It has a beautifully crisp, full-color AMOLED screen that's wider, 10 percent bigger, and twice as bright as the Charge 4 display-the perfect size if you want an unobtrusive tracker and not a smartwatch wannabe. The Charge 5 is wide enough that sweat may collect underneath the standard silicone strap and irritate your skin.

If you’re an active person, I suggest immediately swapping out the standard solid silicone strap for the perforated sport strap or nylon band.

As always, it's offered in a huge variety of colors and has lots of accessories. In contrast, the Charge 5 is softer and more organic, with curved edges on its gold bezel (and no “fitbit” inscribed on it anywhere, thank God). Last year’s Charge 4 has a starker look, with sharper edges and a black bezel. It’s attractive and simple and has all the features you need and none you don’t. The Charge 4 was my favorite fitness tracker for most people, and even without being able to test its most touted new feature-the new Daily Readiness score, which I am very excited to write about-the Charge 5 still fits the bill. I just want a device that will tell the time, gently nudge me toward slightly healthier behavior, and let me ignore it the rest of the time. I’m not a competitive powerlifter, and I don’t want to drop below 15 percent body fat I also don’t want to get addicted to, or ruled by my fitness tracker. They’re attractive, affordable, easy to use, and simple.

Eventually Google bought the company.īut even as Fitbit faced stiff competition from the Apple Watch, its trackers have always won me over. It added music, integration with trackers like Tile, and a partnership with Deepak Chopra. In the years since Fitbit first released the Fitbit Tracker-a tiny, clothespin-like pedometer that debuted in 2008-the company has tried a lot of tactics to stay at the forefront of the field that it helped create.

Charge 5 fitbit