Fitbit Charge 5 review: Supercharged fitness tracker

(Pocket-lint) - The Fitbit Charge 5 succeeds the excellent Charge 4 tracker, sitting successful the mediate of the Google-owned company's fittingness tracking portfolio. 

It's smarter than the stylish Fitbit Luxe, and comes with much features, but its fittingness tracker form-factor means it sits beneath smartwatches similar the Versa 3 and top-of-the-range Sense.

The Charge 5 brings immoderate of the champion features crossed the Fitbit portfolio into 1 bundle though, making it a precise appealing choice. Here's what we marque of it...

Premium design

• Finishes (band & stainless alloy case): Lunar White & Soft Gold; Black & Graphite; Steel Blue & Platinum
• Display: Always-on colour AMOLED panel, 0.86-inch x 0.58-inch dimensions, 326ppi pixel density
• Dimensions: 36.7 x 22.7 x 11.2mm / Weight: 28g
• Interchangeable straps

The Fitbit Charge 5 delivers a large plan upgrade compared to its predecessor. It is overmuch softer successful its appearance, ditching the angles and integrative of the Charge 4 and replacing them with a smooth, curved assemblage and a matte stainless alloy finish.

Very akin successful its quality to the Fitbit Luxe - though it's larger, portion the Luxe is glossy alternatively than matte - the Charge 5 has a premium and luxurious finish. You privation to deterioration it connected your wrist due to the fact that it looks bully connected it, with a slim and subtle profile. 

There are nary buttons, with conscionable a colour AMOLED always-on touchscreen show to grip the controls. The surface is punchy and responsive, though similar the Fitbit Luxe it could optimise the abstraction it uses much - it's surely not edge-to-edge with minimal bezels similar the Apple Watch is, for example.

The silicone strap that comes arsenic modular - we had the Lunar White exemplary - is beauteous and soft, making the Charge 5 precise comfy to wear, some time and night. The straps are easy interchangeable if you privation thing a spot smarter though, with the mechanics connected the underside of the body, arsenic is mean for Fitbit devices. 

The optical bosom complaint sensor besides sits connected the underside of the Charge 5's body, sitting flush with the casing truthful there's nary digging into your wrist - arsenic was the lawsuit with immoderate of the older Charge models. The charging pins are besides contiguous present and - arsenic with each Fitbit devices - the Charge 5 has its ain charging cradle benignant (the aforesaid 1 arsenic the Fitbit Luxe).

Great diagnostic set

• Automatic workout recognition
• Sleep tracking and all-day enactment tracking
• Sp02 humor oxygen monitor, EDA, ECG, Skin temperature
• 24/7 bosom complaint monitoring
• Swimproof (to 50m)
• Built-in GPS

The Fitbit Charge 5 offers an fantabulous diagnostic set. At the clip of penning a mates of the features aren't yet disposable - the ECG app and Readiness Score - but there's inactive plentifulness to praise.

Naturally, the Fitbit Charge 5 comes with each the basics you would expect from a fittingness tracker. There's bosom complaint tracking, slumber tracking, automatic workout tracking, 20 workout modes, on with measurement tracking, region and elevation recording.

More than that though - and wherever this tracker comes into its own, by bringing the champion features from different Fitbit devices - is that the Charge 5 offers an electrodermal enactment app (EDA), which measures your body's effect to stress, on with SpO2 humor oxygen monitoring, tegument somesthesia tracking, and breathing complaint tracking.

There's besides built-in GPS for built-in tracking (something the Fitbit Luxe lacks), Cardio Fitness Level, h2o absorption to 50-metres, NFC for Fitbit Pay, and smartphone notifications too. The notifications are constricted to simply delivering the accusation alternatively than you being capable to bash thing with them, but inactive utile nonetheless. 

One diagnostic the Charge 5 does miss disconnected the database is euphony power though. The Charge 4 offered Spotify power - though not during workouts - but the Charge 5 takes this diagnostic away. It won't substance to some, but it was utile to person and disappoing to spot lacking.

Solid performance

• 7-day artillery life 
• 20 workout modes

The Fitbit Charge 5 is fantabulous successful presumption of show and hands-down 1 of the champion fittingness trackers retired there. Sleep tracking is perfectly superb successful our acquisition - surely amended than astir - and the Charge 5 keeps up with devices 3 times its terms successful presumption of bosom complaint tracking too.

We wore it alongside the Apple Watch Series 6 during testing, and portion the flagship Fitbit Sense struggled astatine higher intensities, the Charge 5 did a sterling job. Occasionally its speechmaking was a mates of beats per infinitesimal antithetic to the Watch Series 6, but connected the full the 2 devices are connected par, which is impressive. 

Like the Fitbit Luxe, the Charge 5 can't vie connected the smartwatch broadside of things rather truthful well, but it does connection like-for-like stats astatine the extremity of assorted workouts, including mean bosom rate, maximum bosom rate, and calories burned.

We mentioned determination are 20 workout modes connected the Charge 5, which sounds similar a lot, but we would similar to person seen Fitbit grow a small here. There's nary circumstantial indoor cycling option, for example, which seems similar a beauteous modular 1 to miss off, particularly for the gym-goer. Compare the database to the Apple Watch Series 6, for example, and the Charge 5 falls short.

Battery beingness connected the Charge 5 is fantabulous though. It's claimed to connection 7 days - oregon 5 hours erstwhile utilizing GPS non-stop - and it manages this nary problem. Being capable to deterioration a instrumentality each day, tracking workout connected astir days, and past deterioration it to furniture each nighttime for slumber tracking implicit a full week is uncommon - but the Charge 5 manages it.

Familiar software

• Fitbit app (iOS & Android)
• Fitbit Premium paywall for immoderate features

The Fitbit Charge 5 is casual to navigate and usage - which is 1 of the champion things astir Fitbit devices. A swipe down from the apical of the show gives you entree to settings and Fitbit Pay, a swipe up from the bottommost displays regular statistics, portion and a sideways swipe takes you to notifications, EDA scan, alarms and workout shortcuts.

The AMOLED show offers the basics, but it's the Fitbit app you'll privation to caput to for a breakdown of each your stats and what they mean. Some of the champion features are locked down Fitbit Premium - similar much in-depth slumber stats - but the basics are inactive offered without paying.

There's a six period proceedings of Premium that comes with the Charge 5 truthful you tin spot if you usage those features capable to warrant the monthly cost. You tin read much astir Fitbit Premium and what it offers in our abstracted feature. 

You tin besides read our abstracted Fitbit tips and tricks feature for much connected the Fitbit app, including however to entree assorted features that possibly aren't that evident initially - specified arsenic however to adhd workout shortcuts to your Charge 5. 

Overall we emotion utilizing the Fitbit platform. The app is highly casual to navigate and information is plentiful - but it is presented successful a precise digestible format, which is large for immoderate user.

Writing by Britta O'Boyle. Editing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 8 October 2021.