Fitbit launches Versa Lite smartwatch, Inspire and Inspire HR fitness trackers

San Francisco-based Fitbit has announced the launch of three new products in the Indian market. The Inspire and Inspire HR are the two new fitness trackers, and the Versa Lite Edition will be the company's new entry-level smartwatch. Fitbit also plans to launch Ace 2, an activity tracker for kids. These new wearables will be available across Amazon, Flipkart, Reliance Digital, Croma, Helios, as well as offline retail.

Built on the success of Fitbit Versa smartwatch, the Lite Edition continues to be an everyday smartwatch featuring automatic activity, PurePulse 24/7 heart rate, sleep stages tracking, 15 plus goal-based exercise modes, connected GPS, smartphone notifications, apps, 4 plus day battery life and relative SpO2 sensor, which has the potential to estimate changes in blood oxygen levels and help track new health indicators about health, such as sleep apnea. The only features it misses out in comparison to Versa are floor climbed, swim lap counting (on the wrist), music, Fitbit Pay and on-screen workouts. With the swim-proof design in new bold colours, it has been designed for users who want an attractive, versatile, and easy-to-use device with core features, actionable insights and personal guidance to motivate them to improve their health.

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Fitbit Inspire is the entry-level wearable from Fitbit in India, with essential health and fitness features including automatic activity, exercise and sleep tracking, goal celebrations, reminders to move and timer and stopwatch apps. The Fitbit Inspire HR along with the other features has a 24/7 heart rate tracker, for measuring resting heart rate, cardio fitness score, sleep stages and more.

The company also plans to redesign the Fitbit app, giving users more ways to personalise their health journey. The new design will make it easier to view and understand their health and fitness stats, log data, discover new content, see their progress in Challenges, and better connect with Fitbit's large global health and fitness social community. The update also adds Fitbit Focus, a new section found at the top of the dashboard that delivers relevant insights, messages and tips to keep users engaged, informed and motivated.

Being in the business since 2007, Fitbit has tracked over 181 billion hours of heart rate, 175 trillion steps, 9 billion nights of sleep and 457 billion minutes of exercise. From 6.4 million in 2014 to 27.6 million in 2018, Fitbit has registered an active user growth over the last many years.  The company plans to put all the insights and data to use and will roll out a premium health coaching service later this year. Alok Shankar, Country General Manager, Fitbit says, "To start with, human coaching will not be there. We have a massive database and using artificial intelligence we will structure program for our users."

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With all the new products, Fitbit is making its fitness bands and smartwatches even more affordable. Priced at Rs 6,999, Inspire is the new entry-level product in Fitbit's portfolio and the Fitbit HR for Rs 8,999 is its most affordable fitness tracker with 24x7 heart rate tracker. Given the success of its Versa smartwatch, Fitbit has launched the Versa Lite smartwatch at Rs 15,999. However, given the US pricing, these products are still priced on a higher side in the Indian market. Justifying the price difference, Shankar explains, "Fitbit products are not manufactured in India. And given the economic reality of pricing, the import duty comes to 22 per cent and the GST is 18 per cent."

According to IDC, the wearables category continues to evolve and grow, with global shipments of wearable devices forecasted to reach 189 million units by 2022, up from 125 million units in 2018.  While the growth is being driven by smartwatches, trackers are expected to remain an important part of the category overall.