Fitbit OS

[SunsetRunner]

Hello,

• How long will the Fitbit Ionic get ‘Fitbit OS’ updates? I was thinking about getting the Ionic but some people say the versa is better and newer and will receive longer updates. Is that true?

         Is the overall timeframe more like 1 year? 3 years? I have absolutely no clue.

• Is the FitbitOS comparable with WatchOS, AndroidWear? Can we expect major features, or is it more like “what you see is what you get”?
• Is there some kind of developer preview or something? To test early versions of the OS?

[WavyDavey]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

Hello,

• How long will the Fitbit Ionic get ‘Fitbit OS’ updates? I was thinking about getting the Ionic but some people say the versa is better and newer and will receive longer updates. Is that true?

         Is the overall timeframe more like 1 year? 3 years? I have absolutely no clue.

• Is the FitbitOS comparable with WatchOS, AndroidWear? Can we expect major features, or is it more like “what you see is what you get”?
• Is there some kind of developer preview or something? To test early versions of the OS?

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Hi @SunsetRunner,

#1. It's uncertain, but I would think for quite some time. Fitbit trackers released years ago still get firmware update, so there's no reason to think it would be any different for the Ionic. Anyone who says the Versa will be supported longer is guessing.

I would measure firmware updates, at the beginning, more in terms of months. The Ionics first update came a few months after release, and it is slated for another firmware update very soon.

#2. I have no idea what you're asking here. You'd have to define what you mean by the term "major features" for it to be answerable.

#3. There is a developer version of the firmware, but that platform is strictly for developing apps, not introducing new features. Fitbit does have a beta program.

[SunsetRunner]

Hey 🙂

Thanks for your answers.

#1 That's really good to know. I wasn't sure for how long fitbit would support their devices, because it seems they release new things very quickly and feared that the Ionic would be outdated pretty soon and people saying the versa would recieve updates for a longer time didn't help either.

#2 Well with WatchOS you'll get some minor features every other month and one 'big bang' release a year. So there are a lot of new things to get excited about.

Is Fitbit OS supposed to be similar or is it just to fix and refine things.

Fitbit OS seems pretty new so I couldn't find any statement on what is in the cards for updates.

#3 Ah okay. So you can't actually participate in a preview program to get updates earlier? 

[d_k]

i might help on #2:

fitbit bought pebble, ionic and versa are based on that platform. "Pebble OS" is/was a customized FreeRTOS.

Therefore i'd say the same is true for Ionic and Versa. -> it's not that new.

Even better, pebble OS had quite a lot of features not yet available in FitbitOS, and Fitbit announced that they are working at least on some of them (reply to messages), and introduce new ones (o2 sensor).