Fitbit Announces New 'Alta' Wearable With Apple Watch-Like Move Reminders

Fitbit today announced the "Fitbit Alta," a new device in its fitness-focused wearable lineup that the company aims to be the intersection between personalized style and in-depth activity tracking. As with all Fitbits, the Alta will track a user's daily activities, exercise, and sleep, but now the band includes "Reminders to Move," which will push notifications to the wrist when you've been stationary for an extended period, similar to the Apple Watch's standing notifications.

Thanks to Reminders to Move, the Alta will keep users active by encouraging the completion of a "mini step goal" of 250 steps every hour, or about 2-3 minutes of walking time. Additionally, the new band automatically tracks workouts without needing to tell the Alta when one has begun or ended, and all of your activity data syncs to the companion Fitbit app to keep watch over daily and weekly exercise goals.

Fitbit's new wearable also has a few band accessories to choose from, including a $29.95 Classic Band, $59.95 Leather Band, and $99.95 Metal Bracelet. Each band surrounds the Alta's OLED display, which lets users tap through succinct readouts of their daily calorie burn, sleep stats, and recent notifications. The screen can also be customized with unique clock faces, similar to the company's "Blaze" activity tracker, which it announced last month.

The Classic Band (left), Leather Band (middle), and Metal Bracelet (right)
The Alta will be able to support call, text, and calendar notifications through vibrating alerts, and should last up to 5 days on one battery life, according to Fitbit. Although it won't be released until sometime in March, those interested can pre-order the Fitbit Alta for $129.95 starting today on the company's website. The Classic Bands will be available at launch, but the Metal Bracelet has a summer release window and the Leather Band is "coming soon."