Fitbit Founders Launch Luffu Link Health and Safety Band

Luffu, a new startup founded by Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman, has launched Luffu Link, an LTE-enabled health and safety band. The device is designed to monitor a wearer's overall health, both physical and mental, and provides features like voice logging, location awareness, and the ability to contact trusted individuals, even without a nearby phone.

The Luffu Link, priced at $250 for pre-order and expected to retail for $300, is available in halo gold, onyx black, and sterling blue, with shipping anticipated in early 2027. This launch is part of Luffu's broader mission to create an intelligent family care system, complementing its Luffu health-monitoring app which uses AI to analyze family information and identify changes in daily patterns.

The inspiration for Luffu stems from Park and Friedman's personal experiences with family caregiving. They aim to provide families with a clearer understanding of a loved one's health without intrusive monitoring. James Park highlighted that technology can significantly reduce the burden on family caregivers, who often spend an average of 27 hours per week on caregiving tasks.

Users of the Link device can press a button to record voice notes about medications, symptoms, mood, and reminders, which are then organized by the Luffu app. The device also continuously collects standard health data, including activity, sleep, heart rate, and heart-rate variability, to identify patterns and provide personalized insights. Park emphasized that the data is used to answer key questions about changes in a loved one's well-being, rather than simply presenting dashboards.

With built-in GPS, Link keeps trusted contacts informed of the wearer's location and can alert them when the wearer enters or leaves specific areas. A double-press allows wearers to check in with family, and the built-in LTE enables help requests, including a fall detection scenario, sending the wearer's location, battery level, and health data to designated family members. The company positions Link as a device focused on everyday health and family connection, distinct from screenless wearables focused solely on fitness, with a design inspired by jewelry.