The Fitbit Alta HR is a new activity tracker that adds a heart-rate monitor to the popular Fitbit Alta fitness tracker. Like the Alta (which remains as part of the Fitbit line up) the Alta HR is designed for the fashion conscious, as well as those looking for a mid-range fitness monitor.
See also: Which Fitbit is best?
How much will the Fitbit Alta HR cost in the UK?
You can pre-order a Fitbit Alta HR for £129.99 at Fitbit.com. There’s a choice of four colours: black, blue gray, fuchsia or coral. You also choose the size: small or large, and there’s a sizing guide to help you. If you need an XL wristband for the Alta HR you’re stuck with just black.
There are also two £149.99 Special Edition Alta HR models, in Black / Gunmetal Stainless Steel and Soft Pink / 22k Rose Gold Plate.
The modular design lets you personalise the band. Here’s what’s on offer
- Classic fitness bands available in black, blue gray, fuchsia or coral for £19.99
- Premium leather bands available in lavender, indigo and brown for £39.99
- Stainless steel silver bracelet £69.99 and shiny gold bracelet for £109.99
While the product is new, online retailers may not be offering big discounts but it’s certainly worth checking. Here are the best Amazon UK prices and Amazon US prices for the Fitbit Alta HR.
When is the Fitbit Alta HR release date?
The Alta HR is available to pre-order now, and goes on general sale from March 13, 2017– available online and in stores, including major retailers such as Amazon, Argos, Currys PC World, Shop Direct, John Lewis and Debenhams.
What are the features?
The Alta HR is a fitness tracker that will tell you your steps, distance, calories burned & active minutes. It will also show notifications of incoming calls and texts from a paired phone, as well as meeting reminders. At night, it will track your sleep with Fitbit own proven algorithms to more accurately estimate how long you spend in Light, Deep and REM sleep stages, as well as time awake, each night.
But the big news on the Alta HR is the heart-rate monitor, which Fitbit has added without noticeably increasing the size of the already slim original Alta.
Having a heart-rate monitor means a more accurate measurement of daily calorie burn, including during non-step based exercise such as yoga and spinning – useful for achieving weight goals by tracking calories in versus calories burned.
On the Alta HR’s slim display you can see real-time heart zones, plus exercise summaries in the Fitbit app to get to the right intensity for your fitness goals.
Another important health metric is your resting heart rate. Knowing this means you can compare it to your activity to see how consistent exercise can improve your heart health over time. A decrease in resting heart rate is a key indicator of cardiovascular health; changes up or down may indicate illness or other issues, says Fitbit.
There’s no altimeter for monitoring flights of stairs climbed, just a three-axis accelerometer and a vibrating motor. If you want an altimeter to push you to climb more stairs or take the hilly route to work look at the Fitbit Charge 2, Blaze or Surge trackers.
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- Fitbit Alta & Alta HR reviews
- Fitbit Charge 2 review
- Fitbit Blaze Review
- Fitbit Surge review
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It will also give you move reminders via the silent alarm. They will give you a mini-step goal of 250 steps each hour, but this can be customised to suit your schedule and a Do Not Disturb feature can be activated for meetings or specific times when you don’t want reminders.
The Alta HR also has SmartTrack that recognises popular activities and sports, and will track a workout automatically without you having to manually start and stop a session timer.
What does the Fitbit Alta HR look like?
The tracker itself has a satin-finish metal body and an OLED display, just like the original Alta. You tap on the screen to scroll through the various stats.
The quick-release bands allow you to put on a more stylish show during the day, and swap to a band better suited to a workout when you get to the gym.
Fitbit says the battery will last seven days between charges – a two-day improvement on the original Alta’s battery life, which is impressive given the new heart-rate functionality.
The tracker is sweat, rain and splash proof, but not swim proof. Fitbit says you shouldn’t really wear it in the shower, either.
Author: Jim Martin, Executive Editor
Jim has been testing and reviewing products for over 20 years. His main beats include VPN services and antivirus. He also covers smart home tech, mesh Wi-Fi and electric bikes.