Fitbit Charge 6 Smartwatch; In-depth Review

The Fitbit charge 6 gave a price cut by $20 compared to the charge 5 when it launched and it works with both Android and iOS It’s the first Fitbit smartwatch that feels way more Google than Fitbit and if you’re coming from an older version of Fitbit it might take some getting used to the new Fitbit charge 6. 

Let’s dive into the Fitbit charge 6 specifications. so the Fitbit charge 6 is your standard Fitness tracker, it’s got a small AMOLED display just like the charge 5 but around the side is a new haptic button which you can use to navigate, press from any screen to get back to your clock face or if you’re in a workout it Scrolls the screen so you can easily hit pause, while the previous Fitbit charge 5 have too many problems with navigation, navigating the charge 5 without haptic buttons is much complicated, so a lot of users really missed the button so Fitbit really listened to its user’s feedback.

The charge 6 smartwatch comes in only one case size but with two strap sizes in the Box. The idea is you’re going to like wearing it almost all the time because it has a long lasting battery life which lasts a lot longer than the average Smartwatch and secondly it tracks sleep rates, gives phone notifications like calls or texts which can also be replied conveniently through the charge 6 only supported when paired with an Android magnification and zoom which is now supported, so users can now see the small screen much more easily with just a few taps which is a great accessibility feature.

 In case you missed it; Fitbit was been acquired by Google a couple years ago and in that time we’ve seen a lot of the Fitbit influence on the pixel watch but this time Fitbit is the one getting Google whole features, so you get support for Google Maps so you can start a walk, bike ride or driving directions on your phone then you’ll see turn BYT navigation pop up on your wrist it works really well but you still need to have a smartphone phone with you because the charge 6 doesn’t have built-in LTE or stand-alone Google Map support.

Google Wallet is also in the Fitbit charge 6 smartwatch which replaces Fitbit pay which is very impressive upgrade to see, finally getting music controls on a Fitbit charge smartwatch but it’s through YouTube music and you do need to have a YouTube music premium subscription to listen to songs or playlists from your phone there is a 1-mon free trial with the Fitbit charge charge 6 smartwatch but after that you do have to pay for the streaming service so I’d much prefer Fitbit have generic music controls that work with any streaming app on your phone there is also no offline music storage or support for storing your own music on the charge 6. 

It just acts as a remote control for your phone I always love the old Fitbit app for being easily accessible but with the recent redesign it’s just not as easy-to-use for users and you will need to convert your old Fitbit’s account to a Google account to be able to use the charge 6 conveniently.

The charge is 6 smartwatch has a lot of sports features which you have a lot to like about it including support for broadcasting live heart rate, data from the tracker to some supported gym equipments but the most commonest is it’s support for sending that same heart rate data to fitness apps such as; peleton and straa scroll up and find the heart rate on equipment setting turn it on and then find the charge 6 in your supported app. On straa it connects really quickly and when you’re in a workout you’ll now get heart rate data which is great. 

Fitbit also borrowed some of the heart rate algorithms used on the Google pixel watch to improve accuracy the company claims it is now 60% more accurate than the charge 5 for hit rowing and spinning workout types but only those workout types because they don’t use GPS but comparing the charge 6 to a chest strap for a hit workout would be fairly close though like the charge 5 it also took a little while to catch up to intense bursts of activity. 

The charge 6 comes with the same great sleep tracking as earlier fitbits and Fitbit did not change the interface for this which is in my opinion the easiest to understand of all Smartwatches and trackers you also get an ECG with a regular heart rhythm notification and the stress tracking sensor exactly the same as the charge 5, it has a daily readiness score takes into account sleep activity and heart rate variability and it’s super helpful for determining if you need to take a rest day or choose to work out but that is a Fitbit premium feature and its subscription costs barely $10 per month but every users do get six months free trial when they purchase the Fitbit charge 6 smartwatch, you absolutely do not need to have either a YouTube music premium or a Fitbit premium subscription to use the Fitbit charge 6, you’re just going to miss out on things like music controls as well as Fitbit premium perks such as; daily radius score, more in-depth sleep metrics and custom workout plans.

Battery life has always been one of Fitbit strong suits and it is still good on the charge 6 smartwatch though if you are using key features you’re not going to get close to that 7-Day battery claim from Fitbit with the always-on-display, active at normal brightness, a GPS workout/sleep tracking and call and text notifications.

You could get two full days out of the charge 6 changing the display to raise-to-wake will stretch the battery and under the same usage patterns you’ll be able to get between four and five full days before charging. Using the live heart rate broadcasting does drain the battery really fast and after about an hour’s workout the charge 6 could drop to almost by 20% and if you used the built-in GPS rather than relying on the dynamic mode or using your phone’s GPS that will also affect battery lifespan.

• More features: Heart Rate on Equipment via Bluetooth, 40+ Exercise Modes, Built-in GPS, Active Zone Minutes, Daily Readiness Score, 24/7 Heart Rate, All-day Activity Tracking, Cardio Fitness Level, Automatic Exercise Tracking, Workout Intensity Map and Reminders to Move.
• Comfortably Connected to: Youtube Music Controls, Google Maps, Google Wallet, Call, Text and Smartphone App Notifications, Vibrant Colour Touchscreen with Customizable Clock Faces, Timer and Stopwatch
• Health: our most accurate heart rate yet, ECG and irregular Heart Rhythm Notifications, Oxygen saturation (SpO2) Monitoring, Resting Heart Rate and High/Low Heart Rate Notifications.
• 7 days battery life and Water-resistant up to 50m
• Stress Management Score, Nightly Sleep Score, On-wrist mindfulness session, Smart Wake alarm, Sleep and Do not disturb modes.
• Includes 6-month Premium membership for deeper insights & guidance, exclusive workouts, mindfulness sessions and more.
• Included in box: Fitbit Charge 6 Tracker (Size Small and Large Straps included). Wrist straps measure small 140 mm–180 mm with additional Large 180 mm–220 mm. Charger also included (Compatible with Fitbit Charge 5, not compatible with other models).
• Compatible with iOS 15 or higher & Android OS 9.0 or higher.
• Price: About $129.95

So buy it, skip it, or try it. I would recommend you to buy it if this is your first Fitbit and if you’re looking for a robust Fitness features with some added Google smart features even though it is less expensive than the Fitbit charge 5 when it was launched. You do need to factor in some potential subscriptions to either YouTube music premium, Fitbit premium or maybe both when looking at the total cost of ownership over the lifetime of the Fitbit charge 6.