Positioned as a rival to Apple’s fitness-focused smartwatch, emerging reports reveal Fitbit’s ‘Ionic’ smartwatch has not been tailored to Australian (or non-American based) users, as it does not display energy using kilojoules.
The Ionic smartwatch, like many of its predecessors, only displays energy using calories.
Whilst ‘non-metric’ measurement is utilised in America and through some US-derived diets, the standard is not widely utilised in the Australian marketplace.
Australia’s education system and government both officially utilise the English metric system.
In addition, Australian nutritional information tables all display measurements in kilojoules too.
In light of such, as a fitness based smartwatch, the Ionic is likely to lose appeal for some Australian consumers.
Whilst Aussies are forced to use calorie measurements for energy, Fitbit’s app supports English metric units for measurement (e.g. kilometres), weight (kilograms) and swimming distance (e.g. metres).
Fitbit Australia has offered its official confirmation to Business Insider that kilojoule energy display is not available on the Ionic smartwatch.
Australian consumers who are more interested in the contactless payment feature of the smartwatch may still find the device appealing after the company revealed it brought support for Commonwealth, NAB and ANZ, which is notably greater than both Samsung Pay and Apple Pay.
Fitbit’s Ionic smartwatch retails in Australia for $449.95.
