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Fitbit unveils Charge 4 fitness tracker ahead of acquisition by Google

Fitbit unveils Charge 4 fitness tracker ahead of acquisition by Google
Fitbit unveils Charge 4 fitness tracker ahead of acquisition by Google

Despite talks over acquisition with American multinational technology firm Google, wearable medical device company Fitbit has reportedly launched the Charge 4- the latest product in its portfolio of Charge devices which encompasses light features of a smartwatch and a basic fitness tracker.

For the record, one can sync the phone to their smartphone and receive notifications on the grayscale OLED touchscreen. The new fitness device mainly provides fitness features with an activity dashboard, exercise recognition, move reminders and the ability to track things such as one’s heart rate, sleep monitoring and any other general activity.

Apparently, some notable additions to the Charge 4 series include an internal GPS system for enhanced location tracking that allows people to run long distances without the need for a phone.

In a statement by the company, the device is expected to last for up to seven days if the GPS is not turned on. However, turning on the GPS will reduce the time by up to five hours, showcasing a 97% decline in the battery life of the device.

Reportedly, along with the new location tracking feature, there are now a total of seven GPS based exercise modes. After synchronizing the fitness band to the Fitbit mobile app one may notice a GPS- powered heat map that indicates where the toughest workouts were.

Citing reliable sources, the next big addition to the Charge 4 is the NFC, this allows the user to make payment transactions through the Fitbit Pat feature. The device lacks features like onboard music playback but it can control music playing on a paired phone with the help of Spotify Controls.

Seemingly, in November 2019, Google announced a US$2.1 billion buyout of Fitbit. The deal hasn’t closed yet. Such transactions take months to close and require approvals from shareholders and also a regulatory review.

 

Source Credits: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/03/despite-looming-google-acquisition-fitbit-launches-charge-4-tracker/

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Omkar Patwardhan

Omkar Patwardhan started his professional career in the hospitality industry. Having nurtured a deep-sated passion for words however, he found his way into content writing and now pens down articles for theresearchprocess.com and a few other websites, spanning the sectors of business, finance, and technology./