Michael Grothaus 19/06/2017 - 12:02pm

Everything you need to know about Fitbit’s smartwatch, the FitBit Blaze

If you follow tech long enough you’ll be able to spot which of the latest gadgets which truly will be the hot new consumer tech category of fall off to the wayside. Fitness trackers and smartwatches fall into both these categories. When Apple unveiled the Apple Watch in 2015, many though the Cupertino company’s entry into the market meant that the world would soon go crazy for all things wearable. That hasn’t exactly happened—yet the wearables market is expected to grow for years to come still, according to CCS Insight:

“The wearables market is set to treble in size in the next five years and become worth over $25 billion, according to industry analyst firm, CCS Insight. Its new global forecast for wearable devices — which includes smartwatches, fitness trackers, augmented and virtual reality headsets and wearable cameras — indicates the market is set to grow from 84 million units in 2015 to 245 million units in 2019.

"Smartwatches will remain the main source of wearables revenue, delivering over $9 billion of sales in 2015," states Ben Wood, CCS Insight's Chief of Research. "Those who labeled Apple Watch a failure need to think again. In its first quarter of sales it accounted for around $1 billion of revenue and we expect sales to continue to rise, particularly in the all-important fourth quarter.

“Furthermore, the explosive growth of fitness trackers will see sales more than double in volume between 2014 and 2015. Until 2019, these devices will remain the biggest wearables category by unit sales. CCS Insight expects China to eclipse the US in 2015 as the biggest market for fitness trackers, reaching an impressive 18.5 million units as local brand Xiaomi steps up production of its Mi Band and other suppliers look for growth in this market. The fitness band market in China is predicted to be twice the size of the US market and 2.5 times that of Western Europe by 2018.”

So that’s pretty good news for Fitbit, then, as the company is the most popular maker of fitness trackers. But recently it’s unveiled a new model called the Fitbit Blaze, which aims to be a reasonably priced fitness tracker and smartwatch. Here’s what you need to know about it.

Fitbit Blaze: Health Features


The Blaze is packed with health features, as can be expected from Fitbit’s top of the line product. These include: Steps, Calories & Distance tracking (ie: all-day activity tracking); Auto Sleep Tracking with the ability to track Sleep Stages; PurePulse Heart Rate tracking; SmartTrack Auto Exercise Recognition so it's able to detect if you are walking or running; and Reminders to get up and move. The USP for this Fitbit wearable, however, is its Cardio Fitness Level tracking, which gives you a personalized Cardio Fitness Score that lets you have a better understanding of how your fitness level is improving over time. Another nice feature is the Blaze’s ability to track your heart rate without the requirement you wear an annoying chest strap. It also offers guides breathing exercises when you need to lower your heart rate, not raise it.

Fitbit Blaze: Other Features


But given the Blaze is also marketed as a smartwatch, the device features several non-fitness features as well, including: a color touchscreen for input control, a five-day battery life, a clock with customizable watch faces, music playback controls, and smartphone notifications for calls, texts, calendar events, Gmail, Facebook and more apps.

Fitbit Blaze: Style


As it's also designed to be a watch and not just a fitness tracker, the Blaze also features a number of style options. Standard editions of the Blaze come in: stainless steel and black, blue, or plum color options. Special edition options include gunmetal stainless steel and black or 22k rose gold plated and slim pink. You can also by a myriad array of different watch bands to fit your tastes.

Fitbit Blaze: Who Is It For?


The Fitbit Blaze is for someone who wants more than a fitness tracker but something that is less full-featured than an Apple Watch—and costs much less too. It’s a top of the line fitness tracker and a decent smartwatch, which though it lacks app support, does have enough smartphone integration that you won’t need to pull your phone out of your pocket to check for most kinds of messages.

Fitbit Blaze: Price

The Fitbit Blaze costs £139 for the standard edition models and £159 for the special edition models. 

FitBit makes TONS of fitness trackers, so if this one sounds interesting, but isn’t quite what you were looking for, take a look at what else the company has on offer.

There are loads of different models and styles, so many that everyone should be able to find something they like.