Sunday, November 28, 2021

Fitbit Charge 5 Hands-on

In September, Fitbit has brought a new fitness band under the Charge series to the Philippines, the Fitbit Charge 5. It is dubbed as the brand’s most advanced fitness & health tracker to date with tools like an on-wrist Electrodermal Activity (EDA) Scan app for stress management, health metrics, built-in GPS, and more. But is it a worthy successor to the Charge 4 from last year? Let’s find out in our hands-on.

Looking at the Fitbit Charge 5, you’ll immediately notice its premium design, and it looks pretty attractive. The unit we have comes in Soft Gold Stainless Steel with a Lunar White silicone strap. However, it is also available in Graphite Stainless Steel with a Black strap and Platinum Stainless Steel with a Steel Blue strap.

The package includes the fitness tracker, a longer infinity band, and a magnetic charging cable.

The Fitbit Charge 5 is a fitness & health tracker with a 1.04-inch color OLED display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The device’s color screen can automatically adjust its brightness to the ambient light, but you also have the option to adjust it to dim, normal, or max manually. Besides, it also supports Always-On display.

The device’s display is bright, and you can still clearly see it even under direct sunlight. In addition, the brand claims that the Charge 5 is two times brighter than Charge 4 in daylight.

Setting up the tracker depends on the Fitbit app. So you just need to follow the process, and it will detect the Charge 5 and link to it via Bluetooth.

The sensors, pins for charging, and the brand’s logo are found underneath Charge 5. As for sensors, it is geared with a 3-axis accelerometer, optical heart rate monitor, device temperature sensor, and red and infrared sensors for oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring. What’s more, the tracker is also equipped with multipurpose electrical sensors compatible with the ECG app & EDA Scan app.

It also has a vibration motor to nudge you with notifications and water resistance of up to 50 meters.

For customization, you can also access the clock faces, standard Fitbit apps, and other settings from the Fitbit app.

As it is made as a fitness & health tracker, Charge 5 gives users access to Fitbit’s wide range of advanced health and wellness features.

Swipe up from the clock face to see your current health and fitness stat. It shows the battery percentage, as well as your core stats, hourly activity, heart rate, sleep score, SpO2 level, and more.

However, by swiping left or right, you’ll also see notifications (for calls, texts, and apps), exercises, alarms, timers, and the EDA Scan app.

You’ll find five exercises by default in the tracker, including Run, Bike, Swim, Threadmill, and Weights. Users may also choose from 20 different exercise modes in the app.

By swiping down from the top of the screen, you’ll find common settings for the device, including Do Not Disturb (DND) mode, sleep mode, screen wake, water lock, and other settings. Here you’ll also see the Payments feature.

In addition, this tracker also features menstrual health monitoring, beneficial for birth control, menstrual cycle tracking, and period and fertility predictions.

Unfortunately, after adding Spotify support to the Charge 4 last year, Fitbit has removed the streaming service from its latest model.

It’s still a great thing, though, that the Charge 5 comes with a 6-month Premium trial subscription. With Fitbit Premium, users can receive a detailed breakdown of their Daily Readiness score, wellness report, and other helpful information. More so, Premium members also get to access over 45 mindfulness sessions, sleep score details for advanced analysis, over 150 video workouts, video recipes, health metric dashboard, deeper personalized insights every day, and more.

The Charge 5 is powered by an upgraded battery that can last up to 7 days on a single charge with the AoD and SpO2 sensor disabled. On the other hand, charging the tracker from 3% to 100% takes an hour and 17 minutes.

It is indeed a great fitness band with its reliable health and wellness features. However, even if it comes with a hefty price tag of PHP 12K, it is worth noting that it got bunches of upgrades from its predecessor, including additional health features, a brighter and colored display, and an upgraded battery life. Well, it’s also a plus that it looks pretty attractive, so it could effortlessly match your style.

The Fitbit Charge 5 is priced at PHP 11,990, and it comes with a six-month Premium membership (for new or returning customers). It is now available online at Fitbit.com and major retailers such as Digital Walker and Fitbit’s Official Store on Lazada and Shopee.

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