Fitbit makes several very popular fitness trackers and smartwatches that scores of Brits rely on every day to track their steps, calories, distance, gym sessions, runs and more. The brand is synonymous with health tech devices thanks to their relative affordability and long history of good products.
As spotted by 9to5Google, Fitbit is rolling out a significant software update to several of its latest watches that aims to fix existing bugs and bring new features.
This is welcome news given Fitbit’s recent bumpy patch. The company was acquired by Google in 2021, with the tech giant taking the famous Fitbit app and software to help run its Pixel Watch smartwatch line up. The Pixel Watch, Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch 3 run Google’s WearOS on the watch but also link to the Fitbit app and have the Fitbit app on device to handle all your health and fitness tracking.
But Fitbit confirmed last year it would not make another Fitbit smartwatch, meaning the Fitbit Sense 2 and Versa 4 released in 2022 are likely to be the last ever Fitbit-branded smartwatches made.
Notably, these watches lost WiFi, music storage and third-party app support that their predecessors have, leading to the feeling Google could have been hampering Fitbit watches to push consumers to buy a Pixel Watch instead, which has all these features.
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The new software update is rolling out for the Sense 2 and Versa 4 as well as the Charge 6 and Inspire 3 fitness bands. The biggest addition for all these devices is new status indicators.
These icons will appear at the top of the screen every time the screen turns on, showing quick information such as if do not disturb or sleep mode is on, if your battery is critically low, or if the device isn’t connected to your phone. Fitbit says the icons disappear after three seconds. If this sounds like an annoying addition, you can turn it off in settings.
All these status indicators are accessible to view with a swipe to the right of the home screen, this update just seems like a way to see key status at a glance without swiping.
The Charge 6 and Inspire 3 are also getting “new Bluetooth security features”, which 9to5Google says will get your Fitbit app to prompt you to ‘forget’ your tracker in your phone’s Bluetooth settings. You’ll then be prompted by the app to re-pair your device.
You should see the option to update your Fitbit’s firmware in the Fitbit app. The previous newest software was version 210.26, with the new version bringing in version 214.22.
It’s unclear whether this update addresses or fixes the issue Express.co.uk recently reported on a bug where many Fitbit trackers including the Charge 6 and older Charge 5 stopped automatically recording the distance covered by wearers. This amounts to the loss of a major basic feature that activity trackers provide.
Fitbit did not respond to repeated requests for comment.