In the last few years, Fitbit has become the Kleenex of the fitness-tracker market—its products are synonymous with the entire category. But the company has a certain reputation. A Fitbit, in short, is "that thing everyone wears even though it's ugly because it makes you a better person." That works for some people, but not for everyone and not all the time. The market is changing. Utility is not enough anymore, and the company's latest products are beginning to chart a more fashion-forward path. It started with the Blaze, a smartwatch-style tracker with interchangeable bands. Now comes Alta, a modular wearable designed to look more like a bracelet than, well, than a Fitbit. The $130 stainless-steel band comes in silver and (soon) gold, with black, blue, teal, or plum bands. Or, you can splurge on the genuine leather band for $60 more, with stainless steel and gold bangles coming later this year for $100. It still looks a bit like a fitness tracker, or at least like a very chunky, very peculiar rectangular watch, but it doesn't look cheap or out of place next to your Gucci. Most of the combinations look quite nice, and feel much more like fine jewelry than anything the company's ever made before. Though, to be fair, that's not a high bar. But at its core, the Alta is still very much a Fitbit. That means you get the same activity and sleep tracking along with exercise recognition and the occasional reminder to get up and move around. It will push important call, text, and calendar notifications from your phone to your Fitbit. You can see your data on the Alta's long, rectangular OLED screen, or in the Fitbit app. It's durable as can be, capable of taking all manner of beatings otherwise unbecoming of jewelry. There's nothing terribly surprising here. Every Fitbit does Fitbit things, and they all do them well. What Fitbit's trying to do now is convince people to wear Fitbits who might otherwise be turned off by their aesthetics. More than that, they're trying to make the kinds of devices that truly do go anywhere and everywhere. Tony Gonzalez, former NFL tight end and current Fitbit employee, spent time on stage at CES talking about how the Blaze could go seamlessly from the practice field to the red carpet. This convergence of fashion and function has always seemed somewhat obvious, but ever since the Apple Watch debuted it's moved with a much greater sense of urgency. Like Apple, Fitbit seems to think that selling you multiple devices is harder than selling you multiple bands for your one device. Like all of its competitors, Fitbit just wants your data. As much of it as possible, in as many situations as possible. To be relegated to "workout device" status is a sort of death sentence; Fitbit, Jawbone, Misfit, and everyone else want to be lifestyle devices. 2016 is going to be the year wearables develop a fashion sense across the board. Misfit's Ray, launched at CES, is probably the most attractive fitness tracker ever made. Fitbit's Alta and Blaze are a step above anything the company's ever done before (can it please get Obama a Blaze so he can stop wearing the Surge?) and everyone from Fossil to Huawei has taken an interest in figuring out how to make technology beautiful. If they succeed, they hope to bring a new set of people into the wearable fold, people who don't care about the technology except as an added bonus to a beautiful accessory. The market for people willing to wear an ugly bracelet in exchange for improving their lifestyle is exceptionally well-served. Fitbit people already own Fitbits. Now Fitbit—and everyone else—has to figure out if it's possible to make a wearable that people wear not in spite of its looks, but because of them. If they can, we might all become Fitbit people.
Fitbit is to release its new "high fashion" Alta activity tracker band in the U.S. in March 2016 with global availability set for April 2016, according to reports this week. The new USD$130 multi-coloured stainless steel Fitbit Alta wearables are designed to look more like hybrid bracelet watches than exercise monitoring devices, and are reportedly durable, flexible and slim enough to withstand intense activity whilst still remaining as visually appealing as a piece of fine jewellery. This new development by Fitbit reflects the wider interest being shown by global companies such as Huawei and Fossil in making fitness trackers beautiful, whilst signifying the great future potential of this market.