Fitbit: Consumer Reports backs device’s accuracy despite lawsuit

Following the class-action lawsuit filed against Fitbit, a review made by Consumer Reports is backing up the device manufacturer for delivering accurate results when monitoring a user’s heart rate.

According to The Verge, the review publication claims that the optical heart rate monitoring on two of Fitbit’s models, Charge HR and Surge, is “very accurate” based on a previous testing they had conducted.

They tested one female and one male who wore Fitbit Surge and Fitbit Charge HR on their wrists. Later, they compared the heart rate results from Fitbit to the ones measured by Polar chest straps. These chest-based devices, according to the publication, are known to be more accurate when detecting heart rates during workouts.

Consumer Reports then released the test result between Fitbit and the Polar chest straps. "During nearly every trial, the variance between the chest strap and the Fitbit devices amounted to no more than three heartbeats per minute," they said.

Though this recent test seems comforting, a report from Endgadget cites that Fitbit may still have its own set of flaws. It also doesn’t confirm that the lawsuit has no merit.

“If your Fitbit occasionally underreports your heart rate by a wide margin, that's a real concern -- you could perform high-intensity workouts without realizing that you're over-stressing your heart,” the publication wrote.

Two weeks ago, Fitbit was accused of unfair and deceptive trade practice in a class-action lawsuit filed by three plaintiffs. They claim that the company’s heart rate monitoring tech, PurePulse, doesn’t actually give accurate readings as advertised.

The company was not deterred by the lawsuit, saying that the case has no merit.
“Fitbit stands behind our heart-rate technology and strongly disagrees with the statements made in the complaint and plans to vigorously defend the lawsuit," they said in a statement.

The defendants, nor the lawyer of the class-action lawsuit, have not yet released a statement in light of this development.

Tags

Fitbit, fitbit surge, fitbit charge hr, consumer reports, polar chest straps, fitbit the blaze watch

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