Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Activity Tracker

So far it is working as advertised. So I am copying and pasting what I wrote on the Fitbit forums, but it definitely applies here.For starters, and a big deal to me…text notifications…the sender name is a very dull white/gray and the message is very bright white/gray. At the absolute very least I would want it the other way…sender dark and message light. I would also like the option to turn OFF the message altogether on the device (changing this setting via web is fine, just like the Charge 2), but in return I’d like the sender name to be larger print. I’ve got 50 year old eyes now and so I have cheaters all over the darn place, but I don’t need them for distance, just up close stuff (i.e. reading). So “glancing” at the Charge 3, most of the time, is frustrating since I don’t wear cheaters 24/7…I could get by on the Charge 2.So that leads to a general statement…I’d love to see an “old fart” option where I can opt into larger fonts and brightness of text. I personally would be willing to give up having 2 stats per screen, or 2 anything per screen, in lieu of one per screen with a larger font.The auto pause feature does not recognize walking or hiking as exercises that are available for auto pause. In fact nothing I set up in my shortcuts are recognized. I believe this is probably just a “bug fix”.I’d like the ability to turn off the relax function…don’t use it, don’t need it, don’t want to see it.Timers…set increments only (15, 30, 45, etc.). I can certainly get by with it, but I was hoping for being able to set specific stuff…I would like to use it for when I’m cooking, for example. But I realize this is a very nit picky thing. I use my phone now and am fine continuing to do so, and I haven’t checked out if the Charge 3 will be able to alert if an alarm goes off on the phone…if so then problem solved for me.The vibration does indeed feel stronger than the Charge 2, so I am saying I think it’s good.MORE CLOCK FACES are needed for sure! I miss the one I was using on the Charge 2 already! I was using the large font w date. So with that said, I would like to add that a clock face with large font time, date and weather would be nice. Or even better, a clock face with time and date, and the ability to “check” additional data points that we would also want to see with the “standard” face. If the data set has to be in the same place as another data set then the user could select between the two, or not at all. There is space to put time static in the middle with data sets on the top and bottom.I haven’t had any incoming calls so can’t speak to that, but while it was a little inconvenient to see the alerts scroll on the Charge 2(I’m including text messages in that statement), I actually think, for me, it works better because the font is larger overall.All-in-all I like it but I’m missing some things from the Charge 2. But I also had an adjustment moving from Alta HR to Charge 2 so I know some of this will be just getting used to things. But FitBit, hear me now…PLEASE help us folks with older eyes out by making larger font options. I’d be willing to have to flick through more screens if needed, but for the sake of everyone else keeping their sanity, I really think the best approach on that would be to allow an option to turn on/off multi stats on screen and then the font “dynamically” is larger. Or just a general larger font on/off and formatted screens however it needs to be done to make it work on your end. At least that would give an option.As far as the tracker tracking functionality, I’ve only taken a short walk but it worked as expected. I’m still getting used to when to use the haptic button versus tapping but the screen definitely is much nicer to navigate than the Charge 2. The Charge 2 required a THWAP. The Charge 3 is truly a tap or finger slide which is nice.At the end of the day I use the tracker as a tool to make sure my assumptions are in check with reality. Is this as good as a heart rate strap you put around your chest? No. But will you get “credit” for all those steps you took grocery shopping, or chasing your kid around the house, or just a nice evening stroll? Yes. So I go into it not expecting perfection and using it as a guide. And between the tracker and MyFitnessPal for food logging, I have finally determined what I really am supposed to be eating, what I really AM eating, and have my weight right where I want it so now I’m focusing on general toning and well being. This tracker is perfect for that, especially if you have young eyes (i.e. don’t need cheaters in every room of your house). If it’s your first tracker you absolutely can’t go wrong. If it’s an upgrade from the Charge 2 it might not seem as significant but I think the waterproof factor is a nice bonus and I believe this tracker will be well supported so I think there will be more stuff to come, and Fitbit has even said as much. Is there room for improvement? Yes. But in my mind the things that keep it from being perfect seem to be software fixes. The hardware seems rock solid but it’s very early in.

A lot of improvement – I recommend this product. Tldr summary: Charge 3 is the activity band I have always wanted, finally.Who you are and what you do will dictate whether this review will help you. I am over 45, female, professional, busy and I want stay healthy and become healthier over time. I care about my health but I also have other stuff to do.I use a Fitbit because I want to try to keep moving throughout the day and be mindful but not obvious at work and then try to do low and moderate intensity workouts 3 to 5 times a week. There, I said it. The Fitbit needs to fit the rest of my life and it finally does. I feel the Charge 3 has something valuable to offer for the person who is in the back or middle of the fitness pack.Appearance first: I want my Fitbit to match my professional persona at work and not exude a gym vibe. This has always been my problem with activity trackers in general; I think they are unattractive at work with a suit. I really like the Charge 3 size; it isn’t too wide, it isn’t too thick, the face isn’t too big. To me, it can look like a watch and not some giant work out thing. I switched out the band for more professional and feminine straps from Amazon and I think it looks like jewelry at my professional job.The Fitbit has made this the easiest band to change straps. It is no problem at all and feels secure. I can tell when it is clicked into place and I lost a Fitbit before so this is important to me. I bought the black Charge because I can buy off brand, affordable straps and not worry about metals clashing. I do not pay for the “designer” bands from Fitbit… I bought 2 leather slim profile and one rose gold slim band for less than $20 each on Amazon. I have the plastic cheap one it came with for actual sweaty or swimming work outs. I think a man could buy a thicker strap and it would look masculine.Visual/face: I like the face of the Charge 3. I have it set to see time, date, and stat. It is a lot easier to scroll through the other available information than the Alta and it is a lot more readable. I like the choices of watch faces but I don’t anticipate changing it now that I found one be that works for me.Function: I like the heart rate, the sleep cycle, the waterproofing. I like everything about what it shows me. I think the sleep cycle is accurate for me. The heart rate is accurate. The heart rate tracks all day without missing a reading. The battery is better than my Alta and lasts 5 days for me. I don’t do notifications or use the smart watch features so cannot comment on it and that may be why my battery is lasting longer. I use the 2 minute breathing a couple of times a day. I use the 250 steps an hour challenge now that I can see it on my new watch.Other review comments: I did the Firmware update and have no problems connecting to my work iPhone or my personal Samsung phone and tablet. No issues syncing so far. I wore with my Alta at the same time and steps matched. I have been testing my steps for 4+ years and I find Fitbit accurate for me. I agree My Fitness Pal is best for food tracking vs the Fitbit app.App: I realistically don’t want to join a gym and it is too cold for me to make myself swim right now. As you can tell by reading this, I am not a hard core person for exercise. I am trying the Fitbit Coach and I like it. I travel and I like that I can just do the exercises anywhere and there are a lot of choices of activity. I like that there are inside and outside exercises and things in can just do in my living room or hotel room. I like that there are all different lengths of exercises from 10 min to 18 minutes to an hour. It is a small commitment, no equipment needed, as convenient as you can get, and a lot of variety. I am trying for a month and I think this is what I have been looking to add to the my walking 10,000 steps a day.I see the Fitbit as a tool but I don’t want it to annoy me. Most of the time I found the badges and challenges tiresome and making something out of nothing. I do like knowing I walked to the Moon but really it is just kind of not relevant. I was only using the Fitbit for steps and checking the app once a week or maybe less. Now I feel like I am going to take advantage of the more sophisticated offerings. I like seeing the graphs that show REM sleep and resting heart rate and cardio insights. This is the first time where I feel the app is offering me more than just glib surface information.Other bands I have used: I had the One, which I liked because it was hidden but didn’t do much. I had to dig down my shirt or look at my phone to see my steps. I bought the little tiny Fitbit Flex 2 and the metal holder was ridiculously hard to get the Fitbit in and out of and didn’t show anything – you had to look on your phone. The Alta had a slim profile but was hard to see and super hard to change bands. Ultimately I lost the Flex2 due to a necklace malfunction and abandoned the Alta for not being useful enough to justify wearing something I thought was ugly. I briefly had delusions of fitness grandeur and have a Garmin Vivoactive HR. It was too hard core for me and too big and plastic. Alas, Garmin made me realize I am just not into fitness as a “lifestyle.”

I ordered my Fitbit a week ago and it came in two days prior to what the shipping had estimated. The product came in with no damage; although I would appreciate better cushioning inside the box for this as it had space to hit the bottom of the box.Prior to this Fitbit, I had the Fitbit Flex 2 and it was definitely a nice upgrade! The reason why I upgraded was so I could get better tracking with my workouts at the gym but also to track my yoga practices. One thing that was a set back to me about this product was that it DOES NOT auto track yoga workouts. Seeing as this was one of the main reasons why I purchased this tracker, it is kind of upsetting. I had to go into the app to add the activity in.Set up instructions were easy and straight forward. However, this could be swayed due to me being fairly tech savvy. I enjoy the text messages being able to come through. I enjoy the customizability with the Charge 3 by being able to change the clock faces to whatever picks your fancy; although I would like more of the clock faces to show both the heart rate and the steps on the same screen. The apps available are very nice such as the breathing app, weather app, and it is nice to get texts through to the Fitbit. I do find the font to be somewhat on the small side, easy for just one or two words but when there is more than that it can be difficult to read.Another perk of this device compared to the Flex 2 is that all of the data you would see on the phone app you can see when you swipe up from the clock face screen. I personally enjoy it so I have all of the information on my wrist instead of grabbing my phone. I also really enjoyed how this Fitbit tracked the sleep with more information. It gives percentages of the amount through the night that you spent in various stages of sleep.Disclaimer: I have only had this tracker for a few days so that is the only amount of time I have had to work with it.

Profound amount of health empowerment in a tiny package. I’m absolutely in love with my new Fitbit Charge 3! First of all, I must express appreciation even for the simple fact of how well all the technology inside this little thing WORKS: I have had zero issues with it, which is so refreshing and rare in this day and age. It just works! Now on to all it does: it is awesome, and so empowering for the wearer! I think the thing I appreciate the most, personally, is the heart rate monitor/information. I have an electrical conduction issue with my heart, which doesn’t have any symptoms and was found on my first-ever, routine EKG back in 2009 (the issue is called left bundle branch block—LBBB for short). After further testing, I was told that my heart is healthy and fine, BUT we do have to always keep an eye on this LBBB situation, because it could stay the same, which would be great, but it could possibly become problematic down the road, and one thing the cardiologist told me to do is to routinely take my heart rate, and make sure the resting heart rate stays between 60 and 90 bpm. Well, I was so good about doing it, just as he taught me how (manually), for several years, but then I gradually stopped taking my heart rate, honestly. But now, with the Fitbit? I don’t have to sit there, stop everything, and manually take my heart rate. I just glance at the Fitbit and: THERE IS MY HEART RATE! That feature alone, for me, is worth the price of the Fitbit. And it isn’t just the resting heart rate, it is your heart rate, in real time, 24/7: resting, active, the whole enchilada! It lets you know your current heart rate at the moment, and your resting heart rate, right there on the screen of your Fitbit. AND, when you actually go into the app on your phone, it gives you TONS of DETAILED data/information about it, and your heart rate patterns. For example, if I take a 30 minute walk, the Fitbit Charge 3 KNOWS/recognizes that it was a specific exercise session, and that it was a walk, and it provides a color bar graph in the app that charts when your heart rate was in which “zone”, so you see, oh, my heart rate was at “peak” for this many minutes (you don’t really want your heart rate to be at “peak” ever, if I understand correctly—you want it in “fat burn” or “cardio” when you are exercising, but not “peak”, as at peak it is working too hard, so this is something I will ask the cardiologist about next time I see him for my routine, every-two-year appointment I have coming up to check on the LBBB. Without the Fitbit, I would have NO IDEA what my non-resting heart rate ever is! But with it, I know that it is usually very good (I think—I will check that with the doctor, too), but occasionally goes up into “peak” just when exercising moderately—this is info I want to check out with the doctor: it is probably fine and normal, but the point is, knowledge is POWER: I have so much heart rate info now that I can go into my appointment with and tell him, HEY, I have a Fitbit now and blah blah BLAH! (The poor man *lol*.) Oh, and I know that the Fitbit heart rate is accurate, as I have taken mine manually several times and compared it to what the Fitbit says at the same time, and it is exactly correct.And that is just the heart rate info—moving on, there is SO MUCH MORE that this little wunderkind does! We have sleep data: WOW! Just wow! I have had sleep issues for years, which recently have been better due to some factors, but anyway, it is fascinating and enlightening to see how much I actually am sleeping, how much of it is light, how much is deep, how much is REM, what times of night are which, etc. We also have the step counting feature, which is similarly enlightening and empowering: I’m a big walker and it is revelatory to see how many steps, and how much distance, I’m actually walking. The Fitbit also prompts me with a little vibration if I have NOT taken 250 steps in any given waking hour (it has a 9-hour timeframe set), at ten minutes before the hour. Folks, there is just too much information and data that this little amazing piece of technology gives you to even cover in a review!Suffice it to say this: like I mentioned early on, the word of the review is EMPOWERING. When you go into the app, you have SO MUCH information. I can’t get over it. I really, really love this Fitbit and would not be without it ever again. The heart rate info alone is priceless to me, but I also need to lose weight and I feel that the Fitbit is really, really going to help and is already motivating and educating me a lot re my steps per day, calories burned—oh yeah: it tells you that, too!!!—and everything else. I haven’t even used some of the features yet. Did I mention I LOVE this thing?!!!

Why I’m Torn Between Entering Into the Garmin vs. Fitbit Ecosystem:. I am evaluating adding a new health metric to those I track regularly. Years ago, my health metrics tracking began in 2013 with manual sleep tracking, then added foods/nutrients/calories via MyFitnessPal in 2016, a Wi-Fi scale in 2018, regular blood pressure monitoring in 2019, and now I’m looking to add heart rate and activity data starting in 2020. Finding a solution that makes the sensor information I’m obtaining useable and effortless is a top priority.Please note, this lengthy review comparison is based on my specific needs for a device. There are tons of additional features in these devices which I will not be covering because they are not important for my use case.Over the last few days, I have thoroughly researched and/or tested the following potential candidates:Fitbit Charge 3Fitbit Versa 2Garmin Vivoactive 4Garmin InstinctGarmin Vivomove Style/Luxe (researched, not yet tested)The decision has been so close, I developed a decision matrix grid, where I evaluated and scored each device based on 9 criteria that are important to me:Quality of Data Presentation in AppQuality of Data Presentation on DeviceAccuracy of Sensor Data (Heart Rate, Steps)Sleep TrackingCalories Burned TrackingOther Calculated MetricsBattery LifeUser InterfaceStyleEach section I assigned a score of up to 10 points, except Accuracy of Sensor Data, which receives up to 20 points (10 for heart rate, 10 for Steps).Quality of Data Presentation in App:Fitbit – 7/10Garmin – 4/10Fitbit receives high marks for making large amounts of data over multiple days easy to understand, featuring week-long charts and multiple daily-views at glance on the same screen. Fitbit also earns extra points for how easy it is to export data in multiple formats, including third-party apps which allow for minute-by-minute export of heart rate data, for example. Garmin only exports .fit files, and it seems more difficult to export data out of Garmin Connect into other common file formats, like .csv.An especially nice touch in the Fitbit app, is that each widget in the mobile app–like Sleep, Heart Rate, Calories, etc.–displays data in multiple ways. The Sleep widget shows weekly graphs for a calculated “Sleep Score,” Hours Slept vs. Target Hours, Sleep Schedule, and Hours in Sleep Stages. Each tracked metric features several of these nifty charts for even deeper insight into interpreting the sensor data obtained by the device.A glaring oversight, however, is the lack of a date-picker in both the mobile and web version of the app. In order to view a past date, the user must hit the back button until arriving at the correct date, or, on the web version, type the desired date as a URL.One nice-to-have feature would be the ability to view weekly data for any past week selected by the user. Another would be an improved ability to touch a point on a graph and see the data at that point, which is far better implemented in Garmin’s app, from a UI standpoint.Moving onto Garmin, the Garmin Connect app needs serious work. There is lots of data, but the way the data is presented makes it far less useful than Fitbit’s implementation. One might say the presentation is sparse or barebones at best, such as with the Heart Rate and Steps widgets, and downright confusing at worst, as in the case of the Calories In/Out widget.Each of these widgets offers a singular line chart that doesn’t make very good use of the phone’s display. It is simply a chart of the data with no additional insight or interpretation. The“Last 7 Days” average panel is nice, and there’s even a weekly, monthly, and annual basic chart view for each metric if you select the metric from the menu options instead of the main app home screen. It is strange Garmin would omit a date picker from the app, even though it is present on the web version of the app.Simply put, I don’t see myself using the Garmin app on a daily basis. The daily views simply don’t display enough useful information, especially since the Garmin devices allow the past 4 hours of activity to be displayed as a chart on their devices. The display of long-term data trends via the app, however, is a far more useful prospect.Quality of Data Displayed on Device:Garmin Instinct – 9/10Garmin Vivoactive 4 – 8/10Garmin Vivomove Style/Luxe – 7/10Fitbit Versa 2 – 7/10Fitbit Charge 3 – 6/10It is hard to do much better at displaying data on the device itself than the Garmin Instinct. The Instinct manages to put the time, a customizable 4-hr graph, and 3 other metrics all on the always-on, monochrome display, which is bright and easy to read under a range of lighting conditions. The information is glanceable throughout the day without any thought whatsoever. And best of all, the user can switch to a different widget than the home screen, and the device will stay on that screen instead of automatically switching back to the home screen after timing out–a feature woefully omitted on the Vivoactive 4. This means that on the Instinct, whatever information is most important to you can be displayed at all times, without having to interact with the device.While the Garmin Vivoactive 4 does feature an always-on display, the transflective LCD is much dimmer than the Instinct in the same lighting conditions, and the inky-blue backlighting is a horror to anyone spoiled by the past decade of OLED screens. While the Vivoactive has significantly more pixels and a larger display size compared to the Instinct, the home screen somehow manages to display fewer metrics and less overall data. Navigating to any widget to access the 4-hour view simply returns to the home screen after a period of a few seconds of inactivity, which disappointingly means the user must interact with the device much more frequently in order to access the most useful data. On the plus side, the device does use all those extra pixels for better display and management of notifications, compared to the Instinct. Overall, the lack of customizability making the default home screen display the exact metrics and charts I’d like to always see, makes the Vivoactive 4 a downgrade from the Instinct, for my purposes, at least.The Garmin Vivomove Style/Luxe series wearables take this a step further and display nothing with the screen off, and only basic metrics with the screen on–no 4-hour graphs like on the Instinct and Vivoactive (is this correct?). To see data over time, you need to use the Garmin Connect app. For these reasons, the Vivomove Style/Luxe watches lose a point.Similarly, the Fitbit Versa 2 does not display any charts on the device itself, which is absolutely astonishing given the beautiful, pixel dense AMOLED display. Why Fitbit would decide to underutilize the display by only displaying big static numbers for each metric is incomprehensible. Consequently, the Versa 2 has about the same functionality of displaying data on the device as the Vivomove Style/Luxe.Finally, there is the Charge 3, which also only displays static numbers on a small, monochrome OLED display, making it the least useful of the bunch, though not by much.Accuracy of Sensor Data (Heart Rate, Steps):Over the past few days of testing, there have been instances where both Fitbit and Garmin trackers have displayed contradictory heart rate data. Since they cannot both be correct, the trick is determining which is more accurate, more often.I am going to call this one a tie for now, until I have more long-term data under a range of various conditions by which to make a more detailed comparison.Sleep Tracking:Fitbit – 9/10Garmin – 5/10The automatic sleep tracking on the Fitbit is implemented almost perfectly. The user has the ability to input desired sleep hours in order to receive prompts when it is time to go to sleep, but this has no bearing on sleep detection. Multiple sleep periods during the day, such as naps and polyphasic sleeping, are implemented, with periods as low as about an hour being detected without fail. I also haven’t had any false positives so far, even while being relatively still watching a show or working on the computer. The data is also displayed extremely well in the app, with fairly accurate sleep levels (Awake, REM, Light, Deep) based on activity, and other useful charts which I described earlier.In direct contrast, Garmin purposefully handicaps sleep detection in a number of ways, making it an almost useless feature for people with atypical schedules.First, Garmin requires the user to input their approximate daily sleep and wake time when setting up the device. Sleep is only counted if the user starts or stops sleep within this range. I thought that I could cheat the system by starting at 12 AM and ending at 11:50 pm, but this range is only one part of the problem. Another is that only one sleep period per day is recorded. So a user who sleeps for 3 hours, wakes up to take care of a baby, and then sleeps for another 5 hours, can only expect to see one of those times recorded in the app, and only if they fall within the set sleep hour range. I have read user complaints over these omissions going back over 2 years, and Garmin’s statements on the matter amount to “Falling to sleep at a regular time is important to a healthy lifestyle,” so I don’t expect to see them change this any time soon.Going further, the sleep records Garmin does manage to record are woefully inaccurate, underdeveloped, and unrefined compared to both Fitbit and another sleep app I use, which records sleep using my phone’s accelerometer to determine approximate sleep level by measuring restlessness.Simply put, one should not buy into the Garmin ecosystem if accurate and useful sleep tracking is an important purchasing criteria.Calories Burned Tracking:Fitbit – 8/10Garmin – 5/10While I don’t yet have any long-term data, what I can say is that Garmin’s presentation of calories and implementation with MyFitnessPal is extremely confusing.First, Garmin calculates the total number of calories I used during the day. Also displayed is something called “Active Calories.” Then there is the number of calories Garmin reports to MyFitnessPal to add or subtract from a day. These are all different numbers, with no indication of how to interpret them or where they are coming from.Yesterday, I was in bed or sitting almost all day. My Fitbit tracker recorded 553 steps, Garmin recorded 441 steps. Fitbit reported that I used 1,733 calories, Garmin reported 2,008 calories used, despite recording fewer Steps. In the same day, Garmin reported 96 “Active Calories” in the Calories In/Out widget, but reported a completely different adjustment to MyFitnessPal. Either way, Garmin reported to MyFitnessPal that my activity that day allowed me to consume more calories than my set goal. Where are all these different, conflicting numbers coming from??? When I removed the Garmin integration and added Fitbit to MyFitnessPal, the calorie adjustment became a negative number, -212, indicating I should consume not more, but fewer calories that day, presumably based on my actual, lower activity level.To elaborate, a widget in Garmin Connect is “Calories In/Out.” This displays the number of Calories reported consumed (“In”) from MyFitnessPal, and shows the number of calories I exerted, calculated by Garmin (“Out”). The widget plots “consumed” minus “active calories” on your MyFitnessPal daily calorie goal to give you a “Net Calories,” which lets you know whether you consumed or depleted more net calories that day, based on your activity level and a static goal set in MyFitnessPal–NOT the daily calories expended as calculated by Garmin. What is the point in telling me how many calories I expended in a day, if you’re also telling me I can eat more because I moved a little, thereby earning “Active Calories?” If you are confused after reading this paragraph, it is because I am confused by the purpose of this widget and all the different, conflicting numbers reported by Garmin.Overall, I feel like Fitbit not only more accurately calculates the number of calories used during the day, and better reports adjustments to MyFitnessPal, but it also displays calorie data in far more useful graphs in the Fitbit mobile app. Although the accuracy is very difficult to determine without long-term testing, the fact that one app was recording positive adjustments in MyFitnessPal, while the other reported negative adjustments for the same day, indicates that at least one of them is far off the mark.Other Calculated Metrics:Garmin Vivoactive 4 – 8/10Garmin Vivomove Style/Luxe – 8/10Fitbit Versa 2 – 7/10Fitbit Charge 3 – 7/10Garmin Instinct – 6/10In addition to the standard heart rate, steps, calories, etc., Garmin devices do feature some extra calculated metrics such as “Body Battery,” “Stress Level,” “Respiration,” etc. As Garmin does well to explain what these measure and how they work, I won’t go into it here. I will say, however, it is great that this data is displayed on both the devices and the app. I enjoy having access to these metrics, even if they are little more than educated guesses in practice.The Garmin Instinct loses a few features, including, “Body Battery,” likely because the SpO2 sensor is not present.The Fitbit devices get points for all the extra calculated metrics only displayed in the mobile app, which were described earlier in the app section of this review. Unfortunately, none of these are displayed on the wearable or the web app, and require some digging into the mobile app to access them.While these bonus metrics and calculations have the potential to add another layer of insight into the metrics beyond the raw sensor graph data, their usefulness is entirely dependent on the quality of the algorithms and software.Battery Life:Garmin Instinct – 10/10Fitbit Versa 2 – 4/10Others – 5/10The Instinct is rated to about 14 days per charge, while the other devices typically obtain 4-5 days per charge. The Versa 2 has the worst battery life, which is further reduced if the display is set to always-on, earning it the lowest score.User Interface:Garmin Vivoactive 4 – 9/10Fitbit Versa 2 – 8/10Fitbit Charge 3 – 7/10Garmin Vivomove Style/Luxe – 6/10Garmin Instinct – 5/10In the age of touch screens, all the devices with touch screens were relatively simple and intuitive to navigate. The Vivoactive 4 has 2 buttons on the right side which add short/long press shortcuts.The Versa 2 has only 1 button on the left side, earning it 1 fewer points.The Charge 3 also features only 1 button, and the small screen is often prone to not registering swipes, earning it 1 fewer points.Further down is the Style/Luxe, which has no buttons, and users report an occasionally finicky touch screen, earning it 1 fewer points.At the bottom of the pack is the Garmin Instinct, which has 5 buttons and no touch screen. Consequently, there is a steeper learning curve to navigating the device and remembering which button to press to perform the desired action. The screens can also be confusing to navigate, because the monochrome display makes it difficult to understand whether something is selected (viewing and acting on notifications, for example). On the plus side, the 5 buttons allow for 10 possible quick input shortcuts, making the device faster to use, in some situations.Style:Garmin Vivomove Style/Luxe – 9/10Garmin Vivoactive 4 – 7/10Fitbit Versa 2 – 6/10Fitbit Charge 3 – 5/10Garmin Instinct – 5/10The Style/Luxe is clearly the favorite where looks are concerned. It is objectively gorgeous, whether data is being displayed or not.Down the list is the Vivoactive 4 and Versa 2, which are both attractive pieces of glass, and like the Style/Luxe, offer industry-standard interchangeable bands. The Vivoactive 4, however, has the added benefit of a more standard watch-style body, while the Versa 2 is a square, clearly emblematic of a smart watch.Further down are the Charge 3 and Instinct, which are both obvious utility bands. The Charge 3 is benefitted by its smaller size, while the Instinct is a more standard tactical watch-style appearance.Conclusion:Both Fitbit and Garmin offer some fantastic features. Garmin’s range of hardware options is especially impressive, and the Style/Luxe and Instinct combined make me really want to buy into the Garmin ecosystem. I especially love the way data is displayed on the Garmin hardware, although the display of data is hindered by both the spartan and somewhat dated Garmin Connect app and the limited or confusing reporting of core stats like sleep and calories.In contrast, the Fitbit devices aren’t meant to be used extensively while worn. They are intended to get the stats to your phone, where the Fitbit app truly shines. Assuming many of these stats and calculated metrics are relatively accurate, there is a wealth of health information and insights to be unlocked that is simply non existent in Garmin Connect.If I have learned anything from testing these devices, it is that there is no perfect tracker. Therefore, it is up to the user to weigh what is most important and decide which device and ecosystem may work best for his or her needs.

Xiaomi owners please read. The media could not be loaded.  I’ve tried many trackers and just couldn’t find one to do everything that I wanted but I felt the Alexa on versa 2 was a trivial want. So I went with something that had the main bulk of what I needed which included SPO2 which fit bit measures (only variable not relative meaning it won’t give you a specific percentage throughout your sleeping phases but can give you trends on how your oxygenation level fluctuates) -this I wish it did give you more of percentage based data like the Garmin vivoactive 3 and isn’t as accurate as the Garmin or say sleep tunner devices . And a huge disclaimer if you have a Xiaomi product it will not work with this device in regards to SMS viewing and quick reply. Xiaomi although is android operates on an copy version of an iOS system and reviewing Fitbit compatibility guideline iOS isn’t supported for this system or tested. Make sure you check the list of tested phones to fully gain from this experience. The next thing that was important was the sleep tracking overall I think the sleep tracking is fairly in depth with alot of useful information and is very good at deciphering my times of sleep. You can tap over certain times to see when exactly you were in each phase and gives you a score and tips on how to improve. With that being said my next like would be the actual platform. It’s packed with alot of useful data and information of all your daily activities including sleep, female mentation/ovulation tracking and even diet tracking. So it’s like a female health and fitness Pal app all in one platform . The one thing I don’t like is for certain features you have to pay a premium unlike Garmin. See their new features on their website to see if the premium is right for you. You can also test it out for free for 3 months.I would say the accuracy of the heart rate is relatively close when tested with ECG and the steps are “suspect” It uses a 3 axis accelerometer but I feel the algorithm is maybe not as accurate. I could be wrong but one night within an hour all I did was walk to the bathroom and the kitchen. I highly doubt I had more than 200 steps during this time like it told me I did. Calories burned was another big one for me since I like to track my ins and outs. Alittle more confident in this reading due to the accuracy of heart rate and since it’s based of your BMR( basal metabolic rate) and heart rate/circulation and breathing. Another big thing for me is contactless pay I try to limit if I can bringing my wallet with me and especially with this current pandemic (don’t care for opinions on that) it’s good to have something like this to limit your contact plus it’s more convenient. You are required to put in a code every 24 hours which to some may be annoying however I believe they did this to insure better protection and privacy. I mean it does have access to your bank account? Wouldn’t you feel safer knowing if you lost your watch they would not be able to get in if there is a lock code. It’s only available at stores and retailers that offer the NFC emblem or Google pay on their payment devices which in the US is present in many major Chain stores. Places like Canada or other non us states will have more of a difficult time being able to use this feature as it also is only compatible with certain banks. Refer to their website for compatible banks. It’s water proof up to 50 meters this is important if you like swimming as an excercise or will use it as such like me. I’ve tested it under water and dried it off afterwards and the device still worked perfectly afterwards. This is not an always on display and reacts to lifting your wrist upward but I did find that you can turn it on by double tapping. Last things I wanted was tracking for my runs. Now if your like me and have your phone on you at all times for emergencie purposes and music this is great for you. If you need GPS built in however I recommend the charge 4 this one needs to mirror your phone’s GPS in order to give you data about your run such as miles and a schematic of your run. It does have auto excercise recognition. It does not have a feature to control music on your phone I wish it did however you can make a playlist specific to your workout so you don’t have to worry about that honestly. If you want something that can control music you’d need a premium Spotify account because this feature only works with controlling Spotify on the charge 4, versa 2 and Ionic. If you want something that can physically hold music the versa 2 or ionic can hold up to 300 or 500 songs I believe you need to verify. It doesn’t give you heart rate zones but you can get a rough chart on this under your excercises and as long as you know your heart zones it isn’t needed in my opinion. Zones include fat burn, cardio and peak. This also includes a timer stop watch and tracks your daily water consumption. Overall I like this fitness tracker. It gives me the information I need and is more comfortable to wear 24/7. Comfortability is huge for me seeing as you have to sleep with it to get sleep information. Battery life is pretty close to spot on on their claims of 7 days. I use it every day I go for runs and track them and sleep with it every night and I’d say by day 4-5 it’s at around 60%. My main concern is that there are some claims and reviews that after a few months that some of these devices have been having hardware issues and the screen goes dim, or black and stops working all together. I will come back with a recap after 3 months. It’s a gamble getting any kind of technology and there will always be bound to be defective products. I will say the Fitbit resolution center for hardware issues is very slow. That’s a negative. If you want something that works well and is very cheap. Look into the mi band 4. If this may concern you and you don’t want to be out of pocket alot of money.That concludes my review.

I decided to buy the FitBit Charge 3 mainly to keep track of my daily exercise and my sleep. I had read good reviews about it on many websites, all of which described it as an accurate fitness tracker without fancy bells and whistles. That is exactly what it has proved to be after a month of use – I wear it 24×7 and take it off only in the shower.I do a 6.00 km walk in a nearby park every morning and my Fitbit keeps track of the step count, the pace per km and estimates the calories burned. What I like is the consistency of measurement of distance – the earlier fitness tracker I used showed wildly varying figures for distance and pace. The Charge 3 also keeps track of my heart rate 24×7 and gives me useful data about sleep quality and hours in light, deep and REM sleep.The Charge 3 is comfortable enough to wear all day, and is inconspicuous on my wrist. It charges quickly, in an hour or so, and once charged, is good for 5-6 days of use. The clamps that are used to charge it are easy to use and require no fiddling.It would be nice to have a few more watch faces to choose from. It doesn’t have GPS, so I have to keep my iPhone in my pocket when I go to the park. But the Bluetooth connection is solid and the Charge 3 syncs quickly and automatically with the FitBit App when the phone is around the house. My only minor grouse is that when the Charge 3 tells me the details of my walking pace, the audio volume is a little lower than I would like, since my phone is in my shorts pocket and I don’t wear earphones. But that’s merely a small inconvenience.I recommend the Charge 3 to anyone who is looking for a basic tracker that gives consistent results of distance, time and pace during exercise. The sleep tracking is useful too, as is the heart rate tracking. That’s all that most people need – for anything else, I would see my GP.

Die Uhr ist kaputt angeliefert worden u jetzt soll ich es selbst zurück nach USA schicken- kostet 51€. Das ist eine absolute Frechheit