Fitbit Edge at $180: A Tracker With Smartwatch Features
Google will start selling the Fitbit Edge on October 27 for $180, with pre-orders already open on the Google Store and Amazon.
The Edge is placed between a basic tracker and a full smartwatch, above the $99.95 Inspire 3. Google announced it on Oct. 12 under the title "Google Fitbit Edge: Our all-new smartest fitness tracker ever" Google.
The $80 price difference shows in the hardware. Both models use an AMOLED display, the bright and power-efficient screen type common on phones, but the Edge screen is 6.9mm (0.27in) wider Engadget. The Edge measures 39.2 x 25.5 x 11.5mm, compared with 39.32 x 18.6 x 11.75mm for the Inspire 3. Length and thickness are almost the same, so the extra width holds the larger display.
Case materials and colors also differ. The Edge has a 100 percent recycled aluminum case, while the Inspire 3 has a plastic case. The Edge comes in olive green, black, white and coral peach. The Inspire 3 comes in pink, orange and black. A Steph Curry edition of the Edge costs $220, which is $40 more than the base model.
On connection features, the Edge has built-in GPS, so it can track movement and location without a nearby phone. Google says this built-in GPS gives a 40 percent accuracy increase when tracking moves. The Edge also has built-in Bluetooth 5.4, the short-range wireless standard, for direct pairing with wireless headphones for phone-free runs with audio. Both the Edge and Inspire 3 support Google's Find My Device feature.
For on-wrist software, the Edge supports Quick Replies, music controls and weather forecasts. Google Maps support is expected soon, described as a coming addition and not a shipping feature.
For workout tracking, the Edge covers over 50 exercise modes, compared with 20 on the Inspire 3. It automatically detects 100 different movement activities. It also tracks cardio load, target cardio load, floors climbed and heart rate on workout machines, which the Inspire 3 does not track. Cardio load here means a measure of strain on the heart from recent exercise.
The Edge offers a week of battery life on a single charge. Its case is 45 percent lighter than the Apple Watch Series 12. Fitbit describes the product as "The health and fitness tracker that keeps you moving."
The broader context here is product lineup rather than a new kind of sensor. Google keeps the Inspire 3 as a lower-cost tracker that needs a phone nearby, while the Edge adds standalone GPS, direct Bluetooth audio, a wider AMOLED, aluminum construction and expanded training measures for the $80 step up. For developers and device managers, Find My Device is on both devices for handling, while GPS-derived distance, cardio load tracking and automatic activity detection stay on the higher tier, which affects data quality and user behavior.
In my view, the phone-free mix is what will decide regular use. A tracker that lasts a week, records location without a phone and plays audio to earbuds removes two common reasons people stopped wearing older trackers. Fifty modes look complete in a table, but steady use tends to come from fewer things to carry and charge. If Maps arrives as described, the Edge will feel less like a larger Inspire and more like a lighter option for people who want training data and directions without the weight of a full smartwatch.
