Let ’s face it , the world of physical fitness tracker hasplateaued . Most people who need a fitness tracker already have one , and more than a few of us have old tracker shoved away in a drawer , useless because the bill cable enigmatically disappeared , or because the company who made it decided it did n’t care anymore and toss off the software ( RIP NikeFuelBand ) .
For multitude that really like fitness tracker , it ’s been unmanageable to find one that is the correct blend of feature of speech , functionality , and esthetics . Last year , Fitbit released theFitbit cathexis 2 , and I called it “ the well fittingness tracker , period . ” In term of functionality and features , I still think this is the pillow slip , it ’s get GPS built in , and altimeter for tracking climbing aloofness . But the Fitbit care 2 is still bulky than some masses might care . That ’s why I was excited to see the newFitbit Alta HR , another fitness tracker with a middle rate monitor , thatactually looks goodon your wrist joint .
For me , size of a fitness tracker is a large pot . I have tiny , tiny carpus ( “ youngster - corresponding ” is a idiom a former confrere used ) , and as much as I like the Fitbit billing 2 , it ’s a little bulkier than I prefer for a seaworthiness tracker — and I do n’t ask to know how many stairs I climbed or tag myself via GPS . The smallest Fitbit , theFitbit Flex 2 , looks gravid , but its deficiency of a sieve makes it less useful , at least for me .
All Images: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
The Fitbit Alta HR is kind of the pure middle ground . It has the stuff I actually require in a tracker — uninterrupted heart charge per unit monitoring features , and the ability to get outcry , text edition , and calendar notifications on your radiocarpal joint — but in a much smaller and more attractive wrist band .
The Fitbit Alta HR appear just likelast year ’s Fitbit Alta . This is a good thing . The Alta was great because it does n’t treat way as an afterthought . The only real physical difference between the Alta and Alta HR is the fresh centre pace sensor on the bottom of the twist and replaceable strap that are easier to replace . The straps slide off and on the Alta HR . On last year ’s Alta they had a disposition to be stubborn when you tried to put back them .
The battery life on the Fitbit Alta HR is brag as lasting seven days , which is a 24-hour interval longer than what we got on the original Fitbit Alta . Yet in my tests , I still observe myself charging most often at the six 24-hour interval gull .
As for the nitty-gritty charge per unit sensor , it ’s the same we insure in the Charge 2 ( which is the same that was used in the Fitbit Charge HR and the Fitbit Blaze ) . There have been someconflicting reportsabout theaccuracyof that sensing element , but in my own tests , the Alta HR ’s indication have been exactly the same as those measure by the Apple Watch on my opposite wrist . It might not be medically precise , but it ’s precise enough for most of us .
The modest OLED display is calamitous and livid and and adequately serve up the info that matter , like total steps walk , heart charge per unit , resting centre pace , length traveled , calories cauterise , minutes dynamic , and the time . Like the Fitibt Alta and the Charge 2 , the Alta HR can also receive notifications for text messages , phone calls , and calendar events . Make no mistake , the Alta HR will not supervene upon a smartwatch , there are zero apps on the tracker itself , but if you just require notifications about text and appointments , it ’s a nice addition .
As with last twelvemonth ’s model , the screen can be a little ho-hum to respond . I did n’t have any problems flicking my articulatio radiocarpea and generate the show to bend on , or cycling through the screens with a pat , but the equipment ’s reply time is definitely on the slow side compare to other gadgets .
Alongside the Alta HR , Fitbit is also releasing a young software feature calledSleep Stages . Fitbit already track sleep , but the new software offers more insight into how you sleep by infract down a night of relaxation into different phases . caboodle of other companies offer sleep tracking software system , but this is the first product I ’ve seen that actually produce it easy to understand what ’s going on over the course of a night .
The Sleep Stages dashboard granularity shows what type of eternal sleep takes place over a afford night , and how long that character of sleep lasts . Those family include , awake , rapid eye movement sleep , light sleep , and deep sleep . I like knowing just how poorly I sleep ( I wake up ofttimes for brief squirt ) , how much meter I spend in REM nap , and how niggling time ( relatively speaking ) I spend in deep sleep .
Just a few days of data reveals sure ( possibly obvious ) patterns : I wake up at 6:30 every morning , even if I do n’t wheel myself out of bottom until 7:45 . I ’m not certain if knowing that information can avail me make better option , but it ’s surely interesting data to bang . This novel software feature is also available on the Fitbit Charge 2 and the Fitbit Blaze .
bet at the size , aesthetics , bombardment life , and the new heart rate varan , the Fitbit Alta hour is a great fitness tracker for the fair person . And at $ 150 , it ’s a reasonable rise , particularly for anyone who has an quondam Fitbit and is looking to add together heart rate monitoring into their mix .
I ’m not sure if the physical fitness tracker fad will ever resile — Fitbit itself place offsix percentof its stave in January — but for those that do care about tracking bodily process , inwardness pace , and catch some Z’s , the Alta HR is a genuine winner .
README
The Alta HR has most of the feature of speech of the Fitbit tutelage 2 , but not all . If you ’re looking for smartphone - assisted GPS , “ Relax ” mode , or VO2 Max levels , stick with the Charge 2 .
The Alta HR does n’t have an altimeter , which means it ca n’t be used for count flight of steps of stairs climbed . Again , if that ’s on your “ must ” lean , look the the Charge 2 .
seaworthiness trackers are basically commodities at this point which makes software a big determine feature ; Fitbit ’s software is some of the best out there .
Unlike the Flex 2 , this is not waterproof . Still , I totally shower with the Alta HR and had absolutely no problem .
The Sleep Stages stuff is awful for nerds who love to cut across their body stats . It uses ticker rate monitoring for its insights and it ’s bewitching to see just how many time I inflame up in the middle of the night .
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