Fitbit announces global availability of Charge 2

This post was originally published on the Fitbit press site. It has been adapted from its original format.

Fitbit, the global leader in the connected health and fitness market, announced the availability of Fitbit Charge 2 at major retailers worldwide. With Charge 2, Fitbit has reimagined its best-selling fitness wristband, Fitbit Charge HR, with a new sleek look, innovative health and fitness tools based on its proprietary PurePulse continuous wrist-based heart rate tracking, an enhanced fitness experience, and smarter technology.

Charge 2 has already captured high acclaim from both consumers and the media. Since becoming available on Amazon.com, it has been ranked the #1 best-selling device under multiple categories, including Fitness & Activity Monitors and Heart Rate Monitors. Charge 2 has also been favorably reviewed by leading consumer technology news publications including CNET and PC Magazine, receiving the “Editors’ Choice” award for fitness trackers from both publications.

“As the category leader with over nine years of experience, we have demonstrated our consistent ability to deliver new hardware and software that consumers love, and that motivates and inspires a community of millions across the globe to reach their health and fitness goals,” said Woody Scal, Chief Business Officer at Fitbit. “We’ve maintained our focus on health and fitness with Charge 2 and it reflects our deep understanding of what consumers want in a wearable device, with a sleek new look, and a fitness experience that is more engaging, motivating and personal than ever.”

Charge 2 packs Fitbit’s advanced sensors and finely tuned algorithms into a customizable design. The device builds on Charge HR’s classic features while adding several new health and fitness capabilities:

• PurePulse wrist-based heart rate tracking helps you optimize your workouts, better track all-day calorie burn, and reach your health and fitness goals with continuous tracking day and night – all without having to wear an uncomfortable chest strap.
• Cardio fitness level provides a snapshot of how fit you are with a personalized view of your cardio fitness. Based on estimated VO2 Max – calculated by using your user profile, heart rate and exercise data – you can easily see how your fitness level measures up to others of the same age and gender, and get guidance on how to improve over time.
• Relax guided breathing sessions help calm your body and mind through two- and five-minute sessions personalized to your breathing rate, so you can gain the benefits of a guided breathing practice which research shows can reduce stress and anxiety, and lower blood pressure. Powered by PurePulse, Relax uses your heart’s beat-to-beat changes, known as heart rate variability, to determine your breathing rate and create a personalized guide that displays real-time heart rate visualizations, animations and vibrational cues that help you align each inhale and exhale with the guide, and find moments of calm throughout your day.
• Multi-sport modes help you track more than 17 specific workouts like runs, bike rides, weights, yoga and more, showing you actionable, real-time exercise stats to make on-the-go adjustments to your workout, with post-exercise summaries on display and a detailed summary of your activity in the Fitbit app.
• Connected GPS links your device with the GPS in your smartphone to provide more precise real-time stats like pace and distance to help you improve your run, bike, or hike experience while also recording a map of your route in the app.
• Interval workout mode guides you in alternating periods of high-intensity exercise and recovery to maximize workouts like circuit training so you never lose focus.
• SmartTrack automatic exercise recognition automatically tracks select exercises like walks, runs, bike rides, treadmill exercise, sports, and aerobic workouts, recording them for you in the Fitbit app and giving you credit for your exercise activity, even if you don’t track it manually.
• Automatic sleep tracking lets you know how long and how well you slept, set a silent vibrating alarm to wake, follow a sleep schedule, and view your sleep trends in the Fitbit app.
• Long battery life of up to 5 days on a single charge lets you take your health and fitness further with all these new features, and live your life without missing a step or a beat.
• A sleek, new design lets you easily transition from a workout to a night out with interchangeable bands and customizable clock faces. The large OLED display keeps you connected to the smart notifications you need most, including call, text and calendar alerts.
• Broad compatibility of the Fitbit app with more than 200 Android (which powers nearly 9 of 10 new smartphones sold worldwide6), iOS and Windows mobile devices, helps motivate millions to achieve their goals within the Fitbit community of users they choose.

“With Charge 2, Fitbit has introduced even more new features and technologies, which we know our customers expect and value from their health and fitness devices,” said Frank Bedo, Vice President of Wearables at Best Buy. “We’re looking forward to bringing Charge 2 to our customers as we head into the holiday gifting season.”

According to IDC, Fitbit’s “dominance remains unchallenged,” increasing its leadership position in the wearables category with more than 25 percent market share worldwide and shipping nearly double the number of wearable devices as its next closest competitor as of the end of Q2 2016. IDC also estimates that the basic wearables category, which includes Charge 2, is growing faster than smartwatches, noting that the basic wearables category grew at 48.8 percent year over year, while the smart wearables category saw a significant decline of 27.2 percent over the same period.

Charge 2 is available for $149.95 with a Classic band in black, blue, plum or teal. Accessory bands will be available in October including the Classic accessory bands and three colors of Luxe premium leather accessory bands in blush pink, brown and indigo – each for $29.95 and $69.95, respectively. For those who want an elevated look, Charge 2 has a Special Edition Series that can be purchased for $179.95 – with an option to choose between a rugged and refined matte-black gunmetal tracker with a beveled black Classic band, or an elegant 22-karat plated rose gold tracker with a quilted lavender Classic band, available starting in December.

Charge 2 and accompanying accessory bands can be purchased at Fitbit.com and at leading retailers in North America, including Amazon.com, AT&T, Best Buy, Brookstone, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Nordstrom, REI, Target and Verizon. They are also available at retail partners across Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, New Zealand and China. Charge 2 will be available at retailers in Korea, Latin America and Japan starting in October.