Fitbit, by Google, happens to be among the more affordable and well-known fitness trackers in the industry. Nevertheless, these devices are designed to guide you in a balance of sleep, exercise, and also overall well-being. The company claims the Fitbit Charge 5 is its most advanced upgrade in technology to date. In this Fitbit Charge 5 review, we tested the overall experience, accuracy, and amount of information the product reports, in three key categories: workout, sleep tracking, and safety.
Here’s my full Fitbit Charge 5 review after putting the device through its paces.
Fitbit’s Beginnings
Fitbit started its journey as an industry leader in trackable fitness devices in 2009. Additionally, it has had the reputation of being more of a pedometer than anything. This developed as a result of the “Community Competition” feature that was all the craze at the time. The main focus was steps taken in a day as the best way to measure success in your health and fitness.
As a fitness trainer, I remember owning a Fitbit almost a decade ago, and being in many daily step competitions with my clients. We joined groups in the app for a bit of healthy and fun competition. However, we quickly learned the flaws in its accuracy, and the ways to “cheat” to win, doing everything necessary for the “badge” of first place each day. People who “fidgeted” or moved their hands a lot during the day would show hundreds to thousands more steps than others.
What started as a healthy challenge, became an unhealthy obsession. My clients began avoiding stationary exercises such as squats, pullups, pushups, and stretching. Cardio classes were all the rage, and strength and yoga class numbers began to suffer. People’s muscle mass and flexibility declined, and sleep suffered.
As the coach and leader of the gym, I recognized that the focus on steps went against what we preached about overall balance in wellness.
Now, coming back to the product years later to do a Charge 5 review, I was intrigued to see how, and if, it advanced in its accuracy in step tracking and messaging about overall health and wellness.
What Is New and Innovative with the Fitbit Charge 5
If you already own a Fitbit, it’s important to know what’s new with the device to decide if an upgrade is worth the investment.
Brighter screen
Heart rate notifications when you are below or above your personal threshold
EDA Sensor for Monitoring Stress Levels, and ECG Sensor to detect signs of atrial fibrillation (AFIB)
Active zone minutes that guide you to pump up or slow down your intensity
Advanced sleep tracking and nightly sleep score
Silent alarms and smart awake lets you replace a loud alarm clock with gentle vibrations of your Fitbit at the optimal time for you to wake up.
20 exercise modes & smart track let you set personal goals and choose from various ways to keep real-time stats.
Smartphone notifications: Calls, texts, emails, WhatsApp, Gmail and more.
Find my phone
Key Features of the Fitbit Charge 5
Data Accuracy
Due to my past experiences with Fitbit, and its inaccuracy in step counting, I decided to do a side-by-side with the Apple Watch. I wore both simultaneously on a walk. Here’s how the two compared:
100 True Steps (I Counted)
Device Calculations
Fitbit: 62
Apple: 29
Over a 6-hour period, the two devices only differed from each other by 116 steps out of 8,000, (Fitbit showed more). From the data we collected, it seems that the Charge 5 is definitely more accurate than older models in terms of the “fidget factor.” Less movement such as arm motions are tracked, and more accurate on actual “steps.”
Sleep Tracking
Personally, the most important quality of a sleep-tracking device is that it is comfortable. Out of the three devices I tested, (Apple and Whoop were the others), I actually found the Fitbit to be the most comfortable for sleep. The Whoop tries to be with its design. The Whoop’s band is soft and light, however, the device itself is bulky.
Fitbit however is the least cumbersome device due to its small face and thin band. (However, please note that I tested the Charge 5, and that would not be the case with some of the other versions).
The Fitbit Charge 5 calculates a Daily Sleep Score, which I personally liked. It calculates trends based on heart rate, restlessness, and how long you sleep for your personal sleep patterns. It also gives a breakdown of the time in each stage of sleep, and total duration.
There are also linked resources and articles as to why sleep and recovery are important. This added emphasis on sleep definitely helped shift my opinion of Fitbit overall, since my beginning experiences with the brand.
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