Fitbit’s New App Features, Like Device Battery Status, Going Live Now

Several weeks ago, Fitbit said that it was working on a number of important changes to their still-very-fresh app overhaul that would start to rollout in time. That time is now, as Fitbit tells us to start looking for many of those new features today.

For those who missed it, Fitbit announced a big app overhaul just before the launch of the Pixel Watch 2. Then, within a couple of weeks of that launching, they said to expect the following new features:

• Step streaks return and launch: iPhone users have apparently had a step streaks, which I assume are streaks for days in a row that you’ve hit your goal. Fitbit took those away not long ago and people weren’t happy, so they are bringing them back on iOS and also launching them on Android for the first time.
• Device battery percentage on Today tab: Yep, your connected device’s battery percentage will now show on the main Today tab up in the top left corner. I know that you could simply twist your wrist and see the battery percentage on the device itself, but this is a simple way to inform you as you enter the app. You can see how this looks at the image below.
• Goal celebrations: When you hit something like your daily step goal, the Fitbit app will show a celebration at the top in the area of focus for your day. The top of the post shows a bit of this animation. It seems like this will hit Android first and then iOS in 2024.
• Custom focus: I actually can’t tell how new this is, but Fitbit tells me that you should setup a custom focus for the day. There are presets if you tap the pencil icon from the Today page, but if you swipe all of the way to the right side, you’ll find a way to fully customize your focus. That’s neat.

The update with some of these changes is already live on iOS as v4.04. The Android app is still only on 4.03 and we aren’t seeing an update yet. Google (and Fitbit) like to slow-roll updates, as you know, so it could be several days before you see these new features.

Oh, dark mode was not mentioned in today’s note. While they mentioned adding a dark mode in October, they really gave no timeline for its arrival.

Google Play Link: Fitbit