Fitbit Shares Tumble As It Unveils Apple Watch Rival

Shares nosedived after Fitbit unveiled its answer to the Apple Watch, Blaze, in Las Vegas yesterday.

Fitbit's answer to the Apple Watch, Blaze, has failed to impress investors, with share prices down more than 18% as the market closed yesterday.

Blaze, which is designed to look like a more stylish and sophisticated alternative to Fitbit's existing wristbands like Surge and Flex, has been developed to help the company carve into the growing smartwatch market.

However, the sharp drop suggests investors were not sold on Fitbit's chances of rivalling existing players like Apple and Samsung.

The new device is now available on pre-order priced at £159.99. It has a colour touchscreen and can track heart rate and show workouts on screen.

While it doesn't have in-built GPS to track running routes, it can be connected to a smartphone. It also has removable straps to enable users to personalise the design.

It was not the only issue Fitbit had to contend with yesterday.

Valencell, a tech company that makes biometric sensor technology for wearables, has started proceedings to sue Fitbit and Apple over claims they infringed their patent.

The company alleges both companies investigated its biometric sensor tech with the underlying purpose of copying it for their own devices.

A Fitbit spokesperson told BuzzFeed News the company would defend itself against the allegations.

CORRECTION

Valencell has launched a lawsuit against Fitbit and Apple over alleged patent infringement. An original version of this article incorrectly described the complaint.

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