Fitbit’s Alta HR aims to help you sleep your way to a better you
By Chong Jinn Xiung April 17, 2017
- All-day heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking features headline new device
- Smart track registers any exercise activity and water resistant rating makes it a fitness band you take on the road
WEARABLES maker Fitbit is not just interested in keeping its users healthy and fit, but it is also looking into incorporating sleep tracking into its line of fitness trackers.
“The quality of sleep that we get at the end of our day matters just as much as how we keep active,” says Fitbit’s head of product marketing Alexander Healy (pic).
Worrying numbers from a recent Fitbit survey in Malaysia revealed that 42% say that poor sleep is affecting their health. Malaysians are getting an average of 6.4 hours of sleep a night, which is not ideal said, Healy
Speaking at the launch of Fitbit’s Alta HR fitness band in Malaysia, Healy made the case that the new product would provide better insights and data to a user’s sleep habits.
“Just as we aim to better coach you in exercising, we also want to coach you how to get better sleep,” he said.
Sleep apnea specialist Dr Raymond Tan stressed that sleep remains a vital part of our well-being as it helps restore our mental capacity and relieve stress as well.
Tan advised that one should try to get seven to eight hours of sleep while incorporating good sleep habits like keeping a consistent sleep time, avoiding consuming caffeine and strenuous activities just before bed.
Enter the Alta HR
The Alta HR, which is already available on the market, comes in two configurations with a classic and special edition of the tracker priced at RM730 and RM849 respectively.
As DNA previously reported, the Alta HR is a slim wristband that does an all-day activity that tracks stats like your heart rate, steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes thanks to its Prepulse heart rate tracking feature that automatically logs activity.
New on the Alta HR is the auto sleep tracking capabilities that monitor your Sleep Stages, analysing your sleep patterns in light, deep and REM stages that in turn generate Sleep Insights that you can use to monitor and improve your lifestyle.
With a simple OLED display that shows your heart rate, reminders and smartphone notifications, the Alta HR is claimed to have a battery life of up to seven days, two additional days compared to last year’s Alta.
The Alta HR also lets users customise their look with interchangeable bands in leather metal or classic styles. Accessories like Fitbit’s Luxe leather collection are priced at RM300 while its stainless steel metal bracelet comes in silver or gold colours at RM 450 and RM55 respectively.
The fitness band will come in four classic colours: black, blue great, fuchsia and coral and two special edition colours: black and soft pink.
Fitbit adds that it will be rolling out its Sleep Stages and Sleep Insights features to its other devices including the Blaze and Charge 2 come spring 2017.
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