UPDATED 07:00 EDT / FEBRUARY 04 2016

NEWS

New Fitbit is high fashion, but can’t raise stock price

You can now add Fitbit, Inc. to the list of companies offering fashion-forward fitness trackers with its new device Fitbit Alta. But can this flirty upgrade help Fitbit regain Wall Street’s support?

Fitbit_Alta_blackFitbit Alta is a slim and sleek fitness wristband that can be personalized to fit a person’s style, featuring advance health and fitness tracking. The Fitbit Alta showcases a satin finish, stainless steel body, and stylish interchangeable bands available in multiple colors as well as premium materials so it fits a user’s style on any occasion.

“Fitbit Alta will turn heads as our most fashionable device yet. The attractive, versatile design of this new fitness tracker fits seamlessly into daily life – from the gym to the office to a night out,” said James Park, CEO and Co-Founder of Fitbit. “Alta features the everyday tracking Fitbit is known for, along with innovative and purpose-built features that push users to do more. Paired with our large, engaged global social community, Alta is an exciting product for everyday users who are looking for a simple way to stay motivated and connected, that also fits with their personal style.”

Features

Reminders to Move

Fitbit_Alta_metalIf you’re prone to living a very sedentary lifestyle, Fitbit Alta can help you out as it has a Reminders to Move feature that nudges the wearer when they have been stationary for a bit too long. It uses short, positive prompts to encourage users to meet a mini-step goal of 250 steps each hour (approximately 2-3 minutes of walking), and will congratulate you when you achieve the goal. These prompts can be personalized to your schedule and can easily be put on “Do Not Disturb” during long meetings or appointments, ensuring that you only get reminders when wanted.

SmartTrack

This feature automatically recognizes and records continuous movement activities such as walking, running, outdoor biking, elliptical and aerobic workouts including dance classes and cardio-kickboxing, and sports including basketball, soccer and tennis.

Weekly exercise goals

Using the Fitbit app, users can set weekly goals for a more consistent fitness routine that will work for them. These goals are tracked and displayed in the app on a daily basis, with a weekly goal for the number of days you plan to exercise to help keep you accountable. Weekly goals can easily be personalized to your fitness routine, allowing you to choose your target number of exercise days and the SmartTrack activities you want to count toward your goals.

All-day activity and automatic sleep tracking

The Fitbit Alta features an easy-to-read OLED tap display that delivers real-time health and fitness stats to keep users motivated in reaching their daily and weekly goals. Users can view step count, distance traveled, calories burned, active minutes, the time, and smartphone notifications just by tapping the small screen on the device. For sleep tracking, that information is only available via the Fitbit app where users can learn how long and how well they’re sleeping, plus options to set silent or vibrating alarms.

Fitbit Alta is now available for pre-order for $129.95 with retail availability coming in March 2016. Fitbit and Tory Burch has expanded its collaboration and will soon release accessories for the Fitbit Alta.

Fitbit Alta’s March release will coincide with the retail release of Fitbit Blaze, the company’s first smartwatch offering that features the native FitStar app that offers guided workouts as well as fitness tracking features such as step and exercise tracking, calories burned, sleep, and even supports smartphone notifications. Though the device looks nice and provides decent features that can compare to some of today’s smartwatches, Fitbit’s shares dropped 18 percent following the announcement of Blaze. At the time of writing, Fitbit’s stocks is trading at $16.06, still well below its IPO price.

The fall of Fitbit?

Fitbit’s falling shares could be an indication that consumers are no longer interested in standalone fitness trackers. In late 2015, Argus Insights, Inc. released a report stating that consumers are more interested in purchasing pricey smartwatches like the Apple Watch rather than buying a fitness tracker like what Fitbit offers. The report is based on consumer purchases during Black Friday 2015. The funny thing is, Fitbit’s share dropped when it launched Blaze, a smartwatch that doubles as fitness and health tracker priced at only $199.95, a lot cheaper than the Apple Watch whose base model is priced at $349.

So are fitness trackers in general doomed? Or is it just Fitbit?

Fitness trackers are still challenged by the wearable industry’s dirty little secret – consumers get tired of using and charging them just after a few months. If Fitbit’s stock is any indication of fitness trackers’ future, things are looking a bit grim.

Image via Fitbit, Inc.

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