Fitness trackers are continuously adding more sensors to the wearable stacked bank stacked on your forearm, and while this is already contributing to a healthy amount of industry competition, it is not necessary to rule the pioneers out. That’s Fitbit mind you-the business that got the world into smartwatches to start with, and in a fierce competition that’s rapidly filled with options, it seems with the Charge 4 they keep onto their prestige.
Performance:
All standard Fitbit-standard tracking is here, so I did not go through it. It is important to include a new fitness measure called the Fitbit Active Area Minute. This is a firmware update designed for other Fitbit models such as Verset 1 and 2, Vera Lite, and Ionic, but the Charge 4 test ground. And successful testing.
Calibrated with the minimum in-line recommended by various official health organizations, it is essentially a tracker that measures the exact time you spend in your target heart rate zone, which allows you to increase your efficiency. Strong and effective activity is encouraged.
Target areas are calculated based on your age and resting heart rate, so calibration is dynamic to change fitness levels over time. This is a great way to track progress, but most of all, extra motivation.
The other new feature here is the built-in GPS, which gives it a Fitbit speed with the much-anticipated rival Garmin. This makes Charge 4 the first Fitbit, which is good for runners, cyclists, and hikers, GPS fast and efficient without the need for a phone.
This is another step towards a wearable area, which can be very valuable when you can finally leave your phone at home. Direct Spotify Steaming is the next step, which Apple recently took advantage of with its smartwatch.
An SP02 Pulse Oximeter Sensor for Ultimatum for Climbing Stairs, Reliable NFC for Contactless Payment (via Fitbit Pay), and Basic Sleep Tracking to Measure Differences in Discomfort and Oxygen (Apnea to Be Alert That You Have No Problems).
There are very deep watches for sleepers – like the Wings Scanwatch – but having the basics out there helps with the value of Charge 4. Unfortunately, I found that heart rate monitoring was often inconsistent.
More than 20 preset workout and exercise modes designed specifically for swimming, treadmill, running, kayaking, surfing, and skiing are included.
Battery:
When it comes to guaranteed battery life, Fitbit has always been successful, and the Charge 4 is no different. If I used it as a regular exercise tracker, I would easily expect a week’s worth of use from it. Unfortunately, the GPS is a mega-drain on the juice meter, with a limit of three hours per day actively using the feature cutting application. If you use the GPS every day to run around the block, that’s fine, but it will force you to have it charged every night.
Design:
Unlike the new, expensive Fitbit Sense, the brand never wins points for beauty (it goes with the rival), but the Charge 4 is such a capable and comprehensive tracker, it does not matter; Also, you can’t expect a unique fitness tracker to be as good as a smartwatch or hybrid.
Still, it looks sleek and slim, in the world of fitness trackers, does not look too bad on the wrist. The preference for minimalism certainly helped aside from the strange aesthetics of the previous models and those that seemed more harmonious and less awkward.
Also, it is very light, it is easy to forget, this little personal fitness computer wrapped around your wrist is also invented.
The narrow, rectangular OLED display is available in plain, black, blue/black hybrid, or slightly glamorous rosewood with a silicone strap. Whatever you choose, it is a comfortable fit, and the straps are easily lost when looking to change anything on the spot.
You’ve got a monochrome black and white screen yet, so nothing, in particular, comes in color, and while most competitors tend towards splasher displays with more attractive visuals, the commitment to minimalism is minimal. More practical and energy-efficient. Also, do you need a cheap visual engagement for inspiration?
Lack of performance always seems to be left when you see what other brands are doing, but it’s okay to come up and down. While it is very easy to like if the performance is fast for a long time, it is a bit of an exercise so that the watch can be seen quickly, even smarter in its bright conditions, before it fades quickly and you have to touch it to get the shine back.
Depending on the small size of the display, it may be difficult to read all the text – assuming you have selected a dense clock face from a pile of options – so it will quickly fade with those small but recognizable examples. One where consumer-transparency is not so strong.
Getting rid of all the physical buttons and relying solely on swipe gestures will take some time for those upgrading from previous Fitbit devices to get used to anyway. Despite this, it is very comfortable and well thought out.
Conclusion:
Since you can pick up a Charge 4 right now for about $168 (RRP $199), it is one of the most important wearables that Fitbit has launched to date. The built-in GPS is vital to this, but it is far from the best to make use of the functionality, considering the battery drain.
It seems like the emphasis here is to do many things and to do them well enough at this price point to provide a stronger balance than any other model. But you could be better off investing and forking out further for other computers if you choose to target that functionality.
For eg, with the Withings ScanWatch, those focused on sleep monitoring will be better off, whilst those who want to make the best use of a GPS-enabled phone can look at what Garmin does.
