Fitbit Wants to Watch Your Step

Fitbit (NYSE: FIT) is finally on the clock. The out-of-favor wearable fitness leader announced on Monday that Fitbit Ionic -- its first full-fledged smartwatch -- is on track to roll out to retailers worldwide on Sunday. It retails for $300, just $30 less than Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) new Apple Watch Series 3 non-cellular model.

Fitbit is hoping to stand out in a market where Apple has been the only smartwatch maker to reach needle-moving success. Fitbit feels that it can carve out an audience with a five-day battery life, a sharp contrast to Apple's 18-hour ceiling. Fitbit's smartwatch is also operating system-agnostic, playing nice with Android devices.

Making its mark won't be easy. Fitbit will naturally push its activity-tracking strengths, but Apple Watch is no slouch on that front. Ionic is pushing its automatic sleep monitoring, something that can also be done on Apple Watch, but a challenge given the limited battery life that mandates overnight charging more often than not.

Source: Fool.com