That’s probably a good way of explaining who the Charge 4 is aimed at – if you run to be healthy, this is a good mix of features. Fitbit’s not amazing for runners, because ALL exercise is logged, so you’ll find a lot of random auto-tagged walks in amongst your runs – and there’s no real focus on how you’re progressing as a runner, just how that exercise is affecting your health. You can see your split times per kilometer or mile, and your heart rate zones, which we’ll come onto next. Runs are recorded in the Fitbit app, and are pretty nicely presented. Tracker top picks: Amazfit Band 5 v Fitbit Charge 4 That’s not brilliant, so make sure you have over 50% before heading out for a run. We drained the battery around 30% on a 45 minute run, on three occasions. Quoted battery life is five hours on GPS, which is just not representative of our testing. We ran multiple times with the Charge 4 and found accuracy to be spot on using GPS (we compared results against both an Apple Watch and a Garmin running watch).īattery, however, was more of an issue.
#Fitbit charge series
Running has always lived on the Charge series but it previously required a smartphone to come along for GPS – and that does create issues of accuracy depending where that phone is placed. It’s useful these are named, however, as it’s good to see workouts correctly tagged in the app. The GPS workouts get distance, pace, speed, time, heart rate – while workouts such as weights, for example, are about time, calories, heart rate and not rep counting or anything crazy specific. However, you can add a pretty complete amount of sports ranging from HIIT, circuit tracking, spinning, weights and even golf by heading to the Fitbit app and choosing Account > Charge 4 > Exercise Shortcuts, swiping left to delete a sport and then replacing it with one from the list. That’s because the Charge 4 can only hold six shortcuts to workout modes on the device itself. Pretty much all the changes in the Charge 4 are with sports tracking, so we’ll get onto that first.īy default the sports tracked by the Charge 4 include running (GPS), biking (GPS), swimming, treadmill, outdoor workouts (GPS) and walking (GPS).
The band itself is nice and comfortable and the buckle is secure, and the device is still water-resistant to 50 meters, and supports pool swimming.įitbit Charge 4: GPS, running and workouts The touchscreen controls work fine, and the haptic button on the side will wake the screen, send you home, and resume/pause workouts. This is something we feel should have been improved on with over two years of innovation. What’s more, it’s not even always-on and the wrist raise action needs to be pretty deliberate, and often lets you down.Ĭan power management be that tight that Fitbit can't keep this monochrome display on all the time? We should also add that battery life, in terms of basic use, is still seven days which is unchanged from the Charge 3. It’s bland, pixelated and dull, and hard to read in bright conditions. In 2018 when the Charge 3 first landed it did the job, but in 2020 the 60x100 pixel touchscreen is really basic. What’s more, there are tons of cheap Charge 4 bands out there you can pick up.īut the same body lands you the same screen – and this is the first gripe, because it’s pretty bad. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it’s still a decent looking device that’s comfortable to wear – and while it could be a little thinner, that’s fine by us. The Charge 4 lives in the body of the Charge 3 nothing has changed in that regard. And you can read our Fitbit Charge 5 vs Charge 4 comparison.
#Fitbit charge full
Read our full guide while we work on our in-depth review. Update: The Fitbit Charge 5 is now official which has addressed many of our concerns about the design and screen. Many of these new features will soon land on the Fitbit Versa 2 – but beyond the dated hardware, the Charge 4 does possess a potent mix of features that still makes it unique. The Fitbit Charge 4 tells us if you want the best fitness/wellness tracking experience, you should buy a smartwatch. It's easily the market leader, because the fight is in smartwatches now – we can't see anyone bothering to truly compete against the Fitbit Charge 4 in terms of sensors or features. But beyond adding GPS, Fitbit hasn’t bothered to make the Charge 4 absolutely the best it can be by improving the size, design or screen.
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