Fitbit Announces October 1 Launch Date for New Ionic Smartwatch and Flyer Headphones

It's been almost one month since Fitbit unveiled the new "Ionic" smartwatch and "Flyer" Bluetooth headphones, which at the time were given an unspecific October launch window. Today, the wearables company announced that both devices will be available in retail stores across North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America on October 1.

The Fitbit Ionic is the company's first smartwatch and includes improved GPS, heart rate tracking, water resistance up to 50 meters, contactless payments with "Fitbit Pay," on-board music storage, and more. The smartwatch syncs with the new Fitbit Coach personal training app coming later in October and featuring 90 video and audio workouts, priced at $7.99/month or $39.99/year.

Starting on Sunday, October 1, users will be able to purchase the Fitbit Ionic at Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods, Kohl's, Macy's, REI, Target, Verizon, and Amazon for $299.95. Fitbit said that retailers will also have a variety of accessory bands in Classic and Sport ($29.95) and a perforated Horween leather band ($59.95).

“We defined the fitness tracker market 10 years ago and look forward to doing the same with the smartwatch category, delivering what consumers want most and have not yet seen in a smartwatch. Ionic offers up to 5 days battery life for 24/7 health tracking and insights, advanced health and fitness features, enhanced heart rate and dynamic sleep tools paired with the smart functionality consumers need on the go to stay in touch and simplify their life,” said James Park, co-founder and CEO of Fitbit. “These features, coupled with Ionic’s broad compatibility across Android, iOS and Windows platforms, means consumers around the globe never need to choose between their watch and their phone.”

The company's first wireless headphones are also going on sale this Sunday. Called the Fitbit Flyer headphones, the device features a sweatproof design, customizable ear tips, six hours of battery life, and is meant to sync with the new Ionic smartwatch to enable truly wireless workout sessions. The company said that users will be able to buy the headphones at "major global retailers" including Best Buy, Brookstone, Nordstrom, Target, and Amazon for $129.95.

A specific launch date for the new Fitbit Aria 2 Wi-Fi Smart Scale wasn't confirmed, but users can pre-order now on Fitbit.com for $129.95, with retailer availability "beginning Fall 2017."

To prepare developers for the launch of the Fitbit Ionic, the company is debuting the new Fitbit SDK tomorrow, September 26, as a developer preview. The SDK will include resources that developers need to "quickly and easily" design and share apps and clock faces to Fitbit users.