Snowboarders, skateboarders, and skiers will have an easier time tracking their activities using Fitbit’s updated smartwatch software out on Monday.
The 3.0 version of the software for Fitbit’s Ionic and Versa smartwatches includes new third-party apps for tracking fun in the snow and on boards, while also making more data viewable from the wrist about sleep and exercise, plus quick logging for weight and water intake. More detailed female health tracking of trends also arrives in early 2019 on the update, Fitbit said.
The struggling smartwatch and fitness tracker company could benefit from some fresh momentum. Fitbit unveiled the Versa watch in March and its Charge 3 fitness tracker in August, but sales in the first nine months of the year still declined 10% and its stock price is off 12% for the year. Fitbit shares climbed 2% on Monday after the software update was announced.
The new update also included Fitbit watch versions of fitness-related apps that are popular on other software platforms, like Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android. The release includes, for example, Fitbit watch apps for Charity Miles, which lets users raise money for causes via exercising, and TRX, a subscription-based workout guide.
Other third-party apps new to the Fitbit ecosystem included achu Health, which helps predict illness, Couch to 5K, which helps train for running specific distances, Genius Wrist, which offers specialized workouts, and MySwimPro, for swimming exercise tracking and analysis.
The forthcoming additions to Fitbit’s female health tracking app will display menstrual cycle data, logged symptoms, and trends collected from all of a user’s Fitbit devices.
