FitBit Charge 2 - Is it a smart buy?

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FitBit Charge 2 - Is it a smart buy?

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Episode Information
Date of upload May 18, 2018
Duration 2:03
Judges
Todd Williams Abi Rein Michael Aranda
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Decision
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Credits
Josh Taira
Narration
Logan George
Writing, Editing, Filming
Michael Aranda
Music, Graphics
Todd Williams
Executive Producer


Transcript[edit | edit source]

The FitBit Charge 2: it claims to track specific exercises like running, weights or yoga, help you get a better understanding of your fitness level and see how you can improve over time, and let you see calls, texts & calendar alerts on your wrist.

Size offerings for the Charge 2 include small, large, and extra large. It comes in 4 different standard colors and 2 special edition options.

The design of the FitBit is clearly targeted at the athletic audience, and the form factor is narrow to get out of the way during runs or workouts. And while it does look good, getting the band on and off was cumbersome, and parts of the device felt cheap.

The size you choose when you purchase the FitBit doesn’t change the size of the device itself, just the size of the band the device comes with. You can buy aftermarket bands in a range of styles and materials.

On the back of the device, there is a heart rate sensor that takes regular, accurate readings of your heart rate throughout the day. But because of the small surface area of the sensor, you have to choose between either wearing the band loose and interfering with the data or wearing it tighter and having the sensor jab into your wrist.

The data the FitBit gathers is incredibly helpful and interesting. It tracks heart rate, steps, calories burned, and sleep with a high level of detail. You have to manually sync the device to the app on a smartphone or computer to view all of the data, but because the FitBit runs independently from your smart device, you don’t have to worry about it staying within range of your phone when you are wearing it.

The FitBit Charge 2 does include some smartwatch-like features such as notifications, but they were much less polished than other smart devices we’ve used. The raise-to-wake feature of the device wasn’t very reliable, and because of how narrow it is, you have to wait for texts to scroll across the screen to read them. it was often faster to just pull out your phone.

The charger for the FitBit is a proprietary clip, but the battery life was so good that it wasn’t a big deal to throw the band onto the charger every few days. FitBit boasts that the battery can last up to 5 days, and in our testing we found that to be accurate.

The FitBit Charge 2 sits in a strange middle ground between small, cheap fitness trackers and more expensive smartwatch options. But at $150, it’s is a good option if you want to regularly track fitness data and don’t care about missing out on fancier smartwatch features.

The verdict from our panel of judges

Todd Williams: Get it

Abi Rein: Get it

Michael Aranda: Don't get it

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