It’s been a while since we reviewed the Fitbit Flex (spoiler alert: we liked it), so it’s with a great deal of excitement that we get to take a look at the company’s latest offering – the Fitbit Surge.
Fitbit’s successor to the Flex, the Force, is still yet to see a release within the UK. As such, the Surge has been a long time coming. Looking at the device Fitbit clearly feels that it’s achieved all it can with a straight-up fitness tracking device and has instead taken a step towards the realm of the smartwatch.
The Surge seems to be one of the most complete wearable devices we’ve seen to date. Let’s start with its conventional health and fitness features: there’s GPS tracking, an essential in measuring just about every form of physical activity – and it can monitor elevation too, for things like hikes and stair climbs. It supports tracking for multiple activities, including cycling, crossfit and weight lifting. Perhaps most interestingly of all, though, it has a heart-rate monitor which is something which is missing from the majority of the wearables currently out there.
This would all be impressive enough in a dedicated fitness tracker, but when you add in the Surge’s smartphone synchronicity it gets even better. You get call and text notifications, can see track information and control music playback, and can set silent alarms.
This is all possible thanks to the Surge’s backlit black and white display. Both the Flex and the Force opted to forgo an actual screen in favour of a slimmer form factor, and as such the significantly larger Surge may not be to everyone’s tastes. Still, for those who don’t want to compromise on their primary wearable this should be a greatly appreciated feature. Plus, you can actually tell the time on it!
It syncs wirelessly with most smartphones and computers, and the app offers all of the good stuff you’d find within Fitbit’s previous offerings like progress towards daily goals and meal logging.
The bad news is that we have no idea when, or even if, it’ll be released outside of the US. It’s got a price tag of $249.95 on it right now, and a tentative ‘early 2015’ release date.
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