Fitbit has launched a major update to the Fitbit Luxe, its fitness tracker that was launched back in April 2021.
In the first major update to the device, Fitbit has launched a handful of new features with version 1.151.16.
Some of these features come over from the flagship Charge 5, which was released last month.
First up, the Fitbit Luxe will get an always-on display. While this will have a significant impact on the 5-day battery life of Luxe, it means the time will always be visible.
And there are ways of reducing the impact. The always-on display can be toggled on and off easily in the settings, so it can be turned on for exercise and then removed again.
And like Charge 5, the always-on display can also be limited to a specific window in the day – for example within working hours.
The next major update is possibly even more important. The Fitbit Luxe can now use the SpO2 sensor to produce the blood oxygen saturation score within the Health Metrics dashboard.
Owners of the Luxe won’t have seen this metric appear alongside resting heart rate, HRV and breathing rate. If they install the SpO2 watch face, blood oxygen saturation percentage will appear, too.
That’s in addition to the blood oxygen variation during sleep, which has appeared within the sleep tracking data since launch. However, that doesn’t offer a measured level of saturation, which can be an indicator of illness.
Finally, text size can be increased on the Fitbit Luxe, making notifications and on-screen data easier to see – but you will get less text on the small screen.
The new features are more strings to the bow of the Luxe, which is a great fitness tracker – and in many ways easier to recommend than the new Charge 5. It's cheaper with a neater set of features – and much better suited to smaller wrists.
The update is rolling out now, so if you’re a Fitbit Luxe owner, check to see if there’s anything to install within the app. It could take a few days to appear, but this is certainly an update you won’t want to miss.
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James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.