Fitbit Announces $149.95 Luxe Fitness Tracker, Its Thinnest to Date

At its first major media event as part of Google, Fitbit on Monday debuted its thinnest and arguably most attractive fitness tracker to date, the Luxe.

The $149.95 Android and iOS-compatible fitness tracker features an AMOLED color display and a stainless steel case, giving it a more sophisticated look than the $99.95 Inspire 2. The Luxe is meant to balance form and function, with a swim-proof design (it's water resistant to 164 feet) and up to five days of battery life on a charge.

It comes in soft gold with a white band, matte black with a matching band, or platinum with a pink band. The band is made of silicone and features a metal buckle. Fitbit is also selling a $199.95 Special Edition model designed in collaboration with the Laguna Beach-based jewelry brand gorjana that features a soft gold case and metal link bracelet for a more sophisticated look. The Special Edition model also comes with a pink silicone band.

To change up the look of your Luxe for different occasions, Fitbit is selling a range of leather, woven, and stainless steel accessory bands starting at $34.95.

All models are available for pre-order now and come with six months of Fitbit Premium, which gives you access to guided workouts, meditations with Deepak Chopra to combat stress, and other wellness tools. Fitbit Premium normally costs $9.99 per month.

On the fitness front, the Luxe offers 24/7 heart rate tracking, 20 exercise modes (including golf, pilates, spinning, tennis, hiking, and biking), and SmartTrack automatic exercise recognition for certain activities including walking, running, and swimming. It doesn't feature a built-in GPS like Fitbit's $129.95 Charge 4, but you can connect it to your phone to see your real-time pace and distance on your wrist during outdoor workouts.

The Luxe also offers a daily Stress Management Score, a feature Fitbit first debuted last summer on its Sense smartwatch. Fitbit calculates this score based on your heart rate, activity levels, and sleep metrics; it can range from 1 to 100, with a higher number indicating fewer signs of stress. Fitbit is also bringing this feature to the Charge 4 and Inspire 2 fitness trackers. When you need a moment of zen, you can follow a guided breathing exercise on the tracker's display or one of Chopra's meditations in the Fitbit app.

"I see stress as a number one health issue," Chopra said during Fitbit's Luxe event. A regular mindfulness practice can help reduce stress, improve sleep, lower blood pressure, and combat feelings of isolation, he said. Like any skill, meditation is a learned habit that you get better at with practice.

"Treat it like exercise," Chopra recommended. If you're dubious about the effects of meditation, check your heart rate before and after a season. Case in point: My own heart rate decreased six beats per minute after a five-minute Chopra-led meditation during today's event.

At night, the Luxe tracks your sleep, breathing rate (the number of breaths taken per minute), resting heart rate, and heart rate variability (HRV, or the variation in time between heartbeats). Fitbit says it will also track your nightly skin temperature and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) level. With its slim design, the Luxe should be more comfortable than other Fitbit wearables to sleep in.

As for additional features, the Luxe offers call and text message notifications, Google Fast Pair for easy setup with Android phones, silent alarms so it can wake you without disturbing co-sleepers, a timer, and a stopwatch.

“Over the past year, we’ve had to think differently about our health, from keeping an eye out for possible COVID-19 symptoms to managing the ongoing stress and anxiety of today’s world," Fitbit VP, GM, and cofounder James Park said in a statement. "Even though we are starting to see positive changes, it has never been more important to manage your holistic health. That’s why we’ve been resolute in introducing products to support you in staying mentally well and physically active."

Judging from the photos, the Luxe certainly looks classier than Fitbit's other fitness trackers, if not quite as sleek as the Garmin Lily, which doesn't have a color display, but features a classic round watch design. That said, the Lily costs more, starting at $199.99, making the Luxe an attractive alternative in more than one way.

The Fitbit Luxe comes out this spring. I should be getting a review unit soon, so stay tuned for a full review.

Sign up for What's New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning.

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.

Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!