For Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 owners, Fitbit has announced the availability of its Fitbit OS 5.1 software update as of Friday 20 November 2020. The update expands on its existing health capabilities and brings new convenience features to the Fitbit Sense and Fitbit Versa 3.
“As we head further into the flu season amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, keeping an eye on changes to your day-to-day health metrics is more important than ever,” said James Park, co-founder and CEO of Fitbit. “Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 are Fitbit’s most innovative devices yet and can play an important role in making new information available about your physical and mental health and wellbeing. We’re empowering you with the tools you need to better understand and take control of
your health and wellness.” [Note the flu season for northern hemisphere.]
Fitbit has enhanced its SpO2 experience, enabling Sense and Versa 3 Premium members to track blood oxygen levels while sleeping and see their average in the Fitbit app without using a specific SpO2 clock face. For those who prefer to see their nightly SpO2 levels at a glance on their wrist, Fitbit still has its free signature SpO2 clock face and will offer seven additional new SpO2 clock faces in the app gallery by the end of the year. Since its launch in September, Fitbit’s signature SpO2 clock face has more than one million downloads from the Fitbit app gallery.
Looking at your SpO2 trends in the Health Metrics dashboard may help you see when there are important changes in your fitness and wellness, like increased stress or fatigue, or signs of respiratory issues or changes in your environment, such as altitude or air quality. By tracking your SpO2 levels over time, you can see when there may be important changes in your fitness and wellness.
In addition, Fitbit is elevating the on-device experience by offering even more everyday convenience, turning its smartwatches into devices you can’t live without. Starting today, Fitbit is delivering a choice of voice assistants with the launch of Google Assistant in the U.S., so you can start a yoga exercise in your living room, check the weather forecast before stepping out for a walk, set an alarm or check your sleep duration, and even control your smart home devices – all from the wrist with the touch of a button.
With Alexa, you have the added capability to receive audible replies from the on-device voice assistant, making it easier than ever to stay connected. Fitbit plans to make audible replies available for Google Assistant in the first half of 2021 as it continues to explore more features to bring even more convenience on-the-go.
With both Sense and Versa 3, you’ll also be able to take hands-free Bluetooth calls with the on-device microphone and speakers, send incoming calls to voicemail and control volume without reaching for a phone – so when you’re taking the dog on a walk around the neighbourhood or getting curbside pick-up for groceries, you won’t miss a beat. Android users can also respond to text messages on-the-go with voice-to-text commands.
Google Assistant enhancements in additional countries including Australia, India, New Zealand and Singapore in English is expected in late 2020, and Japan planned for early 2021.
To complement the exciting Sense and Versa 3 software updates, Fitbit continues to offer expanded features and content for Fitbit Premium members. Over the last several months, Premium has broadened its offering with workouts from celebrity influencers like Ayesha Curry and delivered more motivational tools such as guided programs and activity challenges to help support you in reaching your unique health goals. With more than 500,000 paid subscribers, Premium recently expanded to a total of
18 languages, including Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Swedish, increasing the potential for even more Fitbit users around the world to benefit from the service.
Availability
Fitbit Sense and Fitbit Versa 3 are available at select retailers including JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Amazon, Officeworks, The Good Guys, Bing Lee and Big W, but buying through Amazon helps DigitalReviews so we appreciate you considering making your purchase there.
