Fitbit has surprised its customers with the latest feature that monitors the level of oxygen in the blood. Well, the company has had added the hardware in its devices a long ago but didn’t use it ever before. But now, Fitbit has secretly enabled the functionality. Reportedly, users have noticed that Versa, Charge 3, and Ionic devices are suddenly offering blood oxygen information. Besides this, the information assists in tracking health issues like heart diseases, asthma, and sleep oxygen. The company has enabled the technology after a long wait. Most of Fitbit’s recent wearables include a dormant sensor, SpO2, which tracks blood oxygen. Peripheral oxygen saturation or SpO2 is a scale that reveals the amount of oxygen in the blood.
Fitbit has appended the functionality at the software level, which means users can access and use the feature through Fitbit’s mobile app. Notably, the feature which monitors blood oxygen is available on Fitbit watches that already have a heart rate monitor. For those that have the sensor, users can find an estimated oxygen variation graph below the sleep data column. Currently, the app does not reveal the measure in percentage. Instead, it is projecting small and large changes throughout a night’s rest. As per Fitbit support, the wearable derives information from a merging of infrared and red sensors present on the rear part of the device.
On the other hand, some end-user gadgets, like smartphones, also comprise of the functionality to monitor blood oxygen. But the feature has significantly remained mysterious and beyond the reach in the case of wearables. Well, the new system to monitor oxygen will notify users regarding oxygen levels of their blood. It will report when oxygen levels in the blood will decrease or some change occurs. Notably, the functionality seems more helpful in identifying health issues like sleep apnea. In this condition, the patient frequently stops to take a breath at nighttime.
