Fitbit Charge 4 Review: Best and Powerful Fitness Tracker

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Fitbit Charge 4 Review

Credit: Forbes

Verdict

Fitness bands and full-fledged sports watches are indistinguishable, but the Fitbit Charge 4 is a step above from its predecessor.

It’s not a big deal, but the absence of color makes the watch faces less appealing than we’d like, and those with more data can be difficult to see because of their many shades of grey.

It has a great user interface that provides just enough information to be helpful, without ever being cluttered or overly complicated. It’s a difficult balance to strike, but it’s one that’s been achieved here.

Fitbit Premium is required to get the most out of the app, which is why we recommend investing in it. Plans and instructions that use data from the tracker offer a whole new level of capability to the Fitbit Charge 4.

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Pros

  • GPS built-in
  • A powerful companion app
  • Spotify compatibility
  • More sleep aids
  • Fitbit Pay is available on all Fitbit models.
  • Metric for Active Zone Minutes that Motivates
  • Elegant style

Cons

  • There is no color display.
  • Screen wake might be difficult to achieve.
  • The fundamental interface

With the Fitbit Charge 4, Fitbit introduces GPS and a new focus on heart rate monitoring. And it’s not too early.

A step up from the Inspire HR, Charge fitness trackers have sports tracking modes, music controls, and a larger screen. Fitbit’s greatest features are now available on a fitness bracelet.

Fitbit, on the other hand, hasn’t tried to improve the Charge 4’s size, design, or screen beyond adding GPS. In terms of sensors and functionality, the Fitbit Charge 4 is undoubtedly the market leader.

According to the Fitbit Charge 4, the finest fitness/wellness monitoring experience comes from using a wristwatch. But despite its old technology, the Fitbit Charge 4 still boasts a powerful blend of features that make it stand out from the crowd.

Fitbit Charge 4 Review

  1. Design
  2. Interface
  3. Active Zone Minutes
  4. GPS and Running Performance
  5. Companion app
  6. Sleep Tracking
  7. Spotify Control
  8. Fitbit Pay
  9. Battery Life
Fitbit Charge 4 Fitness
credit: Fitbit

Design

Garmin’s Fenix 6 is one of my favorite fitness trackers and smartwatches. It must be stated that the Charge 4 is sleek and stylish. Because it’s so much lighter, you’ll forget that it’s even there. Also, you can see 7 Best High-End Gaming Headsets

A close resemblance can be found between its predecessor, the Charge 3, and the Charge 4. Similar rectangular designs, grayscale OLED touchscreens, and a removable wristband characterize both watches, which are available in black or white. The Charge 4’s Back button is a single touch-sensitive region on the left side. However, the silver button from previous generations is something I’m going to miss now that there’s a touch-sensitive version. 

Although it was difficult to see in strong sunshine, the touchscreen on the Charge 4 was responsive, except when my finger was moist, when it didn’t operate at all. However, most touchscreen devices behave similarly. When I was jogging and my head and arms were moving, the tiny screen on the Charge 4 made it more difficult to read.

To make it easy for Charge 3 users who wish to update but still prefer their previous band, both devices will use a similar-sized wristband. Press a button on the strap’s bottom, where it links to the gadget, to activate it.

My wife noticed a gap at the corners of the Charge 4’s strap, even though the gadget seemed tight.

Also, you can see your Infogrphic for better undertand Fitbit Charge 4: Best and Powerful Fitness Tracker

Interface

For the controls, the Fitbit Charge 4 has a touchscreen and a distinct button on the left edge. After waking the screen with a button press or by raising your wrist, swipe right to access the device’s different menus and settings. Also, you can see the top 5 smartwatch to shop by Amazon

Smooth transitions between menu selections and just two menu options are displayed at a time, reducing the danger of picking the wrong one by accident. The screen is snappy and much brighter than it seems in photos. Swiping up will display your daily data, including your step count, distance traveled, and calories burnt throughout the daytime.

When you push it, you get a mild buzz of haptic feedback that sends you back to the previous screen or the clock face, depending on which comes first. We enjoy this more mild vibration compared to other fitness trackers. By swiping down, you can see your most recent messages and phone call history. No need to be bothered? Hold down the screen.

However, we discovered that the weather app was particularly useful because it saved us from having to take out our phones and open up a weather app just so we could see tomorrow’s prediction. You get just what you need, and it’s presented simply. However, there are no-frills, and nothing is missing either.


Active Zone Minutes

Being part of Fitbit Charge 4, Active Zone minutes will be featured as a fitness metric. Time spent in heart rate zones will be measured, and your progress toward the goal of 150 minutes per week will be tracked. The American Heart Association, the Centers for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization suggest this as the absolute minimum.

The time you spend engaging in the strenuous activity is worth twice as much. It will automatically compute your desired heart rate zones depending on your age and resting heart rate.

Your heart rate is calculated during Active Zone Minutes, and the app displays a chart of your heart rate and the amount of time you spent in each zone. (My heart rate threshold was 116 beats per minute) (Fat Burn, Cardio, and Peak). The credit was given to me even though I only spent 23 minutes in the Cardio and Peak zones (136 bpm and above). It’s mine!

GPS and Running Performance

Fitbit Charge 4’s GPS is its most significant new feature. In fact, Fitbit’s Charge 4 fitness tracker is only its second gadget with this capability. The Garmin Forerunner 35 running watch, for example, costs less than the Fitbit Charge 4, so it’s about time GPS became essential in trackers that cost more than $100. 

During my first run with the gadget, it took around 30 seconds to obtain a GPS signal, but after that, it took only seconds. The greatest GPS watches give me that experience, and I was delighted to find them here as well.  


Running, biking, swimming, treadmilling, outdoor workout, and walking are all available as default shortcuts on the Charge 4. As well as yoga and kickboxing, you can also pick from 16 additional activities via the Fitbit app. 

As I ran, the Charge 4 buzzed my wrist as I moved from one heart rate zone to the next, which I found to be convenient. But I wish it had buzzed after every mile. There are audible clues to this effect that are provided by Charge 4.

 I was able to see a map of my runs in the Fitbit app when Charge 4 connected to my phone. Plus, the app displays this information throughout your trip, so you may use it right where you were struggling.

 Heart rate tracking was a bit erratic on Charge 4, with spikes of 10 to 20 beats per minute. Heart rate tracking seems to be quite consistent in general.

Companion app

Fitbit’s mobile app has gotten a big upgrade for the Charge 4’s debut, which is fantastic news for fitness trackers.

It’s easy to set up the Fitbit Charge 4 on your phone. Once found, the app will ask for a four-digit PIN shown on the device’s screen, which it will receive over Bluetooth. Once the device’s firmware has been updated, you’ll be prompted to connect it to your phone for a few minutes.

No need to dig through options after you’ve logged in. There is a new measurement known as Active Zone Minutes that takes into account your resting heart rate, age, as well as your activity level.

During the course of a week, you should aim to spend 150 minutes in each heart rate zone (fat burn, cardio, and peak). It’s based on World Health Organization and NHS recommendations.

For indoor activities, many other fitness apps give an estimate of how much time you spent moving, but these metrics are generally based on steps rather than heart rate.

Sleep Tracking

To help you better understand your sleeping patterns, the Fitbit Charge 4 incorporates a SpO2 pulse oximeter sensor. If there’s a lot of fluctuation, it might be connected to breathing disorders such as sleep apnea.


When I wore the Charge 4 for the first time, it reported that I didn’t fall asleep until nearly 12:30 a.m. I’m sure I was tossing and turning a lot in my sleep. My oxygen levels, on the other hand, were quite constant. The Charge 4 thought I stayed up till 2 a.m. on the second night. In the Fitbit app, you may adjust this data to better represent your sleep.

Also new to the Charge 4 is Fitbit’s Smart Wake feature, which uses machine learning to determine the most effective time to wake you up. My toddler has mastered this feature without the aid of advanced algorithms.

Spotify Control

Fitbit’s Charge 4 smartwatch will offer Spotify music controls, another feature carried over from Fitbit’s smartwatch lineup. While you’ll still need your phone to skip tracks and change playlists (sorry, no onboard music storage), this should make it easier to do so. But until the Charge 4 can really download music like the Versa 2, this isn’t a function I’d use often.

Fitbit Pay

Last October, Fitbit Premium, a $9.99 per month membership programme, was launched.

Fitbit is now giving a 90-day free trial of Fitbit Premium, as well as 40 additional pieces of free content in the Fitbit app, to anybody who buys the Charge 4.

Battery Life

It should last up to 7 days in regular fitness-tracking mode, which is similar to the Charge 3’s battery life. If you’re actively utilizing GPS, the Charge 4 should last up to 5 hours.

Battery loss was around 20 percent after a 30-minute run on the Charge 4. The battery would be depleted in roughly 2.5 hours if you extrapolated that. When compared to GPS watches, that’s not terrific, but not terrible if you’re using the Charge 4 to monitor your everyday runs around the neighborhood. 

Four days of wearing the Charge 4 and two half-hour runs using GPS had depleted the battery to 24%.

Reviews
  • Fitbit Charge 4
4.5

Summary

With the Fitbit Charge 4, Fitbit introduces GPS and a new focus on heart rate monitoring. And it’s not too early. A step up from the Inspire HR, Charge fitness trackers have sports tracking modes, music controls, and a larger screen. Fitbit’s greatest features are now available on a fitness bracelet.

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