Fitbit Charge 4 Advanced Fitness Tracker with GPS, Swim Tracking & Up To 7 Day Battery

Product Information

The Fitbit Charge 4 Special Edition comes with woven and silicone bands, both in small and large sizes (Image credit: Future) When it's time to get active, the Fitbit Charge 4 delivers a gentle buzz to remind you to get up and stretch your legs (the frequency of which can be adjusted through the app, or disabled entirely). This is accompanied by your current step count to encourage you to get moving – a more pleasant alternative to Garmin’s rather rude ‘MOVE!’ You can also request a Wellness Report, which provides a visualization of your health trends over the last month. It’s a shame this isn’t available instantly – instead, the app takes a few minutes to generate it as a PDF. Conclusion The Fitbit Charge 4 charges through a USB cable that connects to the watch via a large clip. It’s easy to line up the connectors (it clamps securely around the whole body of the watch, making it much easier than the similar charging clips used by Garmin devices), and a full charge takes under an hour.

Take a moment for mindfulness by following an on-screen guided breathing session that’s based on your heart rate. Notifications & Apps Charge 4 automatically syncs to most popular iOS and Android devices to show your stats, trends and progress on your Fitbit dashboard. Mobile App The Fitbit app allows you to customize your Fitbit Charge 4, and view your health and workout stats (Image credit: Fitbit) When running, I’d much rather be able to press a button, as manual dexterity isn’t my strongest suit when going at speed. In particular, I found it very easy to accidentally double tap and skip over the screen I wanted, forcing me to cycle through the lot again with.Key specs – Screen type: Monochrome OLED; Battery life: 10 days; Replaceable strap: Yes; GPS: Connected only; Heart rate: Yes; Altimeter: No The first night I wore the Charge 4, it said I didn’t fall asleep until nearly 12:30 a.m., a half an hour or so after I dozed off. I must’ve been tossing and turning a lot. However, my oxygen levels remained pretty consistent. The second night, the Charge 4 thought I didn’t fall asleep until 2 a.m. Fortunately, you can edit this data in the Fitbit app, to more accurately reflect your rest. By incorporating built-in GPS with additional sensors like the ability to perform electrocardiogram (ECG) tests and to measure electrodermal activity (EDA, or sweat to you and me), the Charge 5 records just about anything you might want recorded, filtering the information into Fitbit’s excellent companion app in a digestible manner. The Fitbit Charge 5's screen is about the same size, but is a full color AMOLED, with crisp graphics and animations. It looks very much like that of the Fitbit Luxe, and may indeed be the same unit. It's a huge upgrade, and one that brings the Charge series in line with rival device from the likes of Xiaomi and Amazfit. Fitbit Charge 5 vs Fitbit Charge 4: Features Smartwatch features See which heart rate zone you’re in to gauge if you’re working hard enough to reach your goals. Goal-Based Exercises

During outdoor runs, rides, hikes and more, use built-in GPS to see your pace and distance on Charge 4, then see a map of your workout in the Fitbit app. Water-Resistant Extra silicone, fabric and leather bands for both watches are available to buy separately, but bear in mind that they use different fittings, so you can't use Charge 4 bands with a Charge 5, or vice versa. Display As with the previous model, the Charge 5 comes with built-in GPS and there are some additional sensors this time around, giving the Charge 5 the ability to measure electrodermal activity (EDA) and perform electrocardiogram (ECG) tests. The latter isn’t available at launch, however, with Fitbit set to enable the functionality later this year. Your goal is to spend 150 minutes in each heart rate zone (fat burn, and cardio and peak combined) during the course of a week. It’s a concept similar to Intensity Minutes in Garmin Connect, and is based on recommendations from the World Health Organization and the NHS.As you can see from the example below, the heart-rate traces match quite closely, although oddly, on this run, the Fitbit recorded a lower average heart rate and matched the max heart rate exactly:

The Fitbit Charge 4 follows a pattern established by the company over the past few years, in that it doesn’t look all that different from the model it replaces – the Fitbit Charge 3, which launched in October 2018. When it comes to features, however, there are upgrades and they’re significant. The Fitbit Charge 4 has a more angular design than the Fitbit Luxe, with a plastic case rather than stainless steel (Image credit: Fitbit) So why would you buy the new Fitbit Charge 4 in the face of an avalanche of cheap rivals from China? Fitbit thinks the addition of GPS and a selection of other features is enough to persuade customers away from the bargain bin. We’d have to say we agree. That all changes with the Versa 3, the first Versa smartwatch to feature built-in GPS. That’s not where the upgrades stop, either. The Versa 3 also comes with an upgraded “multipath” heart-rate sensor, a screen that fills more of the front of the watch body, plus the ability to take phone calls. Though it’s not live in the UK yet, Google Assistant will also be coming to the Versa 3 in a later update. After four days of wearing the Charge 4, plus two half-hour runs using GPS, the Charge 4’s battery life was down to 24 percent. Fitbit Charge 4 review: VerdictDuring workouts, get real-time stats on screen to see whether you’re in Fat Burn, Cardio or Peak zone, so you can dial the effort up or down according to your goals. Workout Intensity Map

Fitbit has also brought its Smart Wake feature to the Charge 4; the company says it uses machine learning to know the best time to rouse you from your slumber, a feature my toddler has perfected without the assistance of advanced algorithms. Fitbit Charge 4: Spotify controls The device is water resistant to a depth of 50 meters, making it suitable for swimming, showering and sweating, but Fitbit advises taking a moment to dry the band afterwards. DesignGo into exercise mode during your favourite workouts to set a goal for each workout and see real-time progress of your effort on screen. Built-In GPS The Fitbit Charge 4 is a real evolution from its predecessor, and GPS is an excellent addition that helps bridge the gap between fitness bands and fully-fledged sports watches. The Fitbit Luxe has a vivid, high resolution AMOLED screen (Image credit: Fitbit) Features Smartwatch features The only things I’d be concerned about is that, first, Active Zone Minutes as a concept is a lot less simple to comprehend than a step count. And, second, that those extra time credits for activities in your cardio and peak zones might encourage people to indulge in too much high-intensity exercise at the expense of lower intensity exercise when a balance between the two is what you want to aim for.