The New Fitbit Family: Charge, Charge HR and Surge

Fitbit unveiled a trio of new fitness tracking wearables for late 2014 and early 2015: the Charge, Charge HR, and Surge. All three smart wearables promise health monitoring, Caller ID, sleep pattern tracking, and a week of battery lfie. The Fitbit Charge, which will launch this year, and the Fitbit Charge HR will come with an OLED screen while the Fitbit Surge will be equipped with an LCD touchscreen. Meanwhile, Fitbit has also promised access to the heart rate and GPS data collected by the three devices through the Fitbit API.

Image by SlashGear

The Fitbit Charge is the most basic of the three, effectively replacing the Fitbit Force with its small monochrome OLED screen. It can track steps, distance traveled, calories burned, and how many floors you've climbed, then automatically switches into sleep mode to track sleeping and waking times. It also functions as an alarm clock by emitting silent vibrations. It is water-resistant and features a new clasp developed by the company.


To be launched early 2015, the Fitbit Charge HR has the same features and functionality as the Charge but includes a heart-rate tracker that works 24/7. It uses Fitbit's own PurePulse sensor technology that measures blood volume with LED lights. Battery life is said to last up to five days.


Lastly, to be launched early 2015 as well, is the Fitbit Surge. Unlike the Charge and Charge HR, Surge is a proper smartwatch. It packs all the features of the Charge HR but also includes GPS tracking of pace, distance, elevation, split times, and route history. It then blends all data together into workout summaries. Surge can also monitor running, cross-training, and strength workouts - complete with calorie burn, workout intensity, and other metrics. It has a total of eight sensors. In addition to the GPS and PurePulse heart rate monitor, there's a 3-axis accelerometer, gryoscope, compass, and ambient light sensor. The Surge smartwatch can also show text message alerts and be used to remotely control music playback through its monochrome touchscreen. Battery life is said to last up to seven days.


There you have it. Three smart wearables that could potentially clash with Android Wear devices and the upcoming Apple Watch. The Fitbit Charge is now available for $129.95 in black or slate, with blue and burgundy in the pipeline. Fitbit Charge HR will arrive in early 2015 for $149.95, in black or plum initially, with blue and tangerine to follow. Lastly, Fitbit Surge will also hit the market in early 2015 for $249.95 in black initially and then blue and tangerine after.

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Til then...

xoxo Nash