Fitbit Ionic’s first major updates adds new apps and watch faces

Back when I reviewed the Fitbit Ionic for MobileSyrup, one major issue I noted with the company’s first smartwatch was a major dearth of apps. In Canada, Ionic only shipped with three third-party apps.

Now, however, Fitbit is taking a major step toward addressing that issue with the launch of its first official update to Fitbit OS, the operating system that powers Ionic.

The update features 14 new apps, including ones from Yelp, Flipboard and The New York Times. Those specific apps are launching today, with other new ones slated to arrive before the end of the year. In the new year, even more apps will make their way to the wearable via brands like British Airways.

Also included are three new watch faces designed by Fitbit — bringing the total number of available watch faces, both from Fitbit and third-party developers, to over 100. One of the new watch faces, Fitbit Pet, adds a virtual Tamagotchi-like pet to your Ionic, which you take care of by ‘feeding’ it steps.

Best of all, Fitbit says the update improves the wearable’s overall performance, which was another more minor issue with Ionic.

Fitbit today also announced the launch of Fitbit Labs, a new initiative aimed at delivering apps and watch faces that help motivate users to change their habits for the better.

The company’s most significant announcement, however, is that music streaming app Deezer is coming to Ionic in 2018. With the launch of Deezer, Canadian Ionic owners will be able to stream music to their Ionic smartwatch.

Lastly, Fitbit is partnering with Dezeer to allow Ionic users outside of the U.S. to access their Dezeer library on the wearable. Previously, music streaming on Ionic was only available via Pandora in the U.S.