Fitbit Blaze and Alta have hit local shores

Fitbit has made waves in the smartwatch industry despite not being technically a smartwatch. While their wearables have not been the prettiest of devices, they’ve always offered a pretty reasonable set of functions for the price. Early this year, Fitbit was determined to shore up that weakness too, launching the Blaze and the Alta — both of which look pretty good on anyone’s wrist.

Now, sticking to initial launch plans, these two wearables have finally hit our shelves.

Fitbit Blaze

What sets the Blaze apart from the highest end Surge? Well, for starters, it looks a whole lot better if you ask me. It has a much sleeker and classier look to it compared to the chunky Surge, which means that it’ll go well with almost every occasion. It’s also got a colour LED touch screen — a first for the wearable maker.

It also pushes notifications like call, text and calendar alerts to your wrist from your smartphone. You can also control music playback and is also sweat and water resistant though no IP rating is given. What’s more, it’ll feature Fitbit’s SmartTrack which automatically recognises and records exercises for you. You can also pop out the head and swap it with another strap if elastomer is not your thing.

However, it does lack one big feature from the Surge that fitness enthusiasts will undoubtedly miss — built-in GPS. Fitbit says it has “connected GPS” but that’s just a fancy term for saying “you need your smartphone to track distance and route”. Boo. Still, that has allowed Fitbit to keep the battery life on this device to 5 days but is admittedly shorter than the 7-day Surge battery life.

Nevertheless, Fitbit is also placing it at a lower price point in their food chain, with the Blaze going for RM950 (incl GST) — comes in Black and Plum colours — meaning that the Fitbit Surge still sits on top as the apex predator. As far as bands go, here’s the full catalogue on Harvey Norman:

Luxe Accessory Band (Large) Black Leather — RM450
Luxe Accessory Band (Small) Black Leather — RM450
Luxe Accessory Band (Small) Camel Leather — RM450
Luxe Band (Large) Mist Grey Leather — RM450
Luxe Band Stainless Steel Links — RM580

Fitbit Alta

The Alta is two down from the Blaze in terms of its position in the Fitbit family, slotting in right between the Flex and the Charge HR. As a result, it has much less functionality but gets many of the core features right. It’ll track your activity all day, remind you to move and automatically records your activities via SmartTrack. It’ll also track your sleep and double as a clock plus push notifications like call, text and calendar alerts (something the Charge HR doesn’t do).

However, it does lack an altimeter and a heart-rate sensor, but there’s really only so much you can cram into such a small form-factor. It looks pretty sleek and stylish which means that this little wristband-like smart wearable should fit in any occasion. If you’re interested, the Fitbit Alta is up for preorders now at RM630 (incl GST) and comes in three colours — Blue, Black and Plum.

Neither tickle your fancy? Take a gander at our Smartwatch Buyer’s Guide.

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