Fitbit announces Versa 2, Aria Air with Premium subscription service

The fitness wearable maker will bring a high-end smartwatch in Versa 2, low-cost smartwatch Aria Air and Fitbit Premium from the second week of September.

Business Standard : Fitbit has announced two new smartwatches and a new paid premium subscription service for personalised guidance and coaching.

The fitness wearable maker will bring a high-end smartwatch in Versa 2, low-cost smartwatch Aria Air and Fitbit Premium from second week of September.

The price of Versa 2 starts from Rs 20,999 while Aria Air will cost Rs 4,999. Fitbit Premium will start rolling out in September 2019 at Rs 819 per month or Rs 6,999 per year.

Fitbit Versa 2

The Fitbit Versa 2 is the upgraded version of Fitbit Versa with swimproof design and sleep tracking features such as Sleep Score and smart wake. Versa 2 also features on-device microphone, which enables built-in Alexa, along with a Spotify app. The smartwatch comes with up to 5 days of battery back up.

Versa 2 also includes automatic activity tracking, 24/7 heart rate tracking, over 15 goal-based exercise modes, connected GPS and water resistance up to 50 meters. It is also powered by a faster processor compared to Versa for better performance and seamless navigation. Plus, a larger AMOLED display.

Versa 2 Special Edition devices will also come with a free three-month trial of the Fitbit Premium membership. Versa 2 is available for Rs 20,999 in black with a carbon case, petal with a copper rose aluminum case, and stone with a mist grey case.

Versa 2 Special Edition is available for Rs 22,999 in navy and pink with a copper rose aluminum case and smoke with a mist grey case. Versa 2 will be available in stores worldwide beginning September 15, 2019

Fitbit Aria Air

Fitbit Aria Air is a low-cost smartwatch that tracks heart rate, BMI, sleep and nutrition data along with other health metrics.

Fitbit Aria Air is available in black and white for pre-order on Fitbit.com and select retailers worldwide starting late September 2019 for Rs 4,999.

Honor Watch Magic review: Fancy smart wearable that excels as fitness band

Honor Watch Magic is a basic smart wearable that's more of a fitness band than a smartwatch. If you want a fancy fitness band that can double up as a watch, this is a good option.

After launching the Honor Band 4 fitness band, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei’s sub-brand Honor introduced in India the Honor Watch Magic – a smart wearable that functions both as a watch and a fitness band. The watch is made of steel and comes in black and silver colour options, priced at Rs 13,999 and Rs 14,999, respectively.

Design

The Watch Magic has a solid build with a CNC-processed bezel on the top, and laser-engraved markings on the lower side. These engraved markings, along with an accentuated red colour marking on the bezel and menu button, go well with the dual colour textured strap that the watch comes with. However, the sweat-proof strap has a silicone rubber on the bottom that might not suite suit everyone, especially those with skin sensitive to allergies. Thankfully, the watch is water resistant (5ATM/50 meters) and is designed so that it does not accumulate water for a long time.

Display

The watch has a 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen, which is big enough to show relevant information available on various watch faces, but not so large as to reflect smartphone notifications properly. Being an AMOLED unit, the screen has good contrast and vivid colours, which makes the icons on screen pop out. The display has ample brightness to stay legible in bright outdoor conditions. Though the screen is set to show information when the arm is raised, it can be set to remain on from display settings in app. However, turning the display on permanently depletes the on-battery time.

Features and performance

Apart from functioning as a standalone device, the Honor Watch Magic also works with smartphones via Huawei Health app – available on both iOS and Android platforms. The app allows the phone and watch to sync data and shows the data readings in interactive graphic form within the app home screen. The app also helps update the watch’s firmware, which sometimes comes bundled with new watch faces.

Being a smart wearable, the watch is capable of monitoring various activities, fitness, heart rate and sleep. The watch’s built-in GPS module helps it track movement, though not precisely. It is also capable of monitoring sleep patterns using the bottom-mounted heart rate sensor. Unfortunately, the watch has no storage for songs, something you would expect from a lifestyle product.

Business Standard

Old-school watchmakers push smart features to counter Apple Watch

Global shipments of Swiss watches steadily slipped after the first Apple Watch was unveiled in 2015.

Business Standard : Watchmakers, caught off guard by the success of Apple Inc.’s smartwatch, are now trying to keep pace with changing customer tastes by introducing messaging alerts and other high-tech features to traditional watches.

Brands including TAG Heuer, Swatch and Fossil Group are working with Apple rivals such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Intel Corp. to offer their own smartwatches or hybrid versions that offer smart functions while retaining traditional design.

Global shipments of Swiss watches steadily slipped after the first Apple Watch was unveiled in 2015, a dip compounded by a slump in China sales. Despite picking up in the past two years, they were overtaken last holiday season by Apple’s smartwatch for the first time. UBS predicts Apple Watch sales will rise 40% next year to reach 33 million. The tech giant is expected to move 8.8 million shipments in the fourth quarter of this year, said Francisco Jeronimo, a research director at International Data Corporation.

“The global watch market has had a shock and it worries us,” Daeboong Kim, head of South Korea’s Watch & Clock Industry Cooperative, said in an interview at the world’s biggest industry fair in Hong Kong in September. The cooperative is getting advice from Samsung Electronics Co. , the world’s biggest smartphone maker, to help members develop watches with smart functions. Samsung and Apple declined to comment.

Sales of smartwatches overtook mechanical watches in 2016 while hybrid-watch sales rose to 7.5 million world-wide in 2017 from almost nothing in 2015 according to market-research firm Euromonitor International. Sales volumes for both watch types are set to double by 2020, it predicts.

The digital divide is growing, however, as the Apple Watch Series 4 released last month added an alert system for when the wearer falls down and a function designed to identify heart irregularities. Analysts say those features target a demographic of faithful watch buyers who are typically more resistant to technology: older customers.

While some traditional watchmakers have tried to move into smartwatches, many have focused on hybrids. Typically, these don’t have touch-screens. Instead, they are synced with smartphones via an app and alert the wearer to messages or calls through vibrations, blinking lights or by moving the watch’s hands. Via Bluetooth connection, users push buttons on the watch to control the phone’s camera and music functions.

TAG Heuer is one of the higher-end brands fighting back, releasing an upgrade of its smartwatch, the Connected Modular 41, earlier this year. The watch is the result of collaboration with Intel and Google. It has fitness tracking, GPS, and contactless payment.

Jean-Claude Biver, TAG Heuer’s chief executive, said its hybrid is having success because “it really looks and feels like a real watch, but with all the information you need.” TAG Heuer is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, which declined to disclose sales figures... Read More