Tech Advisor
A few days ago, we reported on the news that Fitbit has a new screenless band in the works, which is set to rival the Whoop Strap. As it turns out, that same device has been out in the wild for quite some time. Our attention was originally drawn to the as-of-yet unnamed wearable after it was officially teased in a video from Steph Curry’s Instagram page. In the video, the Golden State Warriors player can be seen wearing the new Fitbit, which features a woven-style band in a grey/orange finish. The tracker is Fitbit’s attempt to nudge in on the space currently dominated by Whoop, which uses its own screen-free wearable to track rest and recovery. Even though the aforementioned video was the first time that Google had drawn attention to the existence of the device, thanks to some digging by Kellen Barranger at Droid Life , we now know that Steph Curry has actually been wearing the device for months and not even hiding it. View this post on Instagram Barranger spotted that Curry was wearing the device as far back as 9 January during the warm-ups against the Sacramento Kings. Diving into earlier posts on Curry’s Instagram, you can also see the device being worn well in advance of the reveal and before anyone knew what it was. One of the best opportunities to get a proper look at the wearable comes from a Sotheby’s video , featuring a deep dive into Curry’s sneaker collection. This video offers a chance to see more of the side profile of the device which, to our eyes, looks a great deal slimmer than the Whoop Strap 5.0. Credit: Kellen Barranger/Droid Life In a separate behind-the-scenes video via Steph Curry’s official YouTube channel, there’s a very brief glimpse into what the accompanying software for the band might look like. During a sports workout, the app appears to show the wearer’s live heart rate, the calories burned and crucially, the cardio load endured throughout the session. This feels very similar to how Whoop recognises the impact of each workout in relation to how much energy you’re able to expend, which in turn is based on your recent sleep pattern. Credit: Kellen Barranger/Droid Life Given that the app appears to be projecting live results, there’s a good chance that it’ll also work with certain treadmills and cycling machines to show your heart rate data on a larger screen, similar to how Whoop’s HR Broadcast feature operates. These additional looks at the device don’t provide any extra context with regards to battery life, how it’s charged or any hidden features like the ability to vibrate as an alarm clock, but with word continuing to build regarding another screenless competitor, known as the Garmin Cirqa , we don’t imagine that it’ll be too long before Google officially launches the new Fitbit reveals all that it has to offer.
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