Fitbit has a few announcements that should make Charge HR and Surge owners much happier.
Starting today, you can download free updates that will allow the two fitness trackers to automatically track your activities.
This means you'll no longer have to manually log your exercises to get credit. Called SmartTrack, the system will recognize continuous movement, figure what you're doing then log it in the Fitbit app all with an exercise summary, including duration, calories burned and heart rate stats.
According to Fitbit, SmartTrack can identify "a wide variety of activities" and is able to differentiate between running, outdoor biking, walking, aerobic workouts and sports. You can still select the actual activity on your own and adjust the length of time your Fitbit is recording but SmartTrack will still be on by default if you're active for at least 15 minutes.
The second major update to the fitness trackers is better heart rate tracking during high-intensity workouts. The PurePulse optical tech - Fitbit's proprietary continuous and automatic heart rate monitor - has been improved for usage during Exercise Mode on Fitbit Charge HR and multi-sport modes on Fitbit Surge.
We've reached out to see just how SmartTrack is able auto-track and what the specific heart rate improvements are, and will update with the answer.
A few more things...
Weekly exercise goals have been added to the Fitbit app for all users. The goals are tracked daily with weekly goals set for the number of days you plan on exercising to help you work out more consistently.
The Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Surge are also available in new blue and tangerine colors, with the Fitbit Charge HR also available in teal.
The SmartTrack and PurePulse software updates are available globally to all Charge HR and Surge owners with exercise goals also available globally for iOS and Windows, with Android coming soon.
