Fitbit Sense 2 was unveiled by Fitbit in August 2022. Sense 2 supersedes Fitbit Sense. The second generation Sense watch (2022 edition) brings in new features to the first generation Fitbit Sense.
Fitbit has announced that they intend to add the fall detection feature to Sense 2 in the next few months. As of the launch date and October 2022, Fitbit Sense 2 does not have the fall detection feature.
On a similar note, the emergency SOS message is a feature that is in the works. The SOS message notification will be sent to the emergency services (in supported countries only) if Sense 2 detects a hard fall of the watch owner.
Here is what Fitbit has mentioned about the fall detection feature on its website:
- Your watch can alert authorities when you’re feeling unsafe, and fall detection connects to emergency services if you’ve fallen—even auto-dialing if you’re unresponsive. Fall detection coming this winter.
Until next few months, we will monitor Fitbit’s feature upgrade notifications and update this post with relevant details of the fall detection feature and the emergency message notifications to designated emergency contacts and emergency service providers.
It may be pertinent to mention that none of the past smartwatch models of Fitbit have fall detection. This would include Fitbit Versa 2, Fitbit Versa 3, and Fitbit Sense. The recently launched Fitbit Versa 4 also does not support fall detection as of now.
What is fall detection and how does it work?
Fall detection is a feature that uses accelerometer to detect a hard fall of the watch owner. If the watch detects a fall, it sends in a notification on the watch display. The notification tries to get an ‘Ok’ response from the watch owner.
The watch waits for 10-30 seconds to get a response from the watch owner. If the watch does not receive an ‘Ok’ message from the owner, the watch takes action to initiate SOS or emergency messaging process.
Depending on the software and the smartwatch manufacturer, the watch may perform one or both of the following processes to seek assistance:
- The smartwatch will send the geo-location of the watch owner and send an emergency message notification to the designated emergency contacts. Designated emergency contacts are defined on the smartwatch. These emergency contacts are configurable and usually contain contact information of friends and family.
- Additionally, the smartwatch may also call the emergency services in supported countries. For instance, the smartwatch can use cellular connection to call 911 services in the United States. Emergency services can be the swiftest help one could expect in the event of a hard fall.
Fall detection feature is a standard offering by most smartwatch manufacturers. Apple watches are touted to have the best responsive fall detection feature.
Fall detection has been amply validated on the Apple watches in the past. The current genre of Apple Watch 8 continues the legacy and offers fall detection feature for the watch owner.
Garmin offers incident detection feature on its smartwatches. Google Pixel Watch is the latest smartwatch release. It offers fall detection feature on the watch.
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Helen Kurt is a geeky nerd who loves to cover the wearables space. She has over 5 years of experience in the smartwatch domain. You can reach her on email at [email protected].