Fitbit's Charge 5is the company's best fitness tracker yet. It has an always-on color touch screen, a sleeker design, and new health tracking features.
The accuracy of the all-day heart rate tracking on the Charge 5 is on par with other Fitbit devices
It finally has an AMOLED color display and a metal case. New features include electrocardiogram (ECG) app that checks for signs of atrial fibrillation.
The Charge 5 costs $30 more than its predecessor, but justifies the increase with improved design and health monitoring. Priced at $179.99, it's the most expensive Fitbit tracker yet.
It comes with a six-month Fitbit Premium membership, which gives you access to more than 200 guided workouts, meditations with Deepak Chopra, and other wellness tools.
The Fitbit Charge 5 is the company's first fitness tracker with an always-on display option. It has a 1.04-inch AMOLED touch screen, a major upgrade compared with the Charge 4.
It's noticeably thinner and lighter than its predecessor, the Charge 4. Stainless steel panels on the sides of the tracker contain sensors for the ECG and EDA apps. The tracker and silicone band are water resistant to 164 feet.
Fitbit is also selling a range of Charge 5 accessory bands, including leather, nylon, and vented sport options. The Charge 5 has a similar aesthetic to the Luxe, but the latter's stainless steel case and narrower design is better for style-conscious shoppers.
Built-in GPS allows you to continuously track a workout with GPS or see the time without waking the tracker. Battery life is impressive, lasting up to a week on a full charge.
Fitbit's Charge 5 fitness tracker has no physical buttons. Instead, you navigate the interface with swipes and taps on the screen. To personalize your clock face, tap the Charge 5 icon in the Fitbit app and select Clock Faces > All Clocks.
It tracks your heart rate, sleep stages, and skin temperature. In-app workout intensity maps show your pace and heart rate zones throughout your route. Every morning it gives you a stress management and sleep score.
When you swipe to the Exercise app, it gives you the default tracking options: bike, interval workout, run, swim, treadmill, and weights. The list of available exercise shortcuts also includes bootcamp, elliptical, golf, hike, kickboxing, martial arts, pilates, spinning, stairclimber, tennis, walk, workout, and yoga.
The Charge 5 delivers similar heart rate and calorie burn readings to an Apple Watch Series 6. During a one-hour rowing session, the Charge 5 said I burned 395 calories and had an average heart rate of 136BPM. SmartTrack mislabeled a walk as a swim once.
Fitbit Charge 5 is the company's most expensive fitness tracker at $179.95. Built-in GPS, an EDA app to measure your stress, and mobile payment support are included. The Charge 5 balances form and function better than any other Fitbit tracker.
Pros
Attractive design with metal case
Automatically tracks certain activities
Supports mobile payments
Robust stress management and sleep tracking features
Tracks overnight HRV, breathing rate, SpO2 and skin temperature variations
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