Fitbit smartwatch on track to launch later this year

The Fitbit smartwatch will be on the market in time for Christmas holiday shoppers, the fitness-tracking firm's CEO said today. 

"Our smartwatch, which we believe will deliver the best health and fitness experience in the category, is on track for delivery ahead of the holiday season," James Park said in the company's earnings report press release.

The smartwatch had faced reported production delays, but it's now on pace to launch before the end of the year, for real. 

We're missing have an exact release date for Fitbit's full-fat smartwatch, of course, though comments made on the company's earnings report call suggest the device will arrive sometime in October, November or December, as reported by The Verge.

Park also offered up a few juicy details about the smartwatch on the call. The device will feature GPS, water resistance to a depth of 50 meters, health and fitness tracking capabilities and support across platforms. Best of all, its battery life will last for multiple days.

Ready for the fight?

Whenever the Fitbit smartwatch launches this year, it will face stiff competition from the Apple Watch and its huge hold on the smartwatch market. 

Apple said during its earnings call on Tuesday that Apple Watch sales are up 50% year-on-year.

Fitbit did well with its pseudo-smartwatch, the Fitbit Blaze, but left consumers wanting more. The Fitbit Alta maker's first real-time smartwatch promises to deliver on a few fronts, but it also has lots of expectations riding on its shoulders. We'll find out in a few months' time whether it meets or misses them.

TOPICS
Michelle Fitzsimmons

Michelle was previously a news editor at TechRadar, leading consumer tech news and reviews. Michelle is now a Content Strategist at Facebook.  A versatile, highly effective content writer and skilled editor with a keen eye for detail, Michelle is a collaborative problem solver and covered everything from smartwatches and microprocessors to VR and self-driving cars.

Latest in Smartwatches
Garmin Instinct 3 in Neotropic Green
"I'm an idiot": Garmin user reveals how fixing one setting completely changed their training after months of making no progress
A garmin forerrunner 55 on an orange background with the phrase lowest price
Sprint! The best cheap Garmin for runners is back down to its lowest-ever price
Half-Life running on a smartwatch
This Redditor installed a game engine on their smartwatch, and now it runs Doom, Quake, and Half-Life
Apple watch pair with iphone
I've been wearing an Apple Watch for 10 years – these are the 5 settings I change right out of the box
Garmin Instinct 3 next to the Apple Watch Ultra 2
New figures claim the smartwatch market just shrunk for the first time ever, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is to blame
Garmin Forerunner 265S
One of the best Garmin running watches just dropped to a great low price at Amazon
Latest in News
Super Mario Odyssey
ChatGPT is the ultimate gaming tool - here's 4 ways you can use AI to help with your next playthrough
Ray-Ban smart glasses with the Cpperni logo, an LED array, and a MacBook Air with M4 next to ecah other.
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from Twitter's massive outage to iRobot's impressive new Roombas
Brad Pitt looks over his right shoulder with 'F1' written behind him
Apple Original Films will take you behind-the-scenes of a racing cockpit in this new thrilling F1 movie trailer
AI writer
Coding AI tells developer to write it himself
Reacher looking down at another character from the Prime Video TV series Reacher
Reacher season 3 becomes Prime Video’s biggest returning show thanks to Hollywood’s biggest heavyweight
Finger Presses Orange Button Domain Name Registration on Black Keyboard Background. Closeup View
I visited the world’s first registered .com domain – and you won’t believe what it’s offering today