Fitbit To Rollout Smartwatch With Payment Capabilities

Fitbit is gearing up to rollout a smartwatch that will be paired with Bluetooth headphones and will be able to make payments for the first time.

According to a report in Yahoo Finance, the device will launch in the fall, a delay due to production snags with the smartwatch project. “It was originally planned for this spring to likely get ahead of whenever Apple plans their normal fall announcement,” a source familiar with the matter told Yahoo Finance. “Fitbit always likes to try and get in front of it.”

The new smartwatch is expected to be similar to Fitbit’s Blaze wearable fitness device. The smartwatch is codenamed Higgs within Fitbit and is expected to come equipped with a color display that is as bright as Apple’s Watch 2. It will also have a built-in GPS chip, monitor a user’s heart rate, make contactless payments and store and play music from Pandora, reported Yahoo Finance. What’s more, the smartwatch will boast four days of battery life before needing a charge.

The smartwatch is expected to sell for around $300 when it hits store shelves in the fall and will be housed in an aluminum design that enables users to swap out watch bands. In conjunction with the smartwatch, Yahoo Finance reported Fitbit will rollout a pair of Bluetooth earbuds, which the company is referring to internally as “Parkside.” The wireless earbuds are expected to come in two colors, including a “Nightfall Blue” and “Lunar Gray,” and will sell for around $150, reported Yahoo Finance.

The move on the part of Fitbit to rollout a smartwatch comes at a time when it has been struggling to boost sales. The company had a tough fourth quarter despite the holiday selling season, but rumors have been swirling for some time that it would rollout a smartwatch.