- Fitbit detailed Fitbit OS 5.0, which promises a host of usability enhancements for the Sense and Versa 3.
- The company currently doesn’t plan to bring the software to older smartwatches like the Ionic.
Fitbit has detailed some of the changes coming to the latest version of its smartwatch operating system. Unfortunately, you’ll only be able to download Fitbit OS 5.0 if you own a Sense or Versa 3 device. That’s because the company designed the update to take advantage of the squircle displays on those smartwatches.
But if you do have one of those wearables, you can look forward to faster navigation and better general usability. As you can see from the image below, one notable change is how Fitbit has tweaked interface elements like buttons, icons, and tiles.
Another addition is a new system font called Raiju. Fitbit says the font is both easier to read and more efficient in its use of space.
The company also changed the size of text and buttons, as well as the tap targets for those buttons. Fitbit claims the changes make the Sense and Versa 3 easier to use when you’re in the middle of a workout like a run. You’ll also find new navigation shortcuts. Swiping the touchscreen of your Sense or Versa 3 smartwatch from left to right will now take you one step back in Fitbit apps, while tapping the left side button will consistently take you back to your watchface.
As mentioned above, people with older Fitbit smartwatches like the Ionic, Versa 2, or Versa Lite won’t get the new software. “Fitbit OS 5.0 has been developed exclusively for Versa 3 and Sense, and there are no plans to bring this to older devices,” the company said. That’s not to say Fitbit won’t furnish those older models with any new software in the future, but clearly the Sense and Versa 3 are the company’s focus now and moving forward.
Related: Fitbit Sense review
