

Fitbit thinks it's devised a way to improve performance when that becomes a factor. Wrist movement or motion is one of the biggest obstacles to providing an accurate reading.

Shelten Yuen, vice president of research at Fitbit says that the improved setup yields an average signal to noise ratio increase of 56% for running exercises. It means that Fitbit can now use 6 independent optical channels across a larger surface area to improve the reliability of the data.ĭr. It's achieving that by increasing the number of light transmitters and receivers that are used to get that data. Naturally, while every company dabbling with this optical sensor technology is working from the same blueprint, the accuracy of the readings will come down to how each company's algorithms interpret the data.įitbit's Versa 3 and Sense watches ushered in PurePulse 2.0, which aims to improve the performance of that sensor technology. These lights are then flashed hundreds of times per second in order to gain the most accurate BPM (beats per minute) data. When your heart beats, this flow, and as a result the green light being absorbed is greater. So by using green LEDs and pairing them with photodiodes, Fitbit uses its own in-house PurePulse technology to detect the amount of blood flowing through the wrist. Photoplethysmography essentially works upon one simple premise: blood is red because it reflects red light and absorbs green light. Similar to how we covered the tech for the Apple Watch heart rate monitor, let's give a quick breakdown to how pretty much all wrist-based heart rate monitoring works. Daily Readiness Score (Fitbit Premium only).Detecting signs of atrial fibrillation (via ECG on Fitbit Sense/Fitbit Charge 5).Heart rate variability (Health Metrics Dashboard).Workout heart rate and automatic workout detection.We get stuck into how it all works and why you'd want to try it out: 15 ways Fitbit devices use your heart rate dataīy tracking your heart rate, Fitbit can better establish facts about your body and offer better insights. With the arrival of its Sense watch and its new PurePulse 2.0 sensor technology, Fitbit is also venturing deeper with the level of heart rate monitoring. Thanks to the in-built heart rate monitor found in the likes of the Fitbit Charge 5, and the new Fitbit Versa 3 and Fitbit Sense (or any of the rest of the Fitbit clan) you're able to gauge not only your heartbeat activity during workouts, but also tap into wellness features and some of the best sleep tracking in the business. But how does Fitbit track heart rate, what features does it power and crucially, is it accurate? Tracking heart rate is a huge feature of Fitbit's smartwatches and fitness trackers – and drives the data we demand from our wearables.
