Smartwatches need to be charged at least every other day and millions don’t want another device loaded with third party apps and constant distractions on their wrist. The new Fitbit Charge 6<!–> offers a powerful wearable in a sleek form factor with a battery life that only requires a top-up once a week.
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With Google’s ownership of Fitbit, I continue to see more Google integration. This year, the Charge 6 includes support for playback controls of Google Music, Google Maps prompts on the tracker, and Google Wallet payment support. These features are provided in addition to all of the useful Fitbit functions that include detailed sleep tracking, EDA scans, Daily Readiness score, ECG measurements, step tracking, and an integrated GPS receiver for detailed outdoor tracking.
For the past few weeks, I have been wearing a silver aluminum Fitbit Charge 6 with a porcelain band. It is also available in obsidian/black aluminum and coral/champagne gold aluminum for $159.95–>.
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Fitbit Charge 6
The Fitbit Charge 6 brings together all the top features from Fitbit with Google extras to make it the best fitness tracker available today.
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Looking at the hardware, Fitbit provides a lovely 26 x 21.8 mm AMOLED touchscreen color display. It is made with Corning Gorilla Glass, which looks superb and responds flawlessly to swipes and taps. The aluminum case surrounds the display and extends to the back heart rate sensor with nice curves and appealing aesthetics. The tracker is water resistant to 50m, so you can wear it 24/7 without worry.
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The heart rate sensor on the back has greatly improved. Fitbit states that it is 60% more accurate during vigorous activities when compared to past Fitbit devices. The sensor also supports ECG and EDA measurements to help detect heart rate irregularities and monitor stress.
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The Fitbit Charge 6 also supports sharing your heart rate readings with some supported gym equipment, including treadmills, rowing machines, and bikes. Check out this Fitbit support site to see if your equipment is supported by this functionality. While the Fitbit Charge 6 is not listed on the official list, I tested it with my Hydrow rowing machine, and it connected in seconds. With the improved accuracy during activities with lots of movement, this is a nice capability to have if you don’t own an HR chest strap.
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On the left side of the Charge 6, there’s a haptic button. With this model, there is a designated target area to help you improve your accuracy of hitting it, and it is better than no button that we saw on the Charge 5. I’m still more of a fan of a physical button, but I understand for construction and water resistance that it is preferred to use a haptic button.
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An infinity silicone band comes with the Fitbit Charge 6, but there are plenty of other options, including sport bands, Horween leather bands, woven bands, hook/loop bands, and vegan leather bands ranging from $29.95 to $49.95. Bands from the Charge 5 continue to work on the Charge 6, so if you are looking to upgrade after a couple of years, then the Charge 6 is definitely worth consideration.
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