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Fitbit’s Black Friday 2020 Sale Starts, With Cheap Smartwatch Deals

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lifestyle photo of fitbit versa 2,,photographer matt hawthorne

We know you’re probably getting tired of seeing Black Friday deals all over the internet, but Fitbit has just launched its own sale and it’s definitely worth a peek.

There’s a lot of competition when it comes to fitness trackers, but Fitbit remains one of the best brands on the market for managing your steps, sleep, stress and fitness goals. And the products come in a stylish package that feels comfortable and durable.

If you’ve been holding out for a bargain over the last few months and have been eyeing up a fitness tracker, now is the best time to jump into action.

Fitbit is offering up to £60 off on some of its best products, including the Versa, which doubles up as a pretty powerful smartwatch that we think rivals the latest devices from Apple or Samsung.

Each Fitbit product is a little bit different, whether it’s the design and the overall look of the watch, or the fitness functions and the battery life, so we have laid out every deal on the official Fitbit page to help you decide which one to go for.

These prices are some of the lowest offers we have seen on the range, so if you’re looking for an early Christmas bargain or you need that boost to get you through your Christmas training, check out the Fitbit Black Friday sale below.

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1

Fitbit Versa 3

fitbit
fitbit.com

£199.99

The Versa is the fitness watch that walks that fine line between a super-stylish smartwatch and a great fitness tracker. 

The special edition comes with a sharp woven wrist strap and an extra black wrist band for extra options.

It has all the usual features you’d want from a Fitbit device: workout reminders, pre-installed fitness programmes to inspire you, and easy-to-read charts to track your progress, all packed into a watch that looks great in the gym, on the track or at the bar.  

2

Versa 2 Health & Fitness Smartwatch with Voice Control

Fitbit
amazon.co.uk

£129.00

Fitbit’s Versa 2 uses Amazon Alexa to get news, info and weather, to set reminders and alarms,  while also measuring your heart rate, time asleep and awake, calorie burn and effort during workouts. You’ll also be able to assess your cardio fitness level int he Fitbit app, control Spotify and get notifications for calls, texts and events, all with a handy 4+ day battery life. 

3

Fitbit Versa Lite

There are three editions of the Versa watch, and the Lite is the cheapest, though all three versions have the same tech and features.

The Lite has more customisation options for the strap to make yours unique, so if you want different colours for different scenarios, this one is for you. 

As with all Fitbit products, you can keep track of your fitness goals, test out different workout regimes and manage your progress.

We use this one ourselves, and we haven’t had our heads turned so far.

4

Fitbit Sense

Fitbit
fitbit.com

£299.99

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medicine 

A UPS exec reveals how the pressures of the pandemic can make drone deliveries a reality as it starts flying medical supplies, PPE, and medicine

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a man riding on the back of a red building: UPS has launched two health care-related drone delivery trials during the pandemic. Courtesy of UPS

© Courtesy of UPS
UPS has launched two health care-related drone delivery trials during the pandemic. Courtesy of UPS
  • UPS, along with other delivery and logistics companies, is in a race to launch regular, commercial drone delivery systems.
  • In the past few months, UPS has begun pilot programs with CVS and a major hospital system, using drones to make deliveries and transport critical supplies.
  • In an exclusive interview with Business Insider, UPS’ VP of Advanced Technologies explained how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the use cases for drones.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The logistics industry has been buzzing about drone delivery for years, but aside from a few high-profile pilot programs and conceptual tests, the tech has failed to materialize as a real-world solution for moving goods.

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But drones are steadily coming closer to serving a practical use, according to Bala Ganesh, head of the Advanced Technologies Group at UPS.

“What we are right now in the process of, as we work through the integration pilot program with the FAA, is turn[ing] the corner to get to a more sustainable operation,” Ganesh told Business Insider during an exclusive interview at the IGNITION: Transportation summit this week. “What we’ve been in so far has been a test and learn journey.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened the urgency of drone delivery — and highlighted its potential.

“The initial step for drones would be in this critical health care slash other industries that really require something urgently,” Ganesh said. “As the technology becomes more mature and costs go down,” he said, drones could be integrated into more routine purposes and deliveries.

UPS has launched two health care-related trials during the pandemic. One, at the Villages retirement community in Florida, delivers prescription medication to residents from a nearby CVS. The other, at the Wake Forest Baptist health system in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, offers fast shipping of time-sensitive medical supplies and PPE between the health system’s central campus and its other locations.

A key challenge to taking drone deliveries mainstream is the complex approvals needed from the FAA, as well as methods to avoid nearby air traffic. That, coupled with the difficulties of navigating around tall and dense development, makes it likely that drone deliveries will start out in rural and suburban areas, Ganesh said.

One of the most interesting use cases the company has explored, Ganesh said, is a “driver assist” system, in which each time the driver makes a delivery stop in a rural location, they launch the drone from the top of their truck and have it make the next delivery on the route. It would effectively double the number of deliveries a driver can make in a given time.

While drone delivery in cities is still something UPS plans to develop, that will likely come later, Ganesh said.

“There’s a lot of ideas” to solve the challenge of urban drone delivery, Ganesh said. “I’m sure that time will come,” he added, “but it may not

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health 

Illinois starts planning for COVID-19 vaccine as cases surge

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — While battling a recalcitrant coronavirus pandemic, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday started laying plans for distributing a safe and effective vaccine.

But other than saying that a vaccine would go first to health care providers, long-term care residents and other vulnerable populations, Pritzker, at his renewed daily COVID-19 briefing, offered few details, saying much depends on what the federal government ultimately approves to prevent the virus.

“The challenge of designing a plan now, of course, is that there’s so much about the vaccines that we don’t know,” Pritizker said in Chicago. “The most defining characteristic of this plan is that it’s adjustable as we go forward and learn more.”

Details such as whether a vaccine will require one or more than one dose to be effective, whether it needs refrigerated storage or could be stored at room temperature, and even how vaccine delivered in large containers will be broken down for specimens to be shipped to small health care facilities will affect the state plan, Pritzker said.


Talk of a coming vaccine offered a bit of good news rarely available from the Democratic governor in the past week, after record-setting days for new infections and tighter restrictions starting in the coming days for parts of the state.

The Illinois Illinois Department of Public Health reported 69 new COVID-19-related deaths on Wednesday, the highest single-day total since June 16, among 4,352 new infections, the next-to-highest single-day total.

Deaths now total 9,345 among the 355,217 confirmed cases.

The Federal Food and Drug Administration has suggested that the earliest a vaccine would be available is by year’s end. That simply would mark the start of the rollout process for the states, said Dr. Ngoze Ezike, state health department director.

“Vaccinations, once they arrive, will take many, many months at the minimum to actually get into the arms of the people of Illinois,” Ezike said. “So this will unfold in phases, with initially only a small amount of vaccine available, and as production ramps up more individuals will be able to avail themselves of this countermeasure.”

Health care centers will register to be vaccine providers and order it through the state, Ezike said. The vaccine will not be required, but the health department will publicize its availability and its benefits. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80% of the population will need to be vaccinated to establish an acceptable level of “herd immunity” to prevent ongoing widespread illness.

There will be no charge for the vaccine, she said.

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Follow Political Writer John O’Connor at https://twitter.com/apoconnor

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health 

Obamacare Open Enrollment Starts Nov 1. Here’s What’s Changing This Year : Shots

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Open enrollment is about to start for those buying private insurance off state or federal exchanges.

PhotoAlto/Frederic Cirou/Getty Images/PhotoAlto


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Open enrollment is about to start for those buying private insurance off state or federal exchanges.

PhotoAlto/Frederic Cirou/Getty Images/PhotoAlto

Facing a pandemic, record unemployment and unknown future costs for COVID-19 treatments, health insurers selling Affordable Care Act plans to individuals reacted by lowering rates in some areas and, overall, issuing only modest premium increases for 2021.

“What’s been fascinating is that carriers in general are not projecting much impact from the pandemic for their 2021 premium rates,” said Sabrina Corlette, a research professor at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Although final rates have yet to be analyzed in all states, those who study the market say the premium increases they have seen to date will be in the low single digits — and decreases are not uncommon.

That’s good news for the more than 10 million Americans who purchase their own ACA health insurance through federal and state marketplaces. The federal market, which serves 36 states, opens for 2021 enrollment Nov. 1, with sign-up season ending Dec. 15. Some of the 14 states and the District of Columbia that operate their own markets have longer enrollment periods.

The flip side of flat or declining premiums is that some consumers who qualify for subsidies to help them purchase coverage may also see a reduction in that aid. Subsidies are determined by a mix of a consumer’s income and the cost of a benchmark plan.

Here are a few things to know about 2021 coverage:

It might cost about the same this year — or even less.

Despite the ongoing debate about the ACA — compounded by a Supreme Court challenge brought by 20 Republican states and supported by the Trump administration — enrollment and premium prices are not forecast to shift much.

“It’s the third year in a row with premiums staying pretty stable,” said Louise Norris, an insurance broker in Colorado who follows rates nationwide and writes about insurance trends. “We’ve seen modest rate changes and influx of new insurers.”

That relative stability followed ups and downs, with the last big increases coming in 2018, partly in response to the Trump administration cutting some payments to insurers.

Those increases priced out some enrollees, particularly people who don’t qualify for subsidies, which are tied both to income and the cost of premiums. ACA enrollment has fallen since its peak in 2016.

Charles Gaba, a web developer who has since late 2013 tracked enrollment data in the ACA on his ACASignups.net website, follows premium changes based on filings with state regulators. Each summer, insurers must file their proposed rates for the following year with states, which have varying oversight powers.

Gaba said the average requested increase next year nationwide is 2.1%. When he looked at 18 states for which regulators have approved insurers’ requested rates, the percentage is lower

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