Watch Paparazzi

Politician Barack Obama spotted wearing Fitbit

The sighting comes from Season 2, Episode 1 of Jerry Seinfeld's acclaimed web series 'Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,' filmed during Barack Obama's presidency and released in January 2016. The episode, shot on the White House grounds using a 1963 Corvette Stingray, gave viewers a rare informal glimpse of a sitting president — and eagle-eyed viewers immediately noticed the chunky black fitness tracker on Obama's left wrist rather than any traditional timepiece.

The watch is the Fitbit Surge, launched in December 2014 as the brand's flagship device. It featured built-in GPS, continuous heart-rate monitoring via PurePulse optical technology, automatic sleep tracking, call and text notifications, and multi-sport modes covering running, cycling, and cardio. The display is a monochrome LCD behind Corning Gorilla Glass, housed in a large rectangular case with a proprietary elastomer band — utilitarian by design, unapologetically so. Battery life ran approximately seven days in standard use, dropping to five with GPS active.

From a horological standpoint, the Fitbit Surge occupies an entirely different universe from luxury watches. There is no mechanical movement, no finishing to speak of, no heritage manufacture behind it. Its collector significance is essentially zero. Yet in the context of wearable technology history, the Surge represented a genuine inflection point — the moment fitness bands attempted to become smartwatches before Apple Watch redefined that category in 2015. Obama's choice signals something meaningful: a preference for functional health data over status signalling, consistent with his publicly documented commitment to daily exercise.

Obama has been associated with the Fitbit brand throughout his presidency and beyond, reportedly using it to monitor his workouts. His wearing it in this highly publicised episode gave Fitbit enormous earned media at a time when the company was navigating fierce competition from Apple and Garmin. No presidential endorsement fee was reported — this appears to be genuine personal use.

The Fitbit Surge has since been discontinued, replaced by successive generations of Fitbit devices now under Google ownership. Original retail was $249.95. The Surge now trades secondhand for under $40, making it one of the more affordable celebrity watch sightings ever documented on these pages — though the cultural context is priceless.