Fitbit’s new lineup features a smartwatch that might pick up fever, stress symptoms

Fitbit unveiled a smartwatch enabled to tell you if you may be feeling stressed out or potentially running a fever as the coronavirus pandemic continues to grip the nation.

The company announced a trio of health wearables on Tuesday, each with the brand’s typical curved edges. At the center of the lineup is the Fitbit Sense, an innovative smartwatch built with sensors that help you better understand what might be happening to your body.

The high tech wristlet comes with a sweat-reading sensor that detects “small electrical changes” to tell you how your body responds to stress. So if your palms get sweaty when you’re feeling anxious the Sense can pick that up, the company claims.

“Our mission to make everyone in the world healthier has never been more important than it is today. COVID-19 has shown us all how critical it is to take care of both our physical and mental health and wellbeing,” said James Park, co-founder and CEO, Fitbit, in a statement.

The $395 smartwatch also is equipped with advanced heart rate and breathing rate tracking technology as well as a skin temperature sensor measures body heat. Fitbit claims that during early testing, changes in the metrics occurred simultaneously with the onset of COVID-19 symptoms, “and in some cases even before.”

“Wearables may be able to play an important role in the early detection of infectious diseases by acting as an early warning system for our bodies, which is critical to slowing the spread of COVID-19 and to better understanding disease progression,” said Eric Friedman, co-founder and CTO of Fitbit, in a statement.

The company worked with researches at Stanford, Scripps Research and King’s College London to determine if wearables can be used to detect potential signs of the coronavirus, Fitbit said.

The battery life on the Sense lasts longer than 6 days, and you’re supposed to keep it on at night so the device can better monitor for trends.

Along with the Sense, Fitbit is rolling out new additions to its Versa and Inspire smartwatch families.

Fitbit Versa 3

The Fitbit Versa 3 comes with baked-in GPS tracking, enhanced pulse-reading technology and a built-in speaker to take phone calls from your wrist. Fitbit added access to the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa so you can speak to the wearable the same way you would your smartphone.

Fitbit Versa 3 is launching with a $229.95 price tag and is available in black aluminum, pink with soft gold aluminum and navy with soft gold aluminum.

Fitbit Inspire 2

The tech company also revealed a refreshed version of its most popular entry-level step tracker. The Fitbit Inspire 2 adds more tracking features and the longest battery life of any Fitbit device at 10 days.

The Inspire 2 has GPS tracking so you can get real-time pace and distance metrics for as you go for a run without having to carry your phone. It also has over 20 exercise modes and is available for $99.95 in black, white and “desert rose.”

Fitbit Sense, Fitbit Versa 3 and Fitbit Inspire 2 are available for pre-order on Fitbit.com.

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