Fitbit gets 4 nice new features on iOS and Android

A few weeks ago, Fitbit said it was working on some major changes to their still very fresh app overhaul, which would be rolled out in time. That time is now, because Fitbit tells us to look for many of those new features today.

For those who missed it, Fitbit announced a major app overhaul just before the launch of the Pixel Watch 2. Within a few weeks of that launch, they said to expect the following new features:

• Step stripes return and launch: iPhone users have apparently been on a step streak, which I assume is streaks of days in a row that you’ve achieved your goal. Fitbit took those away not too long ago and people weren’t happy with them, so they’re bringing them back on iOS and launching them on Android for the first time as well.
• Device battery percentage on Today tab: Yes, the battery percentage of your connected device is now displayed on the main Today tab in the top left corner. I know you can just turn your wrist and see the battery percentage on the device itself, but this is a simple way to inform you as you open the app. You can see what this looks like in the image below.
• Target parties: When you reach something like your daily steps goal, the Fitbit app will show a celebration at the top in the focus area for your day. At the top of the message you can see a part of this animation. It looks like this will hit Android first and then iOS in 2024.
• Adjusted focus: I can’t actually tell how new this is, but Fitbit tells me you’ll need to set a custom focus for the day. There are presets if you tap the pencil icon on the Today page, but if you swipe all the way to the right you’ll find a way to fully customize your focus. That’s neat.

The update with some of these changes is already live on iOS as v4.04. The Android app is only at 4.03 and we don’t see an update yet. Google (and Fitbit) like to roll out updates slowly, so it may take a few days before you see these new features.

Oh, dark mode wasn’t mentioned in today’s note. While they mentioned that a dark mode would be added in October, they didn’t actually provide a timeline for its arrival.

Google Play link: Fitbit