The Fitbit Edge may not be Google’s best-kept fitness-tracking secret, but as of today, its existence is official.
The tracker sits smack-dab between the recently launched Fitbit Air and the more powerful Google Pixel Watch 5 in the company’s current wearable lineup. Basically, if you have smartwatch fatigue but don’t want to give up notifications, this is Google’s answer to the aging Fitbit Charge 6.
Much of the Edge’s specs were previously leaked, but the tracker has a 46 percent larger OLED display compared to the Charge 6, a physical side button, and is a smidge thicker at 11.5mm. It also sports a replaceable battery that gets about a week on a single charge, though that estimate drops to two days if you enable the always-on display. The tracker uses the same proprietary charger as the Air, and can also get about a day’s worth of battery in five minutes. (A full charge takes 90 minutes.) For health tracking, the Edge has an EKG sensor for atrial fibrillation detection, a skin temperature sensor, SpO2 and optical heart rate sensors, plus your typical motion tracking sensors. As for dust and water resistance, the Edge is rated IP68 and is safe for swimming up to 5ATM.
There are a few notable hardware omissions. The Edge doesn’t have a mic or speaker, so you can’t take calls from the wrist even though you can see who’s calling on the screen. Also, unlike the Charge 6, it lacks an NFC chip for contactless payments. The latter is a bit disappointing, given that the Edge essentially replaces the Charge 6 and is $20 more expensive at $179.99. That price does, however, include three months of Google Health Premium.
The new Fitbit offers improved automatic workout tracking and GPS compared to the Charge 6. The former is a revised motion model that’ll also come to the Air. Beyond supporting racket sports, it pulls in location data and routines to make inferences about activities. For example, if you go to a tennis court, it’ll assume any activity logged there is tennis. If you regularly do yoga on Tuesday mornings, it’ll infer that’s what your activity is. Google says the new model means auto activity tracking is twice as accurate and supports over 100 activities.
The Edge’s GPS tracking is also purportedly 40 percent more accurate — though it’s not using the same software-based post-processing update that Google introduced with the Pixel Watch 5. This increased accuracy mostly comes from on-device improvements to the Edge. It’ll also support turn-by-turn directions.
Feature-wise, the device is meant for people who want glanceable information, with some but not all the bells and whistles of a smartwatch. The Edge borrows much of the Pixel Watch’s design language as far as widgets and user interface go. It’s not running Wear OS, though; this is a redesigned Fitbit OS. It’ll also get the same Google Health software updates for features like blood pressure trends and insulin resistance levels. As far as non-fitness tracking features go, it has a clock, timers, alarms, media controls, and push notifications. It also supports heart rate broadcasting to certain gym equipment.
Despite the screen, the overall look is more in line with the Air. The Edge will launch with several types of straps so you can adjust the style to fit various occasions, including metal links to give it more of a jewelry-like feel. (Speaking of jewelry-like styling, the Air is also getting a new metal mesh strap that costs $69.99 and is available October 27th.) As with the Air and Pixel Watch 5, there’ll be a Stephen Curry edition of the Edge that will cost $219.99.