The New Fitbit Alta HR Will Track Your Heart Rate and Sleep Habits

Fitbit is adding a new addition to its fitness tracker family: the Fitbit Alta HR. While similar in style to the Fitbit Alta, the Alta HR comes with heart rate monitoring abilities, longer battery life and a more secure wrist band for the price of $150.

According to the San Francisco-based company, the heart rate function will allow for better calorie burn tracking and a greater focus on cardiovascular health. The company decreased the size of the chip used in its Fitbit Charge 2 by 25% in order to put the heart rate tracking sensors into the Alta HR, Fitbit’s smallest wrist band with a display.

The update also includes a new Sleep Stages feature that uses heart rate monitoring to track sleep quality. The monitor has the ability to distinguish between light, deep and REM sleep and uses that data to offer advice on how to improve your sleep.

The new tracker comes in six different colors with a buckle style band rather than the original snap closure band. It can still be used with any of the exchangeable bands and holders that fit the original Alta, such as the Vera Wang band collection.

James Park, co-founder and CEO of Fitbit stated in a press release that “Alta HR and these powerful new sleep features demonstrate our continued focus on evolving our innovative technology to deliver deeper, more actionable insights to help our users improve their health.”

Jane Snyder is a health intern with Paste and a freelance writer and photojournalist based out of Athens, Georgia.