Pebble smartwatch gets a major update, tracks health and fitness

The smartwatch industry continues to grow with the latest offerings from both Google Android Wear and Apple. But Pebble, a former darling of Kickstarter, got off to a fast start and has been continuing to improve things since its launch.

Now the watch maker is adding yet more features to its offering, giving users access to health and fitness monitoring. Thanks to RunKeeper, there was already a bit of this present, but the latest update brings much more along with it.

"Today, we’re announcing a new area of growth for our ecosystem — health and fitness — and releasing a software update that enables non-stop activity tracking and sleep monitoring (thanks to Pebble’s class-leading multi-day battery life)", says Pebble.

Users will still be able to display whatever watchface they wish, and activity tracking will take place in the background as the day goes on. There is more to it than just that, though.

Added is an updated Misfit app that will track activity all day, and Pebble promises that "Jawbone is launching its own activity tracking watchface for Pebble called UP which shows daily and weekly activity progress and automatically syncs with its new UP app for iOS (and coming to Android soon)".

The company is also expanding availability, making its watches available from locations like Fry's and Sam's Club, with Sprint soon joining the party. In addition, the price has been reduced -- you can grab one in the US for only $99. Many online locations also offer free shipping, so it's a good deal for those in the market.