Fitbit Charge Hr Review Best Fitness Tracker Band 2015?
Fitbit Charge Hour
Fitbit's aging Accuse HR activeness tracker may not be the best value on the market. Simply with a battery life of 5 days, a sleek and uncomplicated design, and accurate footstep tracking, the Fitbit Charge HR is nonetheless a peachy entry-level activity tracker for the fitness minded.
Fitbit is pretty muchthecompany that comes to mind when talking about activity tracking wearables, and many would say the Charge HR helped give the company the household name it has today. The Fitbit Accuse HR has been on the market since January 2015, and however serves as 1 of the company'southward flagship activity trackers. This device offers continuous heart rate monitoring, detailed activity tracking, sleep tracking and data on your resting heart rate, making this somewhat of an all-in-ane habiliment that aims to satisfy everyone's needs.
The Charge HR was one of the highest-selling wearables of 2015. But that was 2015. Now that a new year is upon us and many other fitness trackers take go available to the masses, is the Fitbit Charge 60 minutes still worth it? And how has information technology held up overtime? Today we're going to find that out, and much more, in our total Fitbit Charge HR review.
Review notes : I've been using the Fitbit Accuse Hr as my main fitness tracker for something close to x months now. For most of that time I was using a Nexus half dozen as my smartphone companion-of-choice, upwards until just recently when I switched to the Nexus 6P.
| Fitbit Charge 60 minutes | |
|---|---|
| Display | OLED |
| Center rate monitor | Yes |
| Sleep tracking | Yep |
| Splash proof | Yes |
| GPS | No |
| Battery life | Upwards to 5 days |
| Sensors and components | Optical centre rate monitor |
| Compatibility | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Web |
| Colors | Blackness, Bluish, Plum, Tangerine, Teal |
| Dimensions | Small-scale: 137mm - 157.5mm (21mm wide) |
Design
I of the things we liked most about the Charge Hour is its simple design. It's pretty sleek and doesn't really stand out all that much, which nosotros understand tin exist both a positive and a negative for some folks. The black version is particularly more than nondescript than the other colors being offered by Fitbit, and so if you'd similar people to notice the tracker on your wrist, we'd propose going with any of the other color options (Bluish, Plum, Tangerine, Teal).
The display is very easy to read both indoors and out
It's made by and large of a soft rubber material, save for the small OLED brandish that shows you time, steps, calories burned, flights climbed, distance traveled and heart rate. The screen color as well matches the colour of your band, which helps the fettle tracker not stand out too much. The display is quite easy to read both indoors and out. Information technology's always off past default, but with the handy Quick View feature turned on, your Fitbit will show you the time when y'all raise your wrist or when you lot tap the screen. This feature does touch on battery life a bit, but not so much so that I needed to turn it off for any reason.
In that location'south only 1 button on this activity tracker, and it's found on the left side of the OLED display. Pressing it cycles through time, steps, and other data, while holding information technology down for a second or ii starts a stopwatch. On the bottom of the device you'll find the heart rate sensor. While it looks like it'southward a bit likewise beefy for condolement, it'south actually very tough to find that the heart charge per unit sensor is there. A problem with many heart rate-tracking wearables out there is that the sensors stick out too much, only luckily this isn't the case here.
The Charge Hour attaches like a standard watch with a buckle. This makes for a very secure and comfortable fit, and I never once idea the band was going to autumn off when performing any activities. This once more is a big problem with other activity trackers on the marketplace, so we're happy to see the Charge 60 minutes excel in this area.
If you lot need to charge information technology – and y'all won't have to that often – y'all'll need to do and so by using the included proprietary USB charging cablevision. Information technology'southward not very long and needs to exist plugged into a estimator in gild to charge. Try not to lose it, either. Replacement chargers from Fitbit can toll around $20, while 3rd-party charging cables from Amazon can exist yours for simply under $ten.
Features
Like near other fitness trackers out there, the Fitbit Accuse HR covers the essentials… and then some. Stride tracking, calories burned, flights climbed and distance traveled are all present here, as well as the added benefit of heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking. Perhaps the nicest part about the slumber monitoring system is that it will runway your sleep all on its own — there'south no demand to put it into a "sleep mode" before yous effort globe-trotting off for the nighttime. We'll talk more on that later.
The Charge HR isn't waterproof, and that volition be a deal breaker for many
The Accuse 60 minutes is 1ATM h2o-resistant, which means it's rain and splash-proof. You shouldn't wear it in the pool or shower, though. Information technology can withstand an accidental drib in the water, just shouldn't be submerged for more than than a few seconds. This is definitely a potential deal breaker for some fitness-minded folks out there, as in that location are many other activity bands on the market place that can be submerged in water and worn in the shower.
Aside from tracking your daily activities, the Accuse 60 minutes can give you call notifications as well. Yous'll need to turn on an extra setting in the Fitbit app in order to get call notifications sent to your wrist. Your wrist will fizz when yous become a telephone call, and the proper name of the caller will scroll across the display. The vibration motor is much more powerful in the Accuse HR compared to an Android Wear or Pebble smartwatch, and it took me a pretty long time to get used to the jarring vibration on my wrist when someone would ring. Unfortunately in that location are no other notification options hither.
The best Wear OS watches (October 2021): Samsung, Mobvoi, and more
The Best
Performance
Activity tracking
Like other activity trackers, the Fitbit Charge HR tin track your steps taken, calories burned, distance moved and floors climbed.
The Accuse Hr really excels when it comes to pace tracking
The Accuse HR really excels when it comes to step tracking. It's incredibly authentic and is very good at differentiating bodily steps from random arm movements. As a test I counted a certain number of steps (500 to be verbal) and looked at the Accuse 60 minutes before and after. I started with three,478 steps, and after I took 500 equally big steps, the tracker read 3,981. Information technology was merely three off, which isn't bad at all. Additionally, the Charge 60 minutes seems to be in line with the Garmin vivosmart Hour and the Jawbone UP3 in this example.
A recent update to the Accuse Hour makes information technology so y'all don't accept to remember to start the stopwatch at the get-go of your workout. It volition automatically track when it thinks you're starting your do, and information technology's pretty much spot on every fourth dimension. Whether y'all're going for an intense run, low-cal jog or simple walk, all of your data will be there inside the app when you lot're washed. This, paired with the automated slumber tracking detection, makes it i of the most convenient action trackers out in that location.
Heart rate tracking
The biggest difference between the Fitbit Accuse 60 minutes and Fitbit's $100 Charge wristband is the inclusion of a middle charge per unit monitor. The heart charge per unit monitor sits on the underside of the Charge Hr and slightly pokes into the top of your wrist when you lot're wearing it. The heart rate monitor doesn't make it as well uncomfortable to wear, but it'due south yet slightly noticeable compared to the standard Charge.
Correct off the bat, it should exist noted that a heart charge per unit tracker on your wrist isn't going to be every bit authentic as ane that you can wear effectually your chest. Even though they're pretty annoying and can become in the way, breast straps are the fashion to go if y'all demand the most accurate information. There'south too a growing number of earbuds that can track your heart rate, which are besides plenty authentic and don't get in the way every bit oftentimes.
In the Fitbit app, you lot can gear up your device's HRM to exist always on or e'er off, simply you lot should only go along it in Automobile mode. Auto manner ways the tracker volition be active when y'all're wearing it and inactive when you lot're not. If your device is struggling to find your middle rate at key times of the day, y'all tin e'er plow information technology to ever on in the settings. Alternatively, if you'd like to maximize battery life or aren't also fond of HR tracking, switching it off will definitely exist benign.
Since this is a wrist-mounted HRM, you sometimes won't become an accurate reading if yous're engaged in an activity that requires lots of arm and mitt movement. Heart charge per unit monitoring volition cut out at some points during activities like boxing, but Fitbit claims this shouldn't exist a problem. If, or more appropriately, when the center charge per unit monitor cuts out, the company says information technology won't disrupt your overall data. The Charge Hour volition instead take good HRM data from other points throughout the day, which will requite y'all an average HR reading for that period where the data was lost. This certainly isn't the best mode to get about things, specially if you're someone who needs an authentic reading every couple of hours. Then again, you probably shouldn't be using a wrist-mounted heart rate monitor in the offset identify if you're in this scenario.
Sleep tracking
The Fitbit Accuse Hour makes sleep tracking easier than ever
One of my favorite features on the Accuse HR is its ability to track sleep. This is by no means a groundbreaking feature, only information technology'due south something the Charge HR does right. Most fitness trackers require you to printing a "sleep now" button inside the companion app right earlier you try to catch some Z'due south, which can exist quite annoying. The Accuse HR automatically enters sleep tracking mode when it thinks y'all're sleeping, and nigh of the time it's spot on with its assumptions.
Not only does it measure the corporeality of sleep yous go, but also the number of times you become restless during your sleep. Of course, this isn't the just information information technology gives you about your habits, either. In the companion app, you tin also view your average sleep amount, history, and much more.
Software
I'yard a big fan of the Fitbit app. It'due south simple, pretty, and gives you all of your most important information on the main screen – right where you need it. The dwelling house screen of the Fitbit app shows yous which device is currently continued, number of steps, bpm, distance, calories, floors, active minutes, as well every bit some personal goal information. Tapping on your device will bring upward a settings card, where you can change notification settings and a few other display options.
There's a slide-out menu on the left side where y'all can view your Challenges, Friends, Account and manage alarms. The Fitbit app is pretty good at giving yous daily, weekly, monthly and yearly challenges, and will permit y'all know when each challenge is met. You can also connect with friends who are in the Fitbit community. Finding new friends with which to connect is as like shooting fish in a barrel as tapping the FAB at the bottom of the screen, and selecting which people in your contact listing accept Fitbit accounts.
The app runs on Android, iOS, Windows, and you can sync your tracker with a Windows or Mac computer. The Charge HR comes with a modest USB dongle that lets you sync your data with your computer wirelessly. If you don't desire to to that, simply connect your tracker to your telephone via Bluetooth and it will sync whenever y'all want it to.
One of the nicest parts of the Fitbit app is that it connects with an enormous amount of tertiary-political party services. So whatever fettle app you're currently using – whether that exist Lose Information technology!, RunKeeper or MyFitnessPal – the Fitbit app will make sure all of your virtually important workout and health data is recorded.
x best fitness apps to get into shape and stay at that place
Apps
The thing I like almost Fitbit's app so much is that it takes on near of the settings that you don't absolutelyneed on the fitness tracker itself. You lot can't turn anything off from the tracker. And then if you need to plow off centre rate, adjust Quick View settings or basically anything else, yous'll need to open up the app. One of my major gripes with the Garmin vivosmart Hour, which you'll learn more near in our upcoming review, is that the vivosmart HR's UI is a cluttered mess and doesn't need to be that way. The Fitbit Charge HR is much more easy to utilize, and that's because the app does the brunt of the work.
Battery
Fitbit says the Charge 60 minutes tin can last up to 5 days on a unmarried accuse, and that'due south by and large true. I've been able to consistently get a solid 5 days of employ when the heart rate monitor is turned off. But when the HRM is turned on, information technology's more like 4 days of battery life. This is to be expected, as the constant flashing greenish lights take up more power.
Battery life is skilful. And it's not often that a visitor tells you the proper battery life approximate. Just I do have one gripe with the Charge HR, and it's that you can't discover an exact battery percentageanywhere inside the app or the tracker itself. The Fitbit app will evidence you whether your bombardment level is high, medium or low, and that's it. You lot'll likewise get a notification on your tracker when your battery is about to dice, but in that location'due south no exact per centum to be found. I don't know if I'thou simply existence nitpicky, but you'd think it wouldn't exist too difficult to display this data in the app.
Gallery
Conclusion
So, should you buy the Fitbit Accuse HR? That depends. The Charge 60 minutes does a lot right, and it'due south not so proficient at a few things. If you're looking for an accurate footstep tracker that'southward easy to utilise, simple, durable and doesn't price an arm and a leg, this might be the i for y'all. But if you lot're looking for something that's waterproof or something that will take an accurate heart rate reading, you might desire to expect elsewhere.
The Accuse HR is good. And it might only exist one of the best accommodating fitness trackers on the market. But you should know that this isn't a device for hardcore athletic monitoring, nor is information technology simply a pedometer. The Charge Hr is good enough for about fitness-minded folks out there who are looking to become a better handle on their practise routines. The app provides enough data to help you improve your workouts, and the fact that it tin tell when you're sleeping or exercising is just fantastic.
Right now, the Accuse Hr is available on Amazon for well-nigh $130. The Fitbit Charge can exist yours for $20 less on Amazon as well, and the only thing yous're missing out on is heart rate tracking. Is information technology worth the $20? First you need to ask yourself — practice you want to take a closer look at what your heart rate is doing during your exercises? If so, then the Charge HR is the one for you.
How did you like our review? Practise you have any questions or comments? If so, exist certain to leave your thoughts beneath in the annotate section.
Source: https://www.androidauthority.com/fitbit-charge-hr-review-671697/
0 Response to "Fitbit Charge Hr Review Best Fitness Tracker Band 2015?"
Post a Comment