ensures they are burning off energy as required and keeping entertained in the process.

The Fitbit Ace 3 features kid-friendly watch faces and a brightly coloured two tone silicone strap that’s as flexible as it is almost non-breakable.

The edges of the Fitbit Ace 3 are also cushioned to ensure the smartwatch will survive pretty much anything it gets subjected too.

Giving the review model that STG received to a friends 7 year old son it was not only the first smartwatch the youngster had ever worn it also gave his parents (who paired it with one of their phones) a thorough understanding of their child’s physical interactions, how many calories he was burning and of course where he was via GPS.

The young lad not only felt like the cool-kid at school with a fancy touch screen watch, he actively used it’s functions in order to style and customise to his liking.

As we adults get older some of us bare in mind that we probably need to get out and about a bit more. Generally speaking kids are super active all of the time, but is their activeness suited to their diet, are their activities enough or too much, are they getting enough sleep?

The Fitbit Ace 3 is exactly the answer to those concerned parents out there with an added bonus of a super impressive 8 day battery life from full charge.

The simple to use small smartwatch will keep your child in-check, track their sleeping, monitor health and wellbeing in realtime that you as a parent can see and give your child the ability to be the coolest kid at school.

The post Fitbit Ace 3 Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Fitbit has announced Fitbit Luxe, a fashion-forward fitness and wellness tracker designed to help you take a more holistic approach to your health and wellness.

Luxe offers the motivation and support you need to stay healthy in today’s world with everything from stress management tools to automatic activity and sleep tracking – all in an effortlessly chic bracelet design.

Luxe also gives you insights into your wellbeing through the Health Metrics dashboard in the Fitbit app to help you identify changes which could be caused by increased stress or fatigue.

With Luxe, you’ll get six-months of Fitbit Premium for added support and deeper analysis of your data.

Luxe is a beautiful, sleek tracker with a colour touchscreen and up to five days of battery life. It can be paired with a wide range of stylish accessories, including a modern luxury bracelet from gorjana.

“Over the past year, we’ve had to think differently about our health – from keeping an eye out for possible COVID-19 symptoms to managing the ongoing stress and anxiety of today’s world. Even though we are starting to see positive changes, it has never been more important to manage your holistic health,” said James Park, VP, GM and Co-Founder of Fitbit. “That’s why we’ve been resolute in introducing products to support you in staying mentally well and physically active. We’ve made major technological advancements with Luxe, creating a smaller, slimmer, beautifully designed tracker packed with advanced features – some that were previously only available with our smartwatches – making these tools accessible to even more people around the globe.”

After the pandemic began, a survey found that 50 percent of people felt the physical and mental effects of stress.

With Luxe, Fitbit is making its relevant stress management tools available to millions more users around the globe by bringing them to trackers for the first time. Now available with Luxe and all available heart-rate enabled devices, Fitbit’s Stress Management Score provides a daily assessment of your body’s ability to handle stress based on your activity levels, sleep and heart rate.

As a Fitbit Premium member, you get a detailed breakdown of your Stress Management Score including information on your exertion, sleep patterns and responsiveness.

Premium members also have access to a range of workouts and nearly 200 mindfulness sessions from popular brands like Aaptiv, Aura, Breethe and Ten Percent Happier to manage stress.

This includes Deepak Chopra’s Mindful Method, an exclusive wellness collection created for Premium with more than 30 sessions to make a mindfulness practice more accessible. Fitbit is introducing four new sessions to Mindful Method, focused on bringing the power of mindful awareness to many real-life situations.

“I share Fitbit’s belief that mindfulness and mental wellbeing are an important part of our holistic health, and by better managing your emotional wellbeing, it can help make a positive lasting impact on your overall health, including better sleep, improved mood and more meaningful personal relationships,” said Deepak Chopra, M.D., Pioneer of Integrative Medicine, and Founder of The Chopra Foundation and Chopra Global. “For example, I regularly see my heart rate lower after doing a meditation session and over time, my heart rate variability trends have improved. Mindful Method makes a regular mindfulness practice easy and accessible – no matter whether you are learning how to begin, or are interested in taking your mindfulness practice to the next level.”

Luxe gives you access to Fitbit’s wide range of health and wellness features to support a holistic approach to healthy living. Get insights into your wellbeing in the Fitbit app with the Health Metrics dashboard which tracks your breathing rate, heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate (RHR), skin temperature variation and coming soon, oxygen saturation (SpO2).

For example, by looking at your weekly HRV and RHR, you may be able to see when there is a sudden change, which could be a sign of stress, fatigue or a cold. Plus, Premium lets you track your monthly trends and personal ranges, highlighting when one of your metrics is out of range.

With a light, slim form factor, Luxe is designed for maximum comfort, making it easy to wear nightly to manage your sleep. Sleep Score helps you better understand your sleep quality, and bedtime reminders can help you establish a more consistent sleep routine. Premium members can view deeper sleep analytics, and some will see feature tests as Fitbit works to expand its future offerings to give even more personalized guidance based on your sleep patterns.

Additional health tools include food, hydration and weight logging, and menstrual health tracking.

Premium members have access to more than 60 new pieces of nutrition content including curated healthy recipes from Fitbit and Eating Well magazine.

Physical activity is a key component of overall health, but for most people, COVID-19 changed exercise routines.

With 24/7 heart rate tracking that powers many of Fitbit’s health, wellness and fitness tools, you can track your daily heart rate in real-time to better measure your calorie burn.

You can also choose from 20 different on-wrist exercise modes including golf, pilates, spinning or tennis and for those who prefer running, biking or hiking outside, you can use connected GPS from your phone to see real-time pace and distance. With Premium, access more than 200 guided audio and video workouts from certified personal trainers and popular brands like Aaptiv, barre3, Daily Burn, obé and POPSUGAR.

Use Active Zone Minutes, a personalised standard for tracking activity beyond steps that measures your time spent in each heart rate zone, to gauge when to push harder or scale back, and it helps you reach the weekly recommended goal of 150 Active Zone Minutes to help improve your health.

Reminders to Move will help encourage you to stay active and reduce sedentary time, and you can access challenges and games with Premium to make reaching your goals more fun.

In addition to all the health and fitness features, Luxe has key convenience and smart features like alarms, a stopwatch and timers to help you manage your day, all with up to five days of battery life. Stay connected and up to date with customizable call, text and smartphone notifications, and set bedtime reminders or use do not disturb when it’s time to focus.

Luxe’s broad compatibility with Android and iOS phones, plus Google Fast Pair, makes it easy to get moving while staying connected.

Luxe’s breakthrough design has a soft, gentle shape inspired by the human body that sits lightly on your wrist with a jewelry-like look and feel.

Fitbit applied a modern take on traditional jewelry-making techniques using an innovative design process called metal injection moulding to create Luxe’s stainless steel case, providing the warmth expected of handcrafted jewelry, all while delivering a level of precision needed to enable its advanced sensor technology.

The result is one of Fitbit’s most fashionable and comfortable devices yet, designed for a diverse range of wrist sizes for 24/7 wear. To produce the high polish synonymous with jewelry, Fitbit used a metal vaporizing technique on the soft gold and platinum finishes to provide a truly premium look and feel.

Fitbit partnered with Laguna Beach-based jewelry brand gorjana to further elevate Luxe’s style.

The gorjana for Fitbit Luxe Special Edition transforms the tracker into a beautiful piece of jewelry with the Parker Link Bracelet in soft gold stainless steel, and a swimproof classic silicone peony band.

Choose from a wide-range of fashionable and versatile Fitbit accessories, including comfortable classic silicone, premium Horween leather double wrap, woven, stainless steel mesh bands or the gorjana Parker Link Bracelet in platinum and soft gold stainless steel.

With a sleek buttonless design, Luxe is Fitbit’s thinnest touchscreen tracker to-date, with a variety of vibrant new clock faces on the first Fitbit tracker with a colour screen. Luxe’s intuitive swipe and tap functionality gives you easy access to your daily stats, notifications and core health and fitness features.

Luxe is available for pre-order today at Fitbit.com and at select retailers including Fitbit’s official website, JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman and Noel Leeming, and major retailers, with worldwide availability starting in late May 2021.

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A trial is underway to see if an app connected to wearable smart devices can detect COVID-19 in border workers before they experience symptoms.

The Ministry of Health has organised a month-long trial of the ëlarm app, which connects to wearable devices such as Fitbit, Apple Watch and other smart watches or fitness trackers. The app uses artificial intelligence technology to inform users of early physiological changes that might indicate they are becoming unwell, several days before they experience symptoms.

Up to 500 border workers can volunteer to take part in the trial, which runs until early May. After installing the app on a smart device, they will receive regular email reminders, and alerts throughout the day and can securely view their own health information on the app or by going online to view a dashboard.

The app establishes a personalised health baseline for each user, based on their wearable data history. All data used by the app is entirely private to the individual participants, which is a fundamental part of ëlarm’s privacy-by-design principles.

‘Contact tracing is at the heart of our COVID-19 response and it’s essential we find and treat people who might have been exposed to this difficult virus before it has a chance to take hold in our communities,’ says Shayne Hunter, Deputy Director-General of Data and Digital, Ministry of Health.

‘There’s no single fix for COVID-19 so it’s important we use the tools and technologies at our disposal to give contact tracers and health workers a good head start. We already have good tools such as the NZ COVID Tracer app and QR code posters, and the Ministry of Health is investigating other technologies that might provide further support for our contact tracing.

‘If the ëlarm app lives up to its potential, it might provide early notification to our critical border workforce if they’re becoming unwell. That means they can take appropriate action such as self-isolating and being tested for COVID-19.

‘Even though our border workers are vaccinated, the reality is that some people will still feel unsure about the increased risk of exposure to COVID-19 from working on the border. We want to really support this essential work by giving people good tools to monitor their own health to keep themselves, their whānau and all of New Zealand safe and healthy.’

Datamine, the New Zealand company which developed the ëlarm app, will provide wearable devices for border workers taking part who do not have a Fitbit or smartwatch.

Early research of similar technology supports the use of wearable devices to detect COVID-19 and other transmissible diseases, including studies undertaken by Stanford University, Scripps Institute and UCSF.

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