Fitbit fights fatigue with watch plan as Apple and China rivals step up pace

Fitbit's upcoming smartwatch will feature more precise GPS tracking, a music player and new biometric sensors, according to chief executive James Park, who insisted the product remained "on track" despite reports of delays.

Over the longer term, the device could pave the way for new medical applications that would require regulatory approval, Mr Park said, as the company looked to make its wearable technology a “must-have” for consumers by becoming more integrated into the healthcare system.

“The product is on track to meet our expectations and the expectations that we’ve set for investors,” Mr Park said. “It’s going to be, in my opinion, our best product yet.”

The long-awaited smartwatch, which analysts expect to go on sale this year, is a make-or-break product for Fitbit as it faces a resurgent Apple Watch and competition from China. Shares in the fitness-tracker pioneer have lost more than half of their value in the past 12 months, after sales of its existing wristbands went into decline late last year.

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Fitbit opened its European head office in Baggot Street, Dublin in August last year. As Fitbit seeks to differentiate itself from existing smartwatches from Apple, Samsung and Google, Mr Park said its health-focused device would offer a battery that lasts for several days, enabling sleep-tracking functions, and will make it much easier for third-party developers to write apps for its small screen, thanks to its acquisition last year of Pebble.

Waterproof

GPS is already a key requirement for dedicated runners and cyclists who want to track their speeds and times accurately, as the popularity of Garmin’s watches has proven. “There is a lot of engineering that went into still having a really sleek form factor while also having industry-leading performance on the GPS front,” Mr Park said of Fitbit’s watch, which will also be waterproof, so that it can track swimming.

Listening to music is a part of the workout experience for many. Reports have suggested Fitbit has discussed tie-ups with streaming services Spotify and Pandora for its smartwatch. “We are definitely focused on figuring out how to best integrate music into the fitness experience for people,” Mr Park said.

However, the device will not include a cellular wireless connection, a feature Mr Park believes is “struggling for a use case” and requires too many trade-offs, such as reduced battery life.

Health regulators

In future, he hopes Fitbit’s products will be able to help people with more acute and chronic conditions, so that people see wearing a health tracker as being as essential as using “seat belts and airbags” in a car today. Doing so would require approval from health regulators such as the US Food and Drug Administration, something consumer electronics companies have typically shied away from.

“Getting approved by the FDA and going down that pathway is something we wholeheartedly embrace,” Mr Park said. “The exciting thing about larger form-factor devices is it allows us to have those capabilities and unlock them over time.”

Wall Street analysts expect Fitbit’s smartwatch to arrive before the 2017 holiday sales season. While Mr Park implicitly confirmed the device would arrive later this year, by noting that Fitbit would have to lower the annual revenue forecasts it has provided to investors if the product had been delayed.

- (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017)