Fitbit has recently rolled out the ability to track blood oxygen levels, all with a software update. The company released this ability for certain smartwatches and fitness trackers of it.
It’s true, Fitbit has been struggling for some time now, especially since it was purchased by Google, but this is a fantastic upgrade for all the existing customers. And the most important thing about all of this? They implement it before Apple Watch even thought about it.
When the first Apple Watch was released back in 2015, iFixit discovered that it has the ability to monitor the blood oxygen levels. We got fantastic health features and innovation from the most popular watched out there, but SpO2 is something Apple did not implement for its watches – even if it has offered VO2 max for some time now.
Some Fitbit users from the US started to see the blood oxygen monitoring data, which made its appearance in the app not long ago, on all the company’s devices that come with a SpO2 sensor. We are talking about Charge 3 fitness tracker, Fitbit Ionic, and Versa.
With this great idea in mind, it is necessary to add that the Fitbit app notes that the SpO2 levels are only estimated. This new section from the app shared the Blood oxygen saturation that frequently fluctuates, but significant variations are also linked to breathing issues. The calculated oxygen variation approximates the changes in the blood oxygen saturation. With the help of SpO2 levels, you get a more accurate sleep tracking, and it does detect some health issues, such as sleep apnea.
Truth be told, Apple probably has the hardware done for the blood oxygen monitoring feature for its Apple Watch, but it must be approved by the FDA first.
