Tried and tested: Why Fitbit Sense is more than just a fitness tracker
Fitbit unveils Sense, a new gadget that the fitness company crowns as its first "advanced health watch". Indeed, the new Fitbit Sense not only measures your movement but also keeps track of your wellness like an ultimate health companion.
In short, Sense helps you to learn about your body’s response to stress by collecting your Electrodermal Activity (EDA) responses, exertion balance, physical activity and sleep pattern.
Scroll down as we break down what we love about the new Fitbit Sense:
Inside the sleek display of Sense, houses powerful sensors that set the wearable apart from the other players. In fact, Sense is introduced as the world's first smartwatch to have an EDA (Electrodermal Activity) sensor, where the wearable detects the minor electrical changes and sweat level of your skin to evaluate stress level.
For a quick scan, all you need to do is to cover the display with your palm. The result will show you your EDA response and your heart rate at the beginning and the end of the scan. Wearers are encouraged to carry out the EDA session regularly to track your responses over time, do not forget to log your feeling each time after scanning in order to learn how your state of mind and the result reflect each other.
With the EDA sensor, Sense helps its wearer to keep a close watch on the temperature trends over time. Unlike a thermometer, Sense collects the data while you wear it to bed and logs the nightly average variation of your skin temperature compared to your baseline temperature.
It takes three nights for Sense to establish your baseline temperature and thereafter, you will be able to track the changes of your body heat that may potentially be a sign of illness or the beginning of a new menstrual phase.
Along with the launch of Sense, Fitbit debuts the Pure Pulse 2.0 technology and the ECG app to promise an even more reliable and accurate monitoring of heart rhythm. The ECG app is capable of detecting wearer’s heart rhythm and the sign of Atrial Fibrillation (AFib), which further reduces the risk of stroke and blood clots.
Sense will alert the wearer if it detects abnormal and irregular heart rate. For now, Fitbit has obtained clearance from U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Conformité Européenne (CE) marking in the European Union, for the ECG App to identify heart rhythm for AFib.
Open the ECG App on Sense, follow the instructions to hold your fingers on the display for 30 seconds, and you will be shown with the assessment of your heart rhythm. The PDF file of the test result is also made available to download from the Fitbit App to share with you doctor.
All these features have come together to unlock Fitbit’s Stress Management feature. From EDA response to exertion balance, all the collections are accounted for the Stress Management Score, a daily reflection of the wearer’s well-being on a scale of 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating you’re showing fewer physical signs of stress.
To deliver an even more personalised experience, Sense comes with a free six-month trial to Fitbit Premium where you can access to the breakdown of your Stress Management Score and other insights of activity levels.
Alongside the fitness highlights are the built-in GPS, voice assistant and Spotify on Sense to elevate everyday adventures. And just like its elder siblings, Sense tells the story of your daily activities and keep tracks on a wide variety of stats, including the steps taken, the calories burned and the travelled distance, truly designed for the on-the-go lives of urbanites.
Visit fitbit.com to discover more.
