After listening to some feedback, Fitbit is rolling out another update to its mobile app giving users some highly-requested features.
It’s not another major overhaul, mind you. The patch primarily consists of quality-of-life changes. First, you’ll be able to see the battery percentage of a connected device in the top left corner of the Today tab so it’s up front and center when you launch the app. A few days prior to this, Fitbit released an update that added the same indicator to the Devices tab, but it was locked there. Additionally, the company is extending the readout support to Pixel Watches. As 9To5Google points out in their report, this “was previously limited to Fitbit-made trackers and smartwatches.”
Returning features
Next, Fitbit is reintroducing celebratory animations. These were removed in an earlier patch, but it appears people missed seeing fireworks go off whenever they hit their step goal for the day or a major milestone on their fitness journey. The announcement post says Android users will receive the little animations first with iPhone owners getting them “in early January.”
The last feature sees the return of the Steps Streak which was taken away in the September 2023 update. As the name suggests, this tool shows people a bar graph detailing how many steps they’ve taken throughout a day, week, month, and year. The company says steps you’ve taken during its absence will still count towards the streak so don't worry about losing progress. Do note the graph will be in the Today tab instead of the Steps tile on the app. What’s more, Steps Streak will be coming to Android devices for the first time as well as alongside the iOS comeback.
Fitbit also mentions in the announcement that you can “customize your focus metrics” to a specific fitness goal. However, this is not a new feature. It was introduced back in September.
The patch is currently making its way to all users with the fitness brand urging users to “please be patient” if it doesn’t immediately arrive on their smartphone. It will take some time to get everyone up to speed.
Patching things up
These past couple of months have seen Fitbit try its best to appease its user base. The September update redesigned the app so it could be simpler, however, people didn’t like the new look. They weren’t fans of the color scheme which was “described as bile brown, vomit green, and light blue” (at least, they liked the shade of blue). The dashboard was also criticized as “cluttered” suggesting developers failed at actually making things cleaner.
Since then, the company has apologized for the controversial changes promising to make things right with everyone. This patch is a result of that commitment.
While we have you check out TechRadar’s list of the best Fitbit trackers for 2023.
