Fitbit Charge HR Review – who needs a smartwatch now!

Yes, the wearable category is buzzing and even for the uninitiated it’s not tough to spot the clear division in this category. There are smartwatches still struggling to get their act together with sub-par battery life and then there are fitness trackers, devices that seem completely sorted. Fitbit made its official India debut last week with its entire range and it’s the Fitbit Charge HR that caught our attention. It may not be the flagship device; that position belongs to the pricier Fitbit Surge, a device with a larger, always-on display but it’s the Charge HR that seems to hit the right notes. Or does it?

Minimalist presence – you almost won’t notice it:
This is not a device that people are going to notice from the other end of the room at a party or at your workplace. It almost goes unnoticed (unless you opt for the Orange variant!) and stays personal. The Charge HR boasts of an elegant construction – the tiny screen merges seamlessly with textured band. Unlike the clasp on the Charge, this device comes with a conventional strap; you don’t have to worry about your device coming off during an intense workout. The device comes with a choice of three sizes that pretty much cling on to all wrist sizes. Initially I strapped on Charge HR to my right hand – like a fashion accessory, with my conventional watch on my left wrist. A few days later I gave up my regular watch and the Charge HR now occupies pride of place on my left hand.

The heart beat monitor – the device’s biggest draw
The display is not always on but a gentle tap activates the tiny rectangular OLED screen. We wish there was a shake sensor to activate the screen – it’s certainly not fun tapping any screen with sweaty fingers. There’s a pronounced bump under the device with two glowing green dots – that’s the heart sensor and those green lights will impress your colleagues and the kids in your neighbourhood alike. The heart sensor is one of the big selling points of the Charge HR – it’s fun to see the bpm(Beats per minute – heart rate in this case) cross the 130 mark when you are playing an intense sport like Tennis. You can toggle between screens (time, calories burnt, steps and heart rate) with a gentle press of the button located on the left of the screen. You can also track individual workouts with a long press. It’s the heart rate sensor that puts the device in a different league compared to YU Fit and the Mi bands – both devices we spent a considerable amount of time with.



It has its chinks:
The Charge HR pairs with Android devices and iPhones via Bluetooth. You get caller notifications (with the caller name) when the device is in ‘sync mode’. Disappointingly there are no text notifications; even the YU Fit has pop up text notifications (only the ‘text’ icon though). It’s something we seriously wish Fitbit will add to the Charge HR. The other serious crib is the device’s lack of waterproof credentials – we would love to take this device for a swim, but aside from the occasional splash the Charge HR is not truly water proof. You need to handle the screen with some care to prevent those minor scratches that can impact visibility (Especially under direct sunlight) somewhat. Fitbit claims a 5-day battery life, we managed about 4 days on each charge.  

The Fitbit App – quite simply the best out there:
The Fitbit App puts the Charge HR in another league. It’s easily one of the best fitness Apps out there. We love the snapshot summary screens that can be clicked on more details. The sleep tracker is fairly accurate and tracks the quality of your sleep (Includes stats on the number of times you wake up and all those restless moments when you probably had nightmares about the sales review presentation). You can also access the App on your desktop with a teeny USB dongle that syncs with your Charge HR. You don’t really need to pair your smartphone (And therefore drain your phone battery faster) round the clock unless you need call notifications. There’s also FitStar (Costs approximately Rs 2500/year), a coaching app that allows you to get the most out of your Fitbit band; there’s also a plain vanilla service that comes free at the moment. The Fitbit Charge HR is one of the best fitness bands your money can buy and is quite an addictive gadget even if you are a borderline fitness freak. I still haven’t found the need to go back to my conventional watch yet!

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