Fitbit Apps Now Includes Uber, TripAdvisor, Yelp

Fitbit, the maker of wearable fitness devices, announced news on Tuesday (Dec. 5) that it has updated its Fitbit OS for the first time to include a smarter and more personalized experience for the Fitbit Ionic, its smartwatch.

In a press release, Fitbit said the OS update to the operating system comes with more than 60 new mobile apps that cover a wide range of categories, including the ability to access more than 100 clock faces, Yelp, Clue (the free female health app), Nest (the connected home company), News, TripAdvisor, Uber and United Airlines. Fitbit said mobile apps for British Airways, Lyft and Walgreens will be added in January.

“Ionic has received strong, positive reviews regarding its leading health and fitness-focused features, long battery life, platform compatibility and more. With this update, we are delivering on our promise to enhance the smart experience with popular apps, intelligent clock faces and new motivating tools that help you reach your goals,” said Jon Oakes, VP of Product at Fitbit.

“This is just the start — along with future enhancements to the Fitbit OS, we have an extremely engaged global developer community excited to continually bring even more unique offerings to our users via the Fitbit App Gallery.”

The company also announced the launch of Fitbit Labs, a Fitbit research initiative that aims to bring innovative apps and intelligent clock faces to users to drive behavior change. It’s also aimed at accelerating the pace of innovation at Fitbit. The company also said it’s partnering with Deezer to bring the music-streaming service to its Ionic smartwatch next year.

“Over the last 10 years, we have built one of the largest health and fitness databases in the world, and that has directly informed the development of some of our most insightful and innovative features,” said Shelten Yuen, VP of Research at Fitbit.

“With Fitbit Labs, we are creating a testing ground that will provide us with additional data and insights we can leverage to bring even more meaningful and effective health and fitness features to market in the future — all while offering cutting-edge, motivating experiences to our users.”