Fitbit charge 5 is the best and the most advanced fitness tracker and health monitor watch which Fitbit company has ever produced. They have loaded it with lots of impressive features, and tools gathered from their years of dedication in wrist wearable industry.
The smart tracker has capabilities to track sleep, stress, mindfulness, over 20 sports modes, ECG and heart rate. Fitbit charge 5 is a smart activity tracking device an athlete or fitness enthusiast will ever need to stay active and healthy.
Depending on your individual styles and taste, if you often play music and to stay motivated while exercising, you will be disappointed with Charge 5. It totally lacks media playback and song storage features, which was part of the previous model Charge 4.
Fitbit Charge 5 release date
Fitbit Charge 5 was launched on August 25th, 2021 and the Fitbit Charge 5 price was $179.95, on that released date. This Fitbit charge 5 price for all the three models Steel Blue/Platinum, Black/Graphite, and Lunar White/Gold, includes the free six-month Fitbit Premium membership.
The free six-month Fitbit Premium membership will give new users access to better features, including Health Metrics dashboard, guided video, and interactive audio workouts, sleep and tools for mindfulness.
Charge 5 is Fitbit’s first tracker to include an EDA sensor. According to Fitbit, about 40% of adults experienced a lot of stress in 2020. So when they first released it in Fitbit sense, they choose to roll it out on other Fitbit devices, including the more affordable wearables.
Fitbit Charge 5 Features – Overview
- Fitbit Charge 5 Release date: September, 2021
- Fitbit Charge 5 Display: 1.04 inches, AMOLED, Touchscreen
- Fitbit Charge 5 Body: 28 grams, Aluminum
- Fitbit Charge 5 Battery Life: 7days+
- Fitbit Charge 5 Compatibility: Android and iOS Check supported devices
Fitbit Charge 5 Pros : Reason to buy
- Charge 5 is comfortable to wear everyday
- Can tell if you are ready to workout or not
- Easy to read and responsive touchscreen interface
- Slim design
- Colorful AMOLED display
- Black, white and blue models available
- Fitbit Charge 5 release date
Fitbit Charge 5 Cons : Reason to avoid
- no music streaming and control
- does not connect with wireless headphone
- requires premium subscription to access some features
Fitbit Charge 5 Design
Fitbit charge 5 is the much-awaited upgrade and successor of charge 4. The overall design has changed totally and makes charge 5 look like a different device from the predecessor Charge 4.
The current Fitbit charge 5 is a good upgrade from older models. It has actually gotten a new facelift with the addition of the colored 1.04 inches AMOLED touchscreen, navigation system and an easy to see screen.
You know, Fitbit charge 5 looks slimmer, thinner and lightweight, like the Fitbit luxe, but slightly bigger. The monochrome display screen in Fitbit charge 4 is now upgraded to quick-to-glance AMOLED with a better resolution, colors and brighter looks.
Unlike older trackers, this smart fitness watch actually displays legible and large text that is comfortable to read even on a sunny day.
Fitbit charge 5 body is built with aluminum case, like the other models, straps are made of silicon materials which is also swappable. Overall, the tracker’s dimension is more compact at 36.7 x 22.7 x 11.2mm, with an item weighs of just 28g. This is far lightweight than Fitbit sense.
The construction of this Fitbit Charge 5 shows the brand maintains the feeling of having more of a bracelet on the wrist than a watch. The slim chassis, narrow strap, and small clasp by the sides don’t seem to look like chunky items on a wearer’s wrist.
Overall, Fitbit charge comes in varying aesthetics – you can choose from three colors to match your styles. The loop design style puts Fitbit charge 5 into:
- Black/Graphite Stainless Steel
- Lunar White/Soft Gold Stainless Steel
- Steel Blue/Platinum Stainless Steel
Is Fitbit charge 5 waterproof? Yes, but it is not fully waterproof rated. With a protection of 50meters for waterproof rating, you can be sure to sim and shower with Fitbit charge 5. But prolong immersion beyond 1meter can cause water pressure destroy gaskets and the device will lose its water resistance,
Fitbit Sense is the first brand’s full scale smartwatch while Fitbit Charge 5 is the brand’s full scale fitness tracker. All of them seem to compete in health and fitness features.
You may check out Fitbit sense review and technical specifications. You may discover that this Fitbit tracker has more metrics than we know. Let us go find out the tones of features found in a Fitbit charge 5.
Fitbit Charge 5 Fitness features
Fitbit Charge 5 is fitness-centered wearable. You can use it to track a wide range of your daily activities.
Daily readiness score (to prioritize recovery)
One thing that both fitness trackers and fitness smartwatches do perfectly is they collect a wealth of data, right from the wrist. Interpreting the data is a kind of, still a difficult task to complete. Fitbit is been able to break this puzzle with what they term Daily readiness score.
Daily readiness score is the measure of how ready you are to start a fitness day. It would tell you if you are really ready to pound those machines at the gym or to have a full day off.
This information is only based on your personalized fitness goals and already available in newly updated Fitbit trackers and smart watches. This kind of uncommon ability to produce personalize recommendation is accessible in Fitbit Premium subscription account.
GPS Tracking
Fitbit charge 5 is an advanced fitness tracker with built-in GPS sensor. This feature is best suited when tracking real-time pace, distance, steps, location, and route. The convenience here is that you can keep up with outdoor navigation and activity tracking without need to borrow functions from your phone’s GPS.
Nevertheless, you can still utilize your phone’s GPS. To record your real time speed, steps, distance without using the onboard GPS, you have to connect to the Fitbit charge 5 to your Phones GPS and get a map of your route in the Fitbit app.
Also, bear in mind that Fitbit charge has no navigation ABC sensors like Altimeter, barometer and compass. Charge 5 use GPS data to calculate your elevation.
Workout intensity monitoring
If you ever embark on an outdoor exercise, Fitbit charge 5 comes with a workout intensity map inside the Fitbit app. This intensity map will clearly display your heart rate zones on every stage on your route.
Fitbit Charge 5 will make a buzz sound when you reach your different heart-rate zones. As many athletes have claimed, they found this feature pretty motivating.
It will help you know your running peak, so you slow down. You can’t just be cruising in cardio exercises without checking on your heart rate zones.
Exercise /sport modes
Fitbit charge 5 has 20+ goal-based exercise modes including run, bike, swim, yoga. This fitness tracker wristband can auto-detect and track these activities via smartTrack – An Automatic Exercise Recognition.
In addition, you can set goal and track your workout in real time for your favorite preloaded sport modes. The advance activity tracker gets to show your detailed workout information in the Fitbit app.
Active zone
Active zone minutes is actually the Fitbit’s way of determining moderate to intense physical activity. If you set a personalized active zone minute goal for each day, Fitbit charge 5 will help you make every minute count during each fitness workout.
You know, when exercising, you spend some times doing vigorous or moderate level activity which ends up increasing your heart rate. With a buzz alert, right from your wrist, you got a chance to know when you have entered your personalized target heart rate zone.
If you set your goals rightly, you will get real-time stats during your workouts.
Guided breathing exercises
Based on your heart rate, Fitbit charge 5 offers you some guided breathing exercise sessions so that you find calm throughout the entire day. Breathing exercises or meditation sessions is to help in your overall well-being.
Fitbit charge 5 health features
In addition to fitness activity, Fitbit charge 5 also combines health monitoring so that while users exercise to fit and active, they do so in good health. There are many health tracking functions, but blood pressure monitor is not available with this Fitbit Charge 5.
Regular health check can detect early signs or potential health problems that could hinder your training. Here are health features in Fitbit charge 5 fitness tracker.
Sleep tracking/sleep score
Premium customers can utilize Fitbit charge 5 to make sure they don’t have a terrible night’s sleep. Sleep tracking in Fitbit charge 5 works the same as in Fitbit Sense or Fitbit Versa 3. If you want to lose weight by sleeping the recommended 8+ hours, Fitbit charge is best sleep tracker to depend on.
The Fitbit devices provide much details including your sleep stages, sleep score breakdown, restlessness, breathing rate and sleeping heart rate. By measuring your sleep score from 0 to 100, you can tell from afar if you got a pretty healthy sleep and night rest or not.
If you have good sleep quality, the Daily Readiness Score will combine with other metrics to recommend if you get ready for the next workout or not.
Female menstrual cycle tracking
Fitbit charge gender-specific feature is only useful for ladies. Charge 5 accurately carries out menstrual cycle tracking for women. The Fitbit’s menstrual cycle tracking a woman athlete to log her periods, record symptoms, track ovulation. It is been a fantastic feature for helping tech women discover patterns in their cycle, using the Fitbit App.
Heart rate monitoring 24/7
A 24/7 heart rate tracking is vital in monitoring how your body burns calories. It is even more important to track your heart rate continuously so that you can avoid activities that increase your heart rate beyond limits. Having a good knowledge of your resting heart rate can give you true real-time guide on how to optimize your cardio training each day.
A heart rate sensor is very powerful since many health metrics depend or relate to heart beat. The Fitbit Charge 5 has its onboard heart rate sensor which can give you a high and low heart rate alerts. Imagine how heart-rate variability (HRV) and sleep quality can affect your entire workout day.
Again, there are also heart rates levels where your fat burning is maximized, and that is very important if you are an overweight or obese person engaging in a weight loss journey. Just think, how rigorous should you run on a home treadmill to burn those fleshy fat on your thighs?
SpO2 Blood oxygen tracking
Fitbit charge 5 has a Pulse Oximeter(SpO2) sensor for blood oxygen levels monitoring. How well your blood gets saturated with oxygen is very vital for living an active and healthy lifestyle.
The Fitbit SpO2 blood oxygen measurement lets you to see what level of oxygen is in your blood – which indicates if there are important changes in your fitness and wellness.
Fitbit charge 5 comes with a SpO2 clock phase. There you will read your SpO2 average and range.
Calorie burn
If you are going to shed belly fat and the chunky waistline, count your calorie intake and expenditure every day. Your all-day calorie burn number is vital to a healthy weight management. Fitbit charge 5 has a calorie count function.
It can accurately track how many calories you burn walking thousands of step in a day or working out in a gym. But how accurate is Fitbit calories burned, depends on a number of factors.
EDA scan – stress management
You don’t want to lose an entire working day due to unmanaged stress. An electrodermal activity sensor in Fitbit Sense is great for tracking stress. You need just to place your fingers on any side of the Charge 5.
At least a 2 minute scan will detect sweat changes and issue responses if you carried out sweat-triggered activities. The more EDA responses you get, potentially the more stressed you are.
The EDA scan issues a stress management score out of 100. The higher your stress management score, the better you are handling your stress and getting good calm.
When Charge 5 sees that you look more stressed than normal, it can initiate breathing or meditation sessions to lessen your responses. This mindfulness is readily available on Fitbit Premium subscription service.
ECG Tracking – heart rate variability and AFib
To keep an opened eye on your overall health, taking a regular ECG heart rate variability test can help detect early signs of atrial fibrillation. Fitbit charge 5 has an electrocardiogram app (ECG or EKG) which can do it.
Skin temperature
Fitbit charge 5 can measure your skin temperature at night. The readings may indicate if you got fever, are on menstrual period, evolution, sick and more. Unfortunately, it is not a dedicated skin temperature sensor like the Fitbit Sense. However, you can choose to check these watches with thermometers (temperature sensors).
Other Fitbit charge 5 Smart features
The Charge 5 works compatible with Android and iOS. This device compatibility gives it an edge over iOS-only apple watches and Android-only Samsung Galaxy Watch 4.
Charge 5 offers smart notifications and reminder support for iOS and android devices. The smart tracker can also notify when you receive an incoming call or text message. All you need is to choose and set the apps that will push notifications to your wrist.
If you are a user of iPhone paired with Fitbit charge 5, you are allowed to only see notification without any quick reply. However, Android Fitbit Charge 5 owners can send quick replies to the notifications.
It looks like it is common with the brand that all their devices have fairly limited selection of clock faces which users can easily swap in the Fitbit app.
A non-contactless payment system like NFC Mobile payments are available with Fitbit Pay, and unlike the full design Fitbit sense smartwatch, Charge 5 is significantly missing music control, playback, loudspeaker and microphone.
This is the sole reason why you can’t take incoming calls from your wrist. Moreover, Charge 5 has no Google Voice assistant and offers no support for third-party apps as a smartwatch would do.
One reason to consider Fitbit charge 5 is the “find my phone” feature which can notify or ring, when it is within a Bluetooth range.
Some smart features include sleep mode and Do not disturb mode which allow users to shut down notifications so that they get a tech-free or calm moment. This is so important if you want to catch uninterrupted sleep.
Fitbit Charge 5 review – performance & user experience
If you have been using Charge 4, you cannot use the older wrist strap with the newer Charge 5. Also, Fitbit charge 4 charge will not charge Fitbit charge 5 (it’s charging port is now different).
I see that Fitbit Charge 5 is more comfortable to wear since it loose about 10% thinner than the Fitbit Charge 4. It is possible to get the Fitbit connected to the strap on smaller wrists. When the packaging box arrives, it contains both a small and a large band, which is pretty good when you aren’t sure of your wrist size and which band fits it.
Any athlete that has been using Garmin running watches like the Fenix 6S Pro would be excited to wear the slimmer, thinner and lighter Fitbit charge 5. The sleek design is pretty eye-catching and nice to wear like a bracelet to formal meetings and business events.
The touchscreen is quite responsive and you can find your way round effortlessly, even in the middle of a high-intensity cardio training. The drawback is the absence of physical button means you have to stop or pause your running exercises to power on the screen and check data.
The screen comes slightly bigger than that for previous model charge 4, but it is still small, which makes it difficult to see many fitness workout metrics in one place.
You can see some workout information, but you still need to scroll down to see more metrics. Even if you are jogging at average pace, and breathing or sweating moderately, it won’t be comfortable while running. Sweaty hand’s fingers won’t even allow you do it smoothly.
Regarding GPS connectivity, Fitbit Charge 5 does not connect as fast as Garmin GPS watches do. This would mean your steps or pace tracking can slightly be fluctuating. The split time for Charge 5 is very close to that measures on Apple watches.
For sleep tracking, the metrics are same for older models like Charge 3, Versa and Charge 4. On the tracker display, non-premium members will see their total sleep time and sleep score for last night. If you check it on the Fitbit app, you’ll see your sleep score, sleep stages and also be allowed to set a smart wake alarm.
Premium users will be allowed to check more sleep data, sleep breakdown, light, and REM sleep cycles. Because of lack of media features like loudspeaker and mic, Fitbit charge 5 does not have snore and noise detection.
To know if HRM is accurate, Check the heart-rate sensor against a chest strap which is more like a gold standard in heart-rate monitoring. Most users have confirmed pleasantly and with a lot of surprise that Fitbit Charge 5 offers same accurate results as a heart rate chest strap.
Is the Fitbit Charge 5 accurate for calorie count?
Some people see Fitbit charge no accurate on exercise-tracking and some health-focused athletes claim that Fitbit Charge 5’s heart rate accuracy is quite solid. There is still doubt on fitbit calories burn accuracy among wrist-worn trackers.
How long does the Fitbit Charge 5 battery last?
Fitbit charge 5 battery life as claimed by the brand, serves up to 7 days. This is surprising since the unit has a power draining bright and colorful always-on display.
As compared to Charge 4, Fitbit charge 5 has a pretty longer battery life. Despite that, Fitbit Charge 5 still doesn’tt have a good battery as compared to these long battery life smartwatches.
The battery usage also depends on the device settings. Expect one week of battery use if you only allow basics like text notifications, step tracking, sleep tracking and EDA scan.
But a heavy battery user will feel like this is some kind of limited use for the Charge 5 Smart fitness tracker. Any avid fitness enthusiasts would want to keep up with daily GPS workout tracking.
If that is it, just half an hour of turning GPS on is enough to drain the Fitbit Charge 5 battery juice by up to 30%. If you set “Do Not Disturb Mode”, and turn off always-on-display, you can be able to extend the battery life by few hours.
Fitbit is slow to charge since it takes up to 2 hours to make a full charge. But where you encounter any issue to charge your Fitbit charge 5, Software glitches on the Fitbit OS can cause fitbit battery not charging issues. But you can make a quick reset and restart to fix it.\
Fitbit charge 5 Review: Fitbit Premium benefits
Fitbit has reserved many excellent features for Fitbit’s Premium subscribers. Since premium membership started few years ago, it costs $9.99 monthly.
When you subscribe, you benefit personalized workouts, health monitoring and detailed sleep insights, and guided coaching from top trainers. Many Fitbit premium subscribers get access to more mindfulness and meditation sessions than non premium users.
Before you decide, purchase your Fitbit Charge 5 tracker and gets the fremium service–(six months of Premium membership for free). 180 days is a larger amount of time to enjoy all what Fitbit charge has to offers on trial.
Fitbit Charge 5 Review :price
We have seen that you can’t take quick calls from your wrist with Fitbit charge 5 due to lack of LTE, cellular Sim card slot, media features like music control, speakers and mic. I am sure if Fitbit is selling the Charge 5 at $179, it’s because they know they have skipped some of those amazing features.
Anyway, Fitbit charge 5 is a dedicated fitness-focus tracker, and you know what, the market price for fitness wrists bands is on the lower range. I guess, they understand that people would be hard to make a positive buying decision for a fitness band that cost even the price of Apple Watches.
Fitbit Versa 3 is around the same price but has voice assistant, music playback. You can still choose a Fitbit Versa 3 with the features lacking in Charge 5, with a price in $200-$300 price range.
Is it worth to buy Fitbit Charge 5?
If you’re an athlete looking to find an advanced fitness tracker with packed with health sensors – your sleep, your stress levels or ECG, Fitbit Charge 5 is a better choice. These features are worth the price point on the Fitbit device.
Except for sleep design, I would prefer to go for the Fitbit Sense at $300 because it does everything as Fitbit Charge 5 and has more media features.
Fitbit Charge 5 Review – Youtube Video
Fitbit Charge 5 Specs Review
Fitbit Charge 5 Display
| Screen Size | 1.04 inch |
| Display Type | AMOLED |
| Resolution | 0.86″ x 0.58″pixels |
| Pixel Density | 326 ppi |
| “Always-On | YES |
Fitbit Charge 5 Construction
| Shape/Form factor | Rectangular |
| Dimensions | 36.7 x 22.7 x 11.2 mm |
| Item Weight | 28 grams |
| Case Diameter | Aluminium |
| Case Thickness | Aluminium |
| Band Size | 140 – 180mm (small), 180 -220mm (big) |
| Band Material | silicone |
Fitbit Charge 5 Watch Aesthetics
(plus Customizable strap)
| Case color | Aluminium |
| Band colors | Black/Graphite Stainless Steel strap, Lunar White/Soft-Gold Stainless Steel strap, Steel Blue/Platinum Stainless Steel strap |
| Watch faces | custom watch faces |
| Gender design | unisex (Masculine & feminine) |
Fitbit Charge 5 Watch Protection
| Water resistance | 50 meters (5ATM) or 165 feet |
| Swim-proof | Yes |
| Dial Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass |
Fitbit Charge 5 Operating System
| OS Platform | Proprietory Fitbit Operating system |
Fitbit Charge 5 Internal Processor
| CPU Type | n/a |
| CPU Speed | n/a |
| Chipset | n/a |
Fitbit Charge 5 Connectivity
(Find my phone)
| LTE/Cellular network | none |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth v4.0 |
| Wi-Fi | none |
| NFC | YES, |
| SIM Card Slot | none |
Fitbit Charge 5 Tracking Features
(** No blood pressure monitoring, no fall detection, no cadence tracking)
| Health Features | Calories, ECG, Heart rate, Sleep, blood oxygen, stress, ladies menstrual period |
| Fitness Features | Steps, distance, 20+ preloaded sport modes, VO2 Max, Swim-tracking |
Fitbit Charge 5 Navigation Tool
| Onboard GPS | Available |
| GLONASS | no |
| GALILEO | no |
Fitbit Charge 5 Sensors
| Built-in Sensors | Thermometer, Heart rate, Accelerometer, Ambient Light, ECG, Pulse Oximeter(SpO2), EDA Stress sensor, Vibration motor |
Fitbit Charge 5 User Interface Input
| UI Input | Touchscreen |
Fitbit Charge 5 Battery Life
| battery type | non-removable Li polymer |
| battery capacity | – |
| battery Charging/time | Charging dock/2hours |
| Solar Charging | none |
| Battery Life | 7 days+ normal usage, 10 days+ on standby |
Fitbit Charge 5 Media Features
| Audio | no music |
| Video | no |
| Radio | no |
| Speaker | no |
| Microphpone | no |
Fitbit Charge 5 Device Memory
| Internal Storage | n/a |
| RAM | n/a |
| Memory Card | no |
Fitbit Charge 5 Device Compatibility
| Android Compatibility | Yes |
| iOS Compatibility | Yes |
Fitbit Charge 5 Supporting Applications
| Apps | Fitbit App, |
Fitbit Charge 5 Smart Notifications
| Call Alerts | Yes |
| Message Alerts | SMS, Email, |
| Other Alerts | Event reminder, |
Fitbit Charge 5 Camera
| Camera | none |
What’s Inside The Packaging?
| Accessories | Fitbit Charge 5, Product Manual, charger, Straps |
Fitbit Charge 5 vs. Fitbit Charge 4: Which should you buy?
Considering fitbit charge 4 vs 5, which is better for your need? It depends and here are few differences between fitbit charge 4 and charge 5 to consider before you decide what to buy.
Fitbit Charge 5 vs Charge 4 in terms of design
Charge 4, like charge 3, have recta gular design, but with a grayscale OLED display with touchscreen interface. Charge 4 comes with silicone band, a capacitive sensitive area that behave like button, and in maroon plastic case. In Charge 5, the design aesthetics is shifted. The stainless steel case has three colors – gold, silver and black. The curvy-like face, the metallic accent makes charge 5 fashionable. The screen of charge 5 is slightly bigger than for charge 4, and features bright, high resolution AMOLED display.
Fitbit charge 4 vs charge 5: Features
Both are excellent fitness trackers, with robust design. They both track steps, Spo2 blood oxygen, pace, heat rate and sleep. But charge 5 is an advanced fitness tracker than charge 4 because of the EDA sensor for stress detection and the ECG for alerting sign of atrial fibrillation. The newer charge 5 has a working ECG, and Daily readiness score which can tell your fitness fatigue, heart rate variability and sleep patterns. The media features in charge 4 are missing in charge 5. Spotify and music control are absent in charge 5 but it offers guided breathing exercises and relaxation session.
Fitbit Charge 5 vs Fitbit Charge 4 : battery life
Both Charge 5 and Charge 4 have impressive battery life of several days under normal use. But with always-on display turned on and with GPS tracking, the Fitbit device battery wont serve up to a full day. The battery duration depends on how you use your fitness tracker.
Fitbit Charge 5 vs. Fitbit Charge 4: Price
The Fitbit Charge 4 sells at around $150, which is an affordable or lower-end for fitness tracker price points. The Charge 5 price comes at around $180 on date of release, which gives less than $35 difference. The extra cost in charge 5 is justified by the newer upgrade, and added features. If you want the best cheap fitness tracker, charge 4 is a budget friendlier option. For now, charge 4 may have promotional discount, don’t expect it from Fitbit charge 5.
Which should you buy then, Fitbit charge 4 or Fitbit charge 5?
Based on the difference between Fitbit charge 4 and charge 5, if you are super health-focused, and ECG, EDA sensors, as well as the Daily readiness core are vital for you, sure, Fitbit charge 5 wins big time. Fitbit charge 5 is also best fitness tracker for people who find no interest to play songs or music while working out.
If you want a fitness-centered device , with media tools, music playback, speaker and microphone and without all the bells and whistles for ECG and EDA, charge 4 is worth the price and consideration.
Is Fitbit Charge 5 waterproof designed?
Can you swim with your Fitbit charge 5? Yes. It has water resistance ratings of 50m(5ATM) or 165 feet, which is enough to endure or withstand water splashes, moisture, sweat, pool swim not up to 1 meter. But Charge 5 is not recommended for diving and prolong shower.
There is a feature called water lock that you can activate when swimming or showering with Fitbit 5. Fitbit Charge 5 tracker comes with a water lock function. Here is how to activate water lock in fitbti charge 5.
- tap swipe down from the clock screen,
- tap Water Lock,
- firmly tap on your Fitbit screen twice.
Gearon is a 6 foot active young man, with 5.5″ wrist he feels looks small. The struggle to grow big wrist with exercises and to pick gorgeous watches for his skinny wrists, have earned him an unbeatable passion for wrist watches, especially smartwatches. As an entrepreneur and a handy project manager, he knows exactly what product quality is, in the eye of a customer and what value they expect for their money. He combined all these talents, and created this blog to share his knowledge to everyone and the fashion community.
