Need an advanced health and fitness tracker but don’t know where to look? You’ve come to the right place. Today, we’re offering you our Fitbit Charge 5 review which focuses on their latest fitness tracker.
The Fitbit Charge 4 from last time was already an outstanding fitness tracker. However, it was held back by a cheap plastic build and dated greyscale display. Now, the fifth generation of Fitbit’s most popular line finally sports an AMOLED colour touch screen and a metallic case.
If this sounds like something you’re looking for, just sit back, relax, and continue reading our Fitbit Charge 5 review.
Here, we’ll discuss its design, features, functions, specifications, and if it’s as good as it claims. But first, let’s take a quick look at its packaging and contents.
Fitbit Charge 5 Packaging
When our Charge 5 arrived, it came in your standard-looking cardboard box. The front displays an image of the product while Fitbit and its logo at the top-left corner of the box.
Charge 5 and the words “Advanced Fitness + Health Tracker” can be seen below the image. Meanwhile, a white strip under those words is present. On it, Fitbit showcases that the product comes with a 6-month premium trial.
On the box’s rear, you’ll find three images of the product. And, each of these displays different features on the screen. Aside from these, you’ll also see additional information about the Charge 5.
Of course, we’re also informing you of what other items are inside the box for this Fitbit Charge 5 review. Aside from the Fitbit Charge 5, the company also included a small and large infinity band and a charging cable,
Fitbit Charge 5 Review – Design and Functionality
While gathering more details for our Fitbit Charge 5 review, we learned that the product comes in three different colours. The options you can choose from include steel blue/platinum, black/graphite, or white/gold.
The front design of the Charge 5 is one of the widest of the company’s current fitness trackers. It also comes with an AMOLED touch screen which is a huge upgrade from the Charge 4’s greyscale screen.
In addition, the Charge 5 is the very first tracker from Fitbit that comes with an always-on display option. It’s a handy feature for when you want to instantly check the time by just glancing down at your wrist.
The Charge 5 also sports a classier look since it’s housed in aluminium. And, it has softer curves along its edges compared to the sharper ones of the Charge 4. This change was made in line with the company’s new design philosophy.
The new product is noticeably thinner in depth, and Fitbit claims that it decreased the case’s thickness by 10%. What they did doesn’t only give off a more streamlined appearance, but it also makes it more comfortable to wear.
The Charge 5 features a silicone band, and in the box, you’ll get the large and small-sized straps. The smaller one fits wrists that measure 5.1 to 6.7”. For the larger one, it’s best for wrists measuring up to 8.3”.
It’s great that Fitbit made the tracker and its silicone band is water-resistant up to 50m. That means, it’s safe to wear even under the rain, in the pool, or at the beach.
Not having buttons is another new aspect of the Charge 5 and you’ll navigate by swiping/tapping on the screen. Then, you can swipe right/double-tap anywhere on it to return to the clock face or previous screen.
You’ll probably take a few minutes to learn these, but its big screen makes it easier to use. Plus, its interface is quite responsive which is a great change from the earlier Charge trackers.
Lastly, we’re glad that the text is legible and big enough to see. We never had to bother squinting to see notifications or reaching for a magnifying glass like with the Fitbit Luxe.
Next, our Fitbit Charge 5 review will see what makes the Charge 5 better than other trackers around.
Key Features of the Fitbit Charge 5
Stress Management
Find out and understand how your body reacts to stress with Fitbit Charge 5’s Stress Management Score. This fitness tracker also features an on-wrist EDA Scan app which measures your body’s physical response in real-time.
Vibrant Display and Smart Notifications
The Charge 5 has a new light that’s two times brighter than its predecessor. Using always-on display mode allows you to check your progress quickly.
Also, you can stay in the loop with smartphone app notifications. You can get notified via calendar, text, call, Gmail, WhatsApp, and more.
Sleep Tracking and Sleep Score
Tracking your sleep quality can help you wake up and feel energised.
SmartTrack and 20 Exercise Modes
Set your goals and choose from Fitbit’s 20 exercise modes. With SmartTrack, you can get real-time stats.
Keep Track of Your Heart Health
With a compatible ECG app, the Fitbit Charge 5 helps you keep an eye on your heart for irregular rhythm. Get heart rate notifications too and know when you’re below or above your threshold.
Integrated GPS
With the Charge 5’s built-in GPS, you can run, hike, and ride while tracking your pace and distance in real-time. In the app, there’s also a workout intensity map that shows your pace and heart rate zones throughout your route.
Specifications
This section of our Fitbit Charge 5 review discusses everything you need to know about this fitness tracker. First off, it uses a Bluetooth radio transceiver and is water-resistant. And, it can be submerged in water as deep as 50m.
Its Lithium-polymer battery lasts up to seven days. However, it will require more frequent charging when using the always-on display and SpO2 features. To fully charge this fitness tracker, it will take up to two hours.
Hands-on with the Fitbit Charge 5
Of course, we tried and tested the Charge 5 for our Fitbit Charge 5 review. It’s to see if it’s better than its predecessor and if it’s just as good as what Fitbit claims.
But before getting into its performance, let’s see how easy it is to set up and navigate.
Before using the product, we charged it with the included USB cable. While waiting for it to get fully charged, we downloaded the Fitbit app to begin the setup process.
The Fitbit app is available for both Android and iOS smartphones, and once downloaded, we created an account. We tapped the profile icon in the interface’s upper-left corner, pressed “Set Up a Device”, “Charge 5”, then “Set Up”.
Next, we accepted the Bluetooth pairing request, then were asked if we wanted the product to display our phone notifications. After choosing the settings, everything was good to go.
To note, the Charge 5 supports Google Fast Pair for Android users with the Fitbit app installed. This feature automatically takes users to the pairing screen when taking the Charge 5 out of the box.
Waking the Charge 5 was simple since we only had to rotate our wrist towards our faces. Another way to do this was firmly double-tapping the screen.
The tracker’s always-on display allows for quick tracking in real-time but drains the battery faster. There’s also an option to set off hours when the screen will go dark.
We used the Charge 5’s different features and compared it with other fitness trackers to see how accurate it was. For heart rate and calorie burn readings, these were similar to that of the Apple Watch Series 6.
Fitbit’s SmartTrack automatically recognised and recorded our workouts like walking, running, outdoor cycling, aerobic and elliptical sessions, and more. It also detected our high-movement activities like tennis, soccer, basketball, and swimming.
During our tests, this feature accurately logged our activities. However, it mislabeled a walk as swimming once. But this wasn’t a big issue for us since it tends to happen with other fitness trackers too.
When this happened, we manually re-categorised the activity in the app and everything worked well again.
After all the tests for this Fitbit Charge 5 review, we can say that it worked fairly well. Plus, its Fitbit app functioned excellently too. So basically, it’s something we’d recommend and it’s definitely a great up from the Charge 4.
Fitbit Charge 5 Review Summary
The Fitbit Charge 5 is an excellent upgrade over its predecessor since it comes with great updates. These include a sleeker design, always-on coloured touch screen, and new health-tracking features.
If you’re finding ways to improve your health and lifestyle, it’s great to invest in the Fitbit Charge 5. It offers top-notch tracking for your fitness, sleep, and stress. Plus, it can help motivate you in meeting your workout goals, sleeping earlier, and being mindful in your daily routine.
The Charge 5 is Fitbit’s most expensive fitness tracker but it’s still worth the purchase. That’s because it comes with useful features that you can’t find in other models. Overall, this product balances form and function better than other fitness trackers.
To get your hands on the Fitbit Charge 5, you can purchase it from the company’s official website.
