Fitbit has introducesd new software features to its Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Surge fitness trackers. These are SmartTrack automatic exercise recognition and enhancements to PurePulse heart rate tracking for Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Surge.
According to the company, SmartTrack provides a smarter, easier way to track workouts and see how efforts accumulate to reaching fitness goals. SmartTrack automatically recognizes select exercises and records them in the Fitbit app, giving users credit for their most active moments, so they are more informed to be able to reach their goals.
SmartTrack automatically recognizes continuous movement when wearing Fitbit Charge HR or Fitbit Surge. It identifies the type of activity and records it in the Fitbit app along with an exercise summary, including duration, calories burned and heart rate stats. SmartTrack is capable of identifying a wide variety of activities, including elliptical, outdoor biking, running, walking, and general categories of aerobic workouts and sports (i.e., tennis, basketball and soccer).
Now, users can select the types of activities they want recognized as exercise and adjust how long they must be moving before an activity is recorded in the Fitbit app. By default, activities are automatically recognized when users have been active for at least 15 minutes.
The American Heart Association and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend an average of 30 minutes of exercise each day, five days per week to improve health. While most people are aware of the benefits of being more active and exercising more, these activities can be time consuming and difficult to achieve.
Available for free to all Fitbit device and app users, exercise goals are tracked on a daily basis with a weekly goal set for the number of days they plan to exercise. Exercise goals encourage people to embrace a more consistent workout routine in order to achieve their fitness goals. Exercise Goals can be personalized by choosing the number of target exercise days per week and the types of activities that will count toward their goals. Progress toward goals is displayed within the Fitbit app.
To receive credit toward an exercise goal, the users of Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Surge can use SmartTrack or track an activity using Exercise Mode, multi-sport modes or MobileRun or log an exercise in the Fitbit app.
The SmartTrack and PurePulse software updates are free and available globally to all Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Surge users from today. Exercise Goals are also available globally to all users of the free Fitbit app for iOS and Windows, with Android coming soon.
