If you own a Fitbit device, you might want to check for a software update because according to reports, it seems that the company has quietly enabled blood oxygen tracking on some of its wearables. This includes devices like the Fitbit Versa, Ionic, and Charge 3, where some users are reporting seeing the new feature.
For those unfamiliar, blood oxygen tracking can be used to detect and monitor certain health problems like asthma, heart disease, and even sleep apnea. Fitbit’s devices released in the recent years actually came with the necessary hardware to track blood oxygen levels, but for whatever reason, the company has opted not to turn it on, at least until now.
It is unclear as to who is getting the feature first and if there is some kind of organization to this rollout, but the company has confirmed that the feature is being rolled out to their customers. Fitbit also cautions that when the feature is being used, the figures you see aren’t relative numbers, but they add that you shouldn’t see too huge of a variation if you’re relatively healthy.
This is a fair statement from the company as even Apple themselves have stated that the built-in heart rate tracking and ECG monitoring tools should not be used as a diagnostic tool. Instead, they’re meant as guides of sorts and you should still seek out professional medical help if you’re concerned.
Filed in . Read more about Fitbit, Fitness, Health and Wearable Tech. Source: engadget