Take charge of your health, wellbeing and fitness with Fitbit’s Charge 6.

The small and super light smartwatch utilizes the Fitbit app on Android or iOS to keep track of your daily activities and vitals.

Fitbit (now owned by Google) are absolutely the masters of health wearables, they’re the pioneers and have been doing them for years.

All of this knowledge and experience would mean that you’re going to get a fully accurate experience, right? Well, yes… and not always.

Firstly the watch itself.

It’s slim with a touch 0.86 x 0.58 inch face that nicely curves in to the very bright silicone strap.

To the left is one tactile button. If you’re not using ‘Always on’ for the screen, this button is essentially a wake up the screen. I hardly used it, as the screen will turn on when you raise your wrist.

As mentioned, you absolutely need the Fitbit app to not only connect the Fitbit Charge 6, but also to sync your data.

The Fitbit Charge 6 will keep an accurate track of your steps per day and you can set goals to try and beat. I don’t remember setting a goal in past Fitbit watches I have used and reviewed, but apparently I did – and I’ve never met them. So far.

There’s also a calorie burner, fitness coach, ECG, heart and stress monitor, skin temperature and way, way more.

You can set up alerts for irregular heart rhythm too.

If you’re new to the world of Fitbit, there will be some profile set up for you where you will need to enter in details about yourself, age, weight and height. This is ultimately so the tracker can ascertain vitals and fitness for your age and body type.

But according to my heart stats with the Fitbit Charge 6 my heart stops beating around midday each day. I’d always suspected it did.

The sleep tracker is mostly on point, although it did miss a few nights where it recorded zero sleep. And evidently I do not sleep enough (that’s actually true)

Notifications, are hit and miss. Better on Android (I mean it is Google to Google right?), on iOS you will generally only get SMS alerts, Android almost everything.

Being that the screen is teeny, it’s near to impossible to see any details of said notifications though. But you’ll get them.

An entire week (or more) will see the Fitbit Charge 6 being your health wrist buddy before needing a charge up. Charging time from near-to flat is a little painful. Around 3 hours.

If you forget to juice it up overnight you may want to replan that exercise you were just about to leave the house for.

I’m not using the ‘Always on’ screen, and so far a week and a half in and it’s still going strong with around 50% battery.

The Fitbit Charge 6 was a mixed bag of accuracy and not.

The app is excellent however. It takes you through your vitals and activities in to a granular micro level. There are some functions that you will need a Fitbit Premium sub for though.

From the watch face you can swipe left and right to get a quick snapshot and basic info.

If the Fitbit Charge 6 detects you’re on a walk, it will prompt you to record it. I did this a few times… it doesn’t stop recording when the walk is done though.

In all, the Fitbit Charge 6 is not bulky, a soft and light wear, always good to go and for the most part, keeps everything in check.

If you’re a fitness guru, or simply just want a smartwatch that’s not huge on your wrist and keeps things in check at a budget-friendly price point, the Fitbit Charge 6 will see you right. Mostly.

The post Fitbit Charge 6 Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

This past year we’ve endured sickness, loss, increased stress and changes with sleep, diet and exercise.

As a result, we’ve been forced to become stronger and more resilient.

But strength has taken on a new meaning for most, and being strong in today’s world is more than what we can lift or how fast we can run. It’s also what the mind and body can handle.

As Fitbit’s approach to strength evolves, they’re introducing Fitbit Charge 5, their most advanced health and fitness tracker, to help keep a pulse on your fitness, stress, heart health, sleep and overall wellbeing – all in a thinner, sleek design.

With a brighter, colour touchscreen and up to seven days of battery life (varies with use), Charge 5 delivers the convenience features you need to focus on what’s most important. And, with six months of Fitbit Premium included, you’ll get deeper insights, actionable guidance and a range of more than 500 workouts, plus mindfulness and nutritional content to empower you to do what’s best for your body each day.

With Fitbit Premium’s new Daily Readiness experience, coming soon to Charge 5, as well as Sense, Versa 3, Versa 2, Luxe and Inspire 2 devices, you can understand if your body is ready for a workout or if you should prioritise recovery instead.

Each morning, you’ll receive a score based on your fitness fatigue (activity), heart rate variability (HRV) and recent sleep. You’ll also get an analysis of what impacted your score, and suggestions like a recommended target Active Zone Minutes goal, along with Premium content to help you make the best decisions for your body.

Charge 5 also includes built-in GPS, 20 exercise modes, automatic exercise recognition and an estimate of your V02 max. Plus, with Premium, you can access more than 200 workouts from certified trainers and popular brands like Daily Burn, barre3, obé and new high energy workouts from LES MILLS.

During 2020, a record-high 40% of adults said they experienced a lot of stress. To help you better manage stress, Charge 5 is Fitbits first tracker to include an EDA sensor, which measures your body’s response to stress through tiny changes in the sweat glands on your fingers. Fitbit first launched EDA last fall with Fitbit Sense and have found 70% of users reduced their heart rate during a two-minute EDA Scan session, showing these tools can help reduce stress.

With Charge 5 you also get a Stress Management Score in the Fitbit app, so you can see each morning if you’re mentally ready to take on more challenges, or if you need to recharge. With Premium, you get access to more than 300 meditation and mindfulness sessions from brands and experts, like Ten Percent Happier and Mindful Method by Deepak Chopra to help you manage your stress. Fitbit are also announcing a partnership with Calm, the #1 App for Sleep, Meditation and Relaxation, which will soon provide Premium members with access to Calm content.

Fitbit are also helping you prioritise your heart health. Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the world’s most common heart rhythm condition, and since launching the ECG app on Sense, users have taken more than four million assessments globally.

The ECG app will be available soon on Charge 5, bringing a critical tool to more people at a more approachable price.

Charge 5 also tracks your heart rate 24/7 and provides notifications when you are above or below your personal ranges, and while many factors can affect your heart rate, a high or low heart rate may be an indication of a heart condition that requires medical attention.

In addition to managing your heart health, Charge 5 provides a holistic view of other key wellness metrics via the Health Metrics dashboard in the Fitbit app, including breathing rate, skin temperature variation and SpO2. With Premium, you can also track long-term trends and personal ranges.

And because sleep is also critical to your wellbeing, you’ll continue to receive industry-leading sleep tools like daily Sleep Score, Sleep Stages and SmartWake alarms.

Premium members also receive a deeper analysis and guidance to improve sleep quality.

Beyond health and wellness support, Charge 5 delivers the convenience features you need.

With the swipe of a finger, view your stats, make contactless payments, receive / send notifications from / to your smartphone (quick replies with Android only), and choose from 20 colourful clock faces to customise what information you want to see most.

Ten percent thinner than its predecessor, Charge 5 has an aerodynamic design and is optimised for performance and engineered for a seamless fit. With a new AMOLED colour display, Charge 5 is their first tracker with an always-on display option for added convenience to see your stats or while training.

The display is also two-times brighter than its predecessor making it easy to see your stats on sunny days. You can also switch up your look at any time, choosing from lightweight silicone infinity bands, breathable sport bands, plush nylon hook and loop bands, and hand-crafted premium Horween leather bands.

Beginning today, pre-order Charge 5 online at Fitbit.com and select retailers, with worldwide availability spring 2021.

The post Fitbit Charge 5. Redefining strength. appeared first on Shane the Gamer.