Fitbit Blaze 2: what we want to see

The Fitbit Blaze is well over a year old now, and although the company’s first attempt at merging the design of a watch with a fitness tracker was a success, it is probably in need of some updating as health-based tech has progressed.

Fitbit seemingly agrees, as there are rumors of a Fitbit Blaze 2 brewing, which the company may be ready to launch in 2018. Here's where you'll find all the news, rumors and other details as we hear them.

We’ve also included a variety of the things we’d like to see on the Fitbit Blaze 2 when it launches, so read on below for everything you need to know about the Fitbit Blaze 2.

Cut to the chase

What is it? The next Fitbit fitness tracker merged with a watch
When is it out? Rumors of an early 2018 release date, but it may be sooner
What will it cost? We expect it to be around $199 (£160, AU$330)

Fitbit Blaze 2 release date

This is the big question. Fitbit doesn’t have an established release schedule for its fitness trackers and instead releases new tech when the company thinks it's worth updating.

A report from Bloomberg suggested Fitbit is planning to release the Blaze 2 in 2018, so we may see it then. We may also hear word of the new Fitbit at IFA 2017, as the company announced both the Charge 2 and the Flex 2 at the German technology show last year.

Fitbit Blaze 2 specs and features

Little is known about the Blaze 2, but the report from Bloomberg suggested it will come with a sleeker design than the original version of the watch.

It also claimed it would have a color display, but that’s true of the original Blaze, which is currently the only Fitbit product with a color screen.

We can comfortably speculate that Fitbit will also bring a new variety of fitness-based features to the Blaze 2, but read on below to see exactly what we would like to see from the next tracker from Fitbit.

Fitbit Blaze 2 price

Nothing is certain for the price of the second Blaze, but the original’s price is a good indication of how much you’ll have to shell out to upgrade to the new tracker. We’d expect Fitbit to stick to a similar launch price of around $199 (£159.99, AU$329.95).

Fitbit Blaze 2: what we want to see

The Fitbit Blaze isn't the perfect fitness tracker, so while we don't know what's under way for the sequel we've put together a selection of the features we want to see.

1. A larger display

The bezels on the original Fitbit Blaze are fat. There's no hiding that and we’d like to see those trimmed down for more display space in the upcoming fitness tracker.

If Fitbit manages to limit the amount of wasted space it may be able to fit a much more attractive display in the center of the tracker. We'd also like to see the company improve the quality of the display, to help it compete with full-blown smartwatches.

2. A responsive display

This was one of the biggest problems with the original Fitbit Blaze, as an unresponsive display is a really irritating problem to have on your fitness tracker when you’re sweating and need to play around with specific features really quickly.

If Fitbit can improve the screen tech used on the Fitbit Blaze 2 so that it reliably responds to taps and swipes it will make for a much more comfortable experience.

3. Expanded fitness features

The Fitbit Blaze was meant to be one of the best trackers in Fitbit's range, but it still didn't include a fully-integrated GPS tracker. Instead you have to use it alongside the positioning tech in your phone.

We'd like to see Fitbit focus on its fitness roots and include better tracking tech within the Blaze 2, including GPS, but maybe even more unconventional features such as a VO2 max calculator to give you smart feedback on how to recover after exercise.

4. Third-party support

Rumor has it Fitbit is trying to garner third-party app support for its new rumored Fitbit smartwatch, but we'd like to see some of those features travel over to the Blaze 2.

It'd be great to be able to run Spotify directly from your wrist (rather than simply pausing and skipping tracks that are playing on your phone), or even have apps like Map My Run ready to download directly onto the Blaze 2.

5. Extra notification features

The original Blaze included limited notification features. Instead of being able to see all of your notifications like on an Apple Watch or Android Wear alternative you'd only be able to read texts and see who is calling you.

With the Fitbit Blaze 2 we'd like to be able to see Facebook, WhatsApp and other notifications on the display.