Fitbit claims that its new Fitbit Sense 2 smartwatch is its most advanced tracker yet, with a thinner and lighter design and a new sensor to track your stress levels 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Fitbit, which is now owned by Google, also announced that it will soon integrate Google Maps for turn-by-turn navigation into Sense 2, as well as Google Wallet for contactless payments.
The Fitbit Sense 2 was released alongside the Fitbit Inspire 3 and Fitbit Versa 4, and it appears to be a solid upgrade to the original Fitbit Sense from 2020. Here’s everything you need to know about the Fitbit Sense 2.
Fitbit Sense 2 features
Fitbit’s Sense 2 replaces the original Sense and includes sensors to monitor heart rate, heart rate variability, and skin temperature. It’s also the first time Fitbit has included a ‘body response’ sensor. The Sense 2 is 10% thinner and 15% lighter than the original, and it now has a physical button on its left edge instead of a capacitive button with vibration feedback. Fitbit promises up to six days of battery life, but that depends on usage and whether features like the always-on display are used.
With software designed to help manage stress, the smartwatch aims to provide people with an overview of their health and mental well-being. “From what our stressors are to how our bodies react to them to how we build resilience, stress is so personal,” Elena Perez, group product manager for Fitbit at Google, told Tech Advisor during a group media briefing.
The Sense 2 has a metal frame around its display, similar to the first Sense watch, and is used to measure electrodermal activity (EDA) responses on your skin to measure stress. This is accomplished by placing your palm on the frame while the watch reads.
Sense 2 includes an additional body response sensor that measures continuous electrodermal activity (cEDA) throughout the day, which, when combined with on-the-spot EDA, heart, and skin temperature readings, is intended to provide a more comprehensive picture of your moods and stressors.
Sense 2 can now offer advice on how to combat stress rather than simply measuring it, thanks to updated software. If the watch detects what Fitbit refers to as a “body response” to something, it will send you a notification.
“These body responses can be triggered by a variety of factors, including stress, excitement, or something that stimulates a stress response in your body, such as caffeine,” Perez explained. The notifications are intended to raise awareness, and the Fitbit app can then advise on how to react to stress and understand what bothers you. They can be delivered immediately, at the end of the day, or at the end of the week.
Sense 2 can also send out irregular heart rhythm notifications, which can be used to detect signs of atrial fibrillation (afib). Because this is a technology that requires local health authority approval, it is only available in countries that have been approved. It was recently certified in the United Kingdom, so it will work on Sense 2 in the United States, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Sense 2 tracks sleep, as do many Fitbits, and can deliver your personalized Sleep Profile, a feature that was introduced earlier this year. The catch, as with other Fitbit products, is that deeper insights and trends from your data are only available if you subscribe to Fitbit Premium. The Sense 2 is free for six months, after which it costs $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year.
Sense 2 can do all of the exercise measurements you’d expect from a health-focused wearable, in addition to mental health. It can track up to 40 different types of exercise, and 20 new modes, such as dancing and weightlifting, have been added. You can run, walk, or cycle without your phone and still record your route thanks to the built-in GPS.
In addition, the software has been updated to a tile-based user interface that can be better customized to provide you with personalized information. Many of these exercise features are also available for less money on Fitbit Versa 4, but that watch lacks the Sense 2’s stress features and sensors. Keep an eye out for our full review to find out if the Sense 2 is the best Fitbit you can buy.
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Fitbit Sense 2 price and availability
The Fitbit Sense 2 will be available for $299.95. It is available in a variety of body and strap color combinations, as well as a variety of leather and sports straps.
The Fitbit Sense 2 will be available sometime this autumn, with a specific date yet to be determined. If previous releases are any indication, it will be in September or October. Fitbit is currently accepting pre-orders for the Sense 2.
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