The importance of heart rate tracking is hard to deny. It can help you exercise smarter, diet more effectively, and keep better tabs on your overall health. It also, as of today, becomes easier to seamlessly integrate into your life.
Meet Fitbit Alta HR: The world’s slimmest wristband with continuous heart rate tracking.
Alta HR has a sleek design similar to the much-loved original, but with additional heart-rate-powered features, improved battery life, and more. Here are all the details.
The Power of Continuous Heart Rate Tracking
When Fitbit released Alta last year, it quickly became a best-seller, much loved for its smaller, stylish design. There was just one thing missing: heart rate tracking.
Bringing heart rate tracking to a wristband of this size was no easy task, but Fitbit engineers rose to the challenge, creating a new, one-of-a-kind compact chip that reduced both the size and number of components needed for Fitbit’s patented heart rate tracking technology to work. The result? Everything you love about Alta, plus a perk that helps you do the following:
Better measure calorie burn. Knowing how hard your heart is working—at rest and at play—helps your tracker more precisely estimate how many calories you’ve burned. And knowing that information is the key to nailing your weight goals.
Workout at the right intensity. During exercise, Alta HR displays your real-time target heart rate zone, so you can optimize your sweat sessions for fat burning, a fitness boost, or performance benefits.
Monitor your resting heart rate. Tracking your resting heart rate over time is a quick and easy way to track your fitness level, avoid overtraining, catch oncoming illness early, and more.
Improve your sleep quality. With a heart-rate-tracking wristband like Alta HR comes the ability to use Fitbit’s two new sleep features: Sleep Stages and Sleep Insights. Sleep Stages uses accelerometer and heart rate data, plus Fitbit’s proven algorithms, to more accurately estimate how long you spend in light, deep, and REM sleep stages each night. Sleep Insights uses all of your Fitbit data—including heart rate—to deliver actionable guidance and coaching that can help you improve the quality of your sleep and, in turn, your health.
What Else is New With Alta HR
In addition to the features powered by PurePulse, Alta HR also includes the following upgrades:
- Up to 7 days of battery life*. That’s an entire week of never needing to plug in.
- Beautiful new band colors. Classic Alta HR trackers come in black, blue gray, fuchsia, and coral with a matching—and more secure—buckle and tang closure. Special edition trackers are available in a soft pink classic band with a 22k rose-gold-plated tracker, and a black classic band with a matte, gunmetal tracker. There’s also a luxe leather collection that includes brown, indigo, and lavender bands with matching buckles, a luxe stainless-steel bracelet, and designer collections from PUBLIC SCHOOL, Simply Vera Vera Wang, and, soon, Tory Burch.
- On-device bedtime reminders. Set a sleep goal and then turn on this feature. Your Alta HR will vibrate at the time you specify, alerting you that it’s time to start winding down.
Alta HR is available worldwide for pre-sale at Fitbit.com/AltaHR and at select retailers for $149.95. It will be in stores globally in early April 2017.
Sleep Stages, Sleep Insights, and on-device bedtime reminders will be available globally in the Fitbit app in Spring 2017 for Android, iOS, and Windows, and on Fitbit.com. For software requirements see Fitbit.com/devices.
*Battery life and charge cycles vary with use, settings, and other factors; actual results will vary.
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or condition. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, altering your sleep habits, taking supplements, or starting a new fitness routine.
Danielle Kosecki
Senior health and fitness editor Danielle Kosecki is an award-winning journalist who has covered health and fitness for more than 10 years. She’s written for Glamour, More, Prevention, and Bicycling magazines, among others, and is the editor of The Bicycling Big Book of Training. A New York native, Danielle now lives in the Bay Area where she doesn’t miss winter at all.
it’s not clear how this is different from Charge 2?
My wife is thrilled to have a version available that will measure heart rate. She loves her Alta and that was the one thing she has missed with on it.
I am curious if the bands from the original Alta will fit on the Alta HR? She has a couple of bands for hers that she would probably like to continue to use. Since I will probably inherit her original Alta and prefer the prong style bands to the buckle and tang band styles I would plan to purchase a couple of prong style ones before they disappear.
Thanks.
I’m wondering the same about the bands. I was pumped when I saw Alta HR because of the band style. I had a 1st gen Charge HR, but had to get rid of it because I was horribly allergic to the clasp. Would love a Fitbit with HR capabilities, I wish the new Alta had kept the same band design
Hi! I just pre order the new Alta HR. I am curious when I can expect them to start shipping. So excited!
I really wish they’d added a floor counter to the Alta. It’s the only thing that’s kept me from buying one. I could actually do without the heart rate.
Will there be any upgrades or discounts available to those that purchased the original Alta?
Can the Alta HR count stairs/floors? I really liked that feature from my Charge HR. I like the Alta HR but I need to know how many stairs I’m walking.
In my humble opinion i have my great experience with fitbit alta hr.It was given to my by my best friend and i am still thankful to him for giving me such an precious gift on my b’day. I have read all site and got more information i think which i have’nt tried with my fitbit alta because i was not aware carefully it’s extra-ordianry features but after visiting here i can proudly say that yes this watch is world’s superb Fitbit Alta.
Will you be adding floors and multi-sports tracking to Alta HR. I like the smaller band but also like these 2 features on my old Charge HR.