My Most Recommended Wearable of 2024: New FITBIT CHARGE 6
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ต.ค. 2023
- Latest Price (affiliate)👉 mikeobrienmedia.com/Charge6
Instagram: / mikeobrienn
Twitter: / mikeobrienn
TikTok: / mikeobrienn
About me: mikeobrienmedia.com
Please comment below with any questions you might have. Thank you all for watching! I appreciate you!
Disclaimer: This video is purely based on my experiences, research, and opinions. You and only you are responsible for your actions. I made this channel to advise viewers and I truly hope to help you all out. I love making these videos and connecting with my viewers!
One or more of the products shown in this video may have been sent to me at no cost. This does not influence my opinions; I always cover both pros and cons.
This channel is monetized via TH-cam ads as well as some affiliate links. If a purchase is made after clicking the link, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to the buyer. Thank you all for watching!
ADDITIONAL VIDEO NOTES:
This is the Fitbit Charge 6, and it is likely to be my most recommended wearable of the year. Let me explain.
A lot of people don’t want a $300 smartwatch that needs to be charged every night. They want a subtle device with a long battery life that tracks health and fitness, has google pay, notifications, and maybe a few other smart watch features. So what are your options here? You can’t get a WearOS watch or even a Galaxy watch thanks to the battery. A Garmin device would work but they are very expensive. So that brings us to Fitness Bands. Of all the smart bands out there, the new Fitbit Charge 6 is going to be the most appealing here in America.
3 colors - black, silver, champagne
DESIGN
Claimed 7 day battery life
Touchscreen and one button on the left
Links to compatible exercise machines
Claimed 60% more accurate for HIIT
Sleep score
Daily Readiness score
Cardio Fitness score (basically VO2 Max)
40+ exercise modes
ACCURACY TESTING
Built In GPS
Sleep score
ECG
High/low HR detection
SpO2
Skin temperature
RHR
Respiration rate
EDA scan for stress
Auto workout detection
Google Pay/Wallet (YES!)
Google Maps (YES!)
TH-cam Music controls - other music too?
timer/stopwatch/smart wake alarm/find my phone/notifications
Tap 3x to zoom in
50m water resistance
$160
CONS
Haptics are kind of weak
No mics or sound
Can only control YT music
Kind of expensive
Fitbit Premium paywall
Bezel is still pretty chunky
No onboard music
Actually though, this is the best wearable for a lot of people! Tons of people just want a small device with a long battery life, google pay/maps/ - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
![Top 7 Smartwatches in 2024 [By Category]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yTt0hjbFfbc/mqdefault.jpg)
Can’t believe they are keeping Fitbit Premium.
That needs to be ditched. It defeats the purpose of a budget fitness tracker.
😂 I know
Only because of that I wouldn't by it😢
If you work at any bigger company its basically the main strategy of the 2020s. Sell any stupid subscription service. I work at an bigger hardware company that has 0 software services and they still try to figure out a way to push out an subscription service
Hail Google 🙏🏼
I got the Charge 5 when it came out and have loved it. I don’t track workouts; mainly use it to track steps, sleep, notifications and as a watch during my consults at work. I get about 10-12 days of battery life not using workout tracking and other features. And that is the biggest deterrent for me getting a proper smartwatch
How accurate is sleeping tracking?
do u use fitbit premium or just the standard ?
@@ytcontent11 just standard
I have a charge 5 sleep is very accurate I use premium but when I haven’t you can track sleep too but you don’t get a sleep profile things like that without premium I got told charge 6 is just a modern charge 5 too as to why I chose charge 5 not charge 6
Can you use stopwatch in the background without having to pause the workout tracking?
I just upgraded to the Charge 6, i've been using the Charge 3 since it came out and the only issue I faced was the wear and tear of the band. I also don't understand the premium charge as others have mentioned. I could see paying a small cost if fitbit let me sync with my peloton app so I could track all those classes. I didnt have to pay for sleep and mindful classes with my charge 3🤷🏾♀️
Great review Mike, thank you!
I will consider getting fitbit if they are going to remove premium payments.
Premium payments are optional and I find the service superfluous. I get everything I need without it.
monthly payments are unfortunately here to stay
What do you miss out for not paying the subscription??@@vripiatbuzoi9188
Irishman 🇮🇪here. Great upload as ever Mike.
The fitbit payment? It's gone beyond the ridiculous now, you'll be charged monthly for getting out of bed the way things are going 😂.
I agree I have a Fitbit Charge 6 HOWEVER I DON’T HAVE PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION
Great review, I’ve had previous versions of the Charge and loved them until they stopped working. A couple years ago I switched to the Inspire which was a big change for me. Although it still works, I still prefer the Charge. Now that some of the Black Friday early sales are out and the Charge 6 is $99 at Best Buy, I think I’ll pick one up.
If you have a Sams Club membership, it is on sale there until Nov 18th for 89 and comes with an extra sport band :D
@@christachick89Best Buy has a price match guarantee so you can still purchase it for 89 at BB if you show them the Sam's price.
Cool story.
Great video review 💯💪🏾
It looks good but lack of music controls ourside of TH-cam music is a major downside, plus the fitbit premium stuff. Switched to garmin a while back and I'm very happy with it over the Fitbit
what's the Garmin competitor to this>?
Would you rather recommend fitbit charge 6 or garmin vivosmart 5?
I’m keeping my charge 4 just for the spotify 😂 this device is so much 1 step forward 2 steps back whyyy
Thanks for the review!
The fitbit paywall is one of the dumbest things I have ever seen. Why would you buy a watch that's designed for fitness and then also have to pay for the fitness separately???? Same with the google pixel watch! You just paid $350 for a watch, but no, you need to pay more for the fitness stuff???
Why did Google bother buying fitbit if the plan wasn't to integrate into google fit or scrap fit and replace it with fitbit ...
I will never understand it
I agree. Fitbit products are amazing and would sell better if premium was included, especially for those who are paying for TH-cam premium.
Theyre Woke DEI idiots. Not Engineers and businessmen.
This is got to be one of the dumbest comments I've ever seen. You just bought a TV, why do you still have to pay for cable or Netflix? You just bought headphones, why do you still have to pay for Spotify Premium??? WTF?
@@divertiti and I think you missed the point too. Google purchased Fitbit but it was kept as a separate entity. My query was why keep fit on the watch, add Fitbit and have people pay for Fitbit premium. I have used both and so didn't understand why they were not integrated or at least update fit which was their native app. Point being, Google as it usually does, confuses everything till they decide to get rid of it.
@@divertitiyou're not very bright are you?🤦🏿♂️
Not sure why everyone is saying charging for Fitbit premium is a deal breaker. It honestly doesn’t provide you with that much insight. I’ve never used their workout suggestions. Their wellness videos aren’t really all that compelling to use. The core functionality you get with any basic Fitbit is all you need to lose weight and that is why you buy these fitness trackers- to track how your fitness improves. If you really need someone to interpret the data for you (rather than looking through the graphs yourself) the. They usually give you a free subscription for a few months upon purchase of the device. I wouldn’t overlook the tracker because you don’t get fit it premium included. You don’t need it at all and it doesn’t provide much more insight than the basic data provides.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts here … very helpful. I’m trying to determine which fitness tracker to get and was wondering how necessary Fitbit premium is to get the full benefit of the device.
I was gifted a Charge 5 last Christmas. I work out consistantly and used it to the max. Less than 1 year (yesterday) it decided to go black and stop responding. I tried the force reset but it still would not respond...Guess who just ordered a Charge 6 🤦♂️ I'm hoping for the best! Thanks for the video!
This vid was really useful, I was wondering about the accuracy and cost/benefits of this device, so thanks for looking into that.
If Fitbit(Google) wants to sell me any new devices, they need to allow me to connect multiple devices to my Fitbit account, like they USED to. I'm not removing my Pixel Watch 2 from my account every time I want to use this for sleep tracking, etc. Honestly, I don't even look at any of their new devices because this limitation makes them utterly useless to me.
Google won't let Fitbit users change over with old google account or new
google account. I'm not the only one having this problem. Can't use my brand
new Charge 6. Even new accounts are said to be attached to Fitbit.
Google watered down Sense 2 and Versa 4 , writing on the wall.
I have the charge 4 and 5. I love the color on #5. Zone minutes are really off on the charge 5 I get more on the charge 4 and floors tracked which the # 5 doesn't have.
I really like the Charge 6 - I was disappointed to discover they hadn't included an altimeter to track floors climbed, (which existed on the charge 3) and I wish they had given us a wider choice of clock faces which were a bit plainer with large size heart rate and date.
Iwould have swallowed the paywall... but in the feedback the altimeter was something many people ask to return. Without the floor is a no go.
i wish they make it where you can locate it with a beep from your phone, i have set mine down an forgot where it was i love the way you can find your phone
I am not good with technology and I understood most of what you presented; thanks.
The Charge 6 is miles better than the Charge 4. My band attacher on the fitbit itself broke off and I'm on the fence between the Mi Band 8, Huawei Band 8, Fitbit Inspire 3 and Fitbit Charge 6. I'm not looking for a perfect tracker but I want my data to be as accurate as possible. The Quantified Scientist noticed quite a few artefacts during running. Also locking FitBit features behind a paywall is putting me off.
I got the band 8 instead of the Fitbit and I'm really happy with it. It was 36 bucks and does everything I need it to do. Mind you it does not have a GPS, Google wallet or ECG, however there is no subscription and you can skip or adjust music even if it's not TH-cam music. The biggest turn off for many though is, you don't get to sync with Google Fit, if you're okay with that it's a really neat device for the price.
Can you use the stopwatch while tracking workouts? In the background? And not having to pause the actual workout?
I only got one clock face not the dozen or so they show online that I could install. How do a get an analog looking face ?
I’m not paying for Premium!
I just sold my Charge 5. Is the only difference the Google maps? I had found it accurate just not many features.
I have had one for 4 days now and the step counter is insanely inaccurate. If I walk 100 steps it usually counts 100 steps. However, it counts steps when im not walking. It counts about 150 when I'm asleep. I work at home sat at a desk. After 5 hours it counts over 3000 steps when all I have done is go the kitchen a couple of times to make coffee! I gestimate it is incorrect by a factor of 10. So, even if the step counter is accurate when I'm walking, at the end of the day the final count will be worthless. Unless there is a solution I will have to return it. I contacted Fitbit support but they could not explain why is is so inaccurate.
Any new developments, did you end up keeping it or has it remained that inaccurate? thanks
@@p0t4t0nastick it remained inaccurate. It didn't remain with me. I returned it to Amazon and got a refund
@@alanpriest5047oh man sry to hear that. your insane step count when idle seems rly broken. mine is already shipping. let's see if I suffer your fate as well. a factor of 10 is just too much, totally ruins the validity of the stats. thanks for the reply
@p0t4t0nastick yeah. It's a shame. I really like the device but it is just not fit for purpose for my requirements
I always buy Fitbits annnnnd the 2 year Asurion Insurance Coverage for 20.00, it’s anno hassle insurance policy so that when it gives me issues in three years, after the one year warranty, they replace it with no problem!
If they're going to keep that Fitbit they need to offer quite a bit more. I also think they need to drop that price to like $3-4 and I can imagine that they would get a lot more subscribers
Should just remove the subscription completely, since it's unnecessary. I honestly think companies like Fitbit/Google only do subscription fees for the large amounts of people that just forget they are paying a subscription even after no longer using or having the device. It's not even about the features
Does it still have the same charging apparatus?
It's $99 for black Friday now
If I’m going to use one mostly for exercise should I buy an apple se or the Fitbit charge 6?
I had the Charge 5 and it died after 2 minutes in the shower.
I never paid the Fitbit premium monthly. Does having the Premium plan really help your health
I guess I always though if I got plenty of workouts, steps, and sleep; resulting in high SP05 ratings and fairly quick drops in pulse after a workout, that I was doing well. Comments are welcome.
well sir...not really sure we give a dam.
nope....looks like no one gives a dam yet. @@ladamsfrog3730
Note kind of misleading: the "GPS" in this video was not using the on device chipset but leveraged the connected smartphone's GNSS ("GPS") chipset. The charge 6 (like the charge 5) does have a built-in GNSS chipset but does not work as well. By default Fitbit/Google sets the charge 6 GPS setting to dynamic mode which is uses a combination of the smartphone and built-in device (charge 6) chipsets. However, in dynamic mode it mostly uses the smartphone's "GPS" chipset.
What are some alternatives without the pay wall
This or Pixel watch 2?
I actually just bought one thanks to Planet Fitness getting me a deal that took $80 off, so I bought it for less. And honestly is not bad. Idk if I'll get the Premium Service, I think the regular service is fine. I like it so far. Simple and practical
how did planet fitness got you a deal ? because I have a membership with them as well
@@ankuraggarwal8711 It was for a limited time only, so the deal is already over. But the only way you could've received that deal is by being a black card member ($20 monthly membership). They will always have different deals for blackcard members from time to time. That just so happened to be one for the month of December on 2023.
And check the apps inbox. They send the offers on the apps inbox.
What fueters are behind the paywall?
@@ankuraggarwal8711 I thought I answered your question a while back.
The first one is, deals such as this one get sent to your PF app, and e-mail associated with the PF account. So always check up on them. The second, I believe you have to be a Black Card member, but don't quote me on this one. So check with your local gym. As for this particular deal, its already passed. But maybe down the road they'll offer it again with the release of a new Fitbit watch. So check your e-mail and app once in a while.
@@eyeofsauron2812 I don't understand your question
I agree with most of this but I had to ditch the fitbit charge as I frequently go in the ocean and this is the quickest way to destroy this device. I went through 3 in a row until I clicked what was happening.
Does it work with a heart rate chest belt ?
Is it still worth it without the premium subscription?
Thanks for the review. The paywall is the nail in the coffin for me. I don't like to have a physical device that doesn't do it all because I didn't pay a subscription for.
is this compatible with strava?
u planning on doin the xiaomi watch 2 pro?
Did Fitbit fix the GPS issue with the wrist strap being too tight? If I recall this was a issue.
But the Fitbit paywall is ridiculous, so $160 and then $9.99 or $120 a year, so let's say $280, a lot of better health trackers for that not named Fitbit.
Plus like you said that's $9.99 for as long as you own it (month to month or year to year).
still has the gps issue. Interesting they didn't fix that. For running/ walking without your phone it's pretty rubbish
I have the charge 5 and have never had this issue. I wear mine really tight w no problems
thought about buying it but the paywall is probably the dealbreaker since i returned the whoop band just because of it. probably i'm going with a garmin venu 3
Just switched to Venu after 10 yrs of FB. Google has ruined it.
I suppose the subscription payment might not be a problem for those people who just want a (bit better) basic exercise watch for a reasonable price, but don't need the bells and whistles of the more expensive watches?
Great review! What features do I miss out on without the subscription? Are there any smartwatches without paywalls?
In India it's like 1 dollar💀
Nice reviews
Love from India ❤
but what do you get without the premium app? DO you get the sensors? the heart rate, gps? That's really what matters right?
strap an iphone to your arm lol i have seen many people do that
I actually prefer the whoop with it's lack of screen. I wear real watches, so the extra display is kinda pointless for me. I don't like whoops business model of giving you the tracker for "free" but requiring a subscription to make any use of it at all. I don't think Fitbit premium is necessary for the average person. HR, workout and food tracking are the big things people really need to get a baseline idea of fitness and measure progress. I used to wear my Versa 2 all the time until I realized I didn't really need it to know I was in good shape. You eventually get to the point where you don't need the numbers to see and feel progress.
Same here. I love my whoop bit subscription is model is not something I like, I'll probably not pay again once it has expired. Also they need to release a better hardware / new model....
Well presented. I like the colour of this devise.
Since he has a problem with this being $160 how about now that its black friday and its $99 is it worth it now?
Was happy with my Charge 5 for nearly 18 months when the battery decided to go dead in two days vs. the previous six days life on a full charge. Fitbit was happy to offer me a 50% discount if I would buy a new tracker from them. Of course their offer excluded the now Charge 6 which is what I would've purchased. Would buy one of their smart watches if they had local music capability - I won't pay a monthly fee to have music on my smart watch. I guess it is time to take a serious look at the competition.
Just switched to Garmin after 10.yrs thanks to Googles BS
Same thing happened to me.... I wonder if others are seeing this pattern too...
I currently have an inspire 3, I would like a little bit more options, does anybody know if this upgrade would be worth it? I found it on sale for about $120
Do you have to pay monthly to get your steps, ecg, heart rate?
What do you get or not get if you don’t want to pay monthly?
You get most of the basic data without paying. Heart rate, steps, sleep, calories, distance, etc. What you have to pay for is stuff like sleep insights and daily readiness score.
What are you doing with this thing? I log 11 different workouts a week and get like 8 days of wear
well folks, my fitbit charge 5 just stopped working, it's on a reboot loop... after talking to google support, they told me the obvious, my device warranty expired so they won't replace it, i did get a 50% discount promo, but the last Fitbit devices, charge 4 and 5 have been like disposable plates... my charge 3 lasted forever, only replaced it because I received a newer one as a gift... anyways, now i dont know if i should but another fitbit device or go with something else, I'm tired of stuff only lasting a year or 2 at the most...
I just wish it had an "Auto DND" (Do Not Disturb - senses when you're sleeping) for notifications like the Mi Bands do... They used to have it, but it was removed in a firmware update and many are pissed. Here's a sample from the Fitbit forum..."The option was removed with the mid-2020 Firmware update. You now have only Do Not Disturb and Sleep Mode which have to be turned on manually. You can set a schedule for Sleep Mode but that only works if you have a regular sleep schedule which not everyone does (any parents out there?) and doesn't help if you're trying to squeeze a nap in. No one, especially exhausted parents, is going not remember to hit DND before they crash. The Auto-Detect for sleep simply worked. Now we have to choose between removing the tracker before sleeping, remembering to hit DND, or putting up with getting notifications and being woken up the one morning you managed to be able to get a little extra time to sleep in. Come on FitBit...how much user testing did you do before removing the sleep auto-detect feature, and how many parents did you talk to?"
It has that lol
Why can’t I get my Charge 6 to receive calls and texts with volume? Everything is set up and says it is on? Please help!
The charge does not have speakers or a microphone.
I had the Fitbit Charge 5, and the problem I always had was that I could use the heartrate tracking or the GPS, but not both. The GPS receiver was on the bottom of the watch, so if you tightened the watch enough to read your heartrate accurately, it messed with the GPS signal. I'm wondering if the Charge 6 has the same problem.
you can use your phone for GPS connection
@@motomadness123 Sure, but that kind of negates the purpose. If you just want to use your phone for the GPS, there are less expensive wearables you can get. There are non-GPS Fitbits, for example, that cost less money.
@@motomadness123 kind of defeats the purpose of a smart band, other smart bands can do both
I saw another review suggesting that this is a problem with this watch. As someone else suggested you could do GPS on your phone but I want a watch that will track distance accurately and I find Google Maps timeline sometimes doesn't register a walk I have done at all. I am torn between the Fitbit Charge 6 and the Google Pixel watch 2. I am currently using Strava on my phone to record my walking but the added health tracking on a smart watch might be a good idea too.
To make fit bit premium free, even for 3 years would sell this very well. I, for one would ditch my apple watch Ultra 2 for free premium.. Or, another alternative, including fitbit premium with TH-cam premium, and may be, charge an extra couple of dollars and we have a deal. In this day and age of so many subscriptions, it gets very expensive
Should iPhone users get this too?
So I do have one question, when connecting it to my iPhone does this Fitbit 6 allow you to receive text messages while you wear it ? Or is it only to exercise?
Yes
Do you need fitbit subscription to use it? what do you miss out on without the subscription?
I've been using Fitbit devices for 5+ years. The Sense for 2. Never with a subscription to their paid enhanced features. I get ECG, SpO2, sleep info that meets my needs to confirm I'm healthy.
@@carll2222 cool! thank you) i haven’t had one before, so i wasn’t sure.
You get all the data without the subscription which is superfluous. The subscription is more for an interpretation of the data and guidance which not everyone needs.
Monthly payments turned me off getting one.
Am I the only one who noticed him wearing his gold ring with Cable protector on it, to make it tight I guess😅
Boo to subscriptions. The Fitbit paywall, on top of the TH-cam Music one since you can only control that music, is so aggressive.
This cheap thing gets smart wake up but not the expensive pixel watch. Makes sense
That is marketing: You have to buy both
Undecided on this one and pixel watch 2
the premium and not letting Spotify play blew me
Hi sir, My doubt is about the radiation of these watch's are safe to wear around the whole day. Please make a video about SAR in smart watch and Bluetooth earphones.
Gay
does this mean if you cant subscribe to fitbi its going to be useless?
Does it have storage space and can I connect earphone with it?
No
How is the vibration strength of the charge 6
really good. i got it today
The paywall sucks I was about to buy It, but changed my mind.
Спасибо❤❤❤❤❤
I have had the Fitbit Charge 3, 4 and 5. Great experience, until you pass the year of usage. Then they all stop working.
Do the notifications make a noise to notify you?
re SpO2 - is it on demand or only while you are sleeping as per the Sense (and maybe Sense2, I only have the original Sense).
I see this feature as half useful. It's good to look at it in the morning and be aware that something during your sleep (sleep apnea perhaps?) is lowering O2 or perhaps you have something similar to a pneumonia lowering your O2. I wish it was on demand to check while working out so again if you're feeling a bit "off" during a workout you could check it.
I didn't find an auto brightness feature on charge 6. Is that a bug? Because the official website states that it has an ambient light sensor.
The fact that Google took away features from my Fitbit that I paid for when they bought the company makes it almost impossible for me to buy another Fitbit. They put a really bad taste in my mouth doing stuff like that
The pay wall for any device writes it off for me. 😬
I owned the Fitbit 5. The battery lasted only. A year.
Hi, can you do anything on this device while the timer is running? Is it possible to run multiple timers? In Xiaomi Band when you start timer you are locked on the timer screen and can't even check what time it is. I'm looking for the device that doesn't have this issue.
Will this alert you of potential heart failure like the apple watch?
The fitbit premium paywall sort of makes it not worth it imo. Could just go with a bit more expensive tracker by someone else without subscriptions.
What do you think about that Fitbit Paywall? I was ready to buy until he disclosed the Paywall. Deal breaker.
Why deal breaker when it's optional.
Is it better than Xiaomi band 8 and 8 pro 🤔
Not even close! Miband is trash
@@blossompurewhy?
I was ready to buy until you mentioned the price and paywall... My Garmin broke after a cycling accident, I wanted something cheaper/simpler I don't need all the extras but actually it's cheaper buying a Garmin because there's no paywall 🤦
I thought to buy this one, but after realizing the need to pay for a subscription... It's a no go for me.
Google pay caught me❤
The battery life is absolutely rubbish if you walk/hike it won't last one day if you walk more than 17 miles. will last longer if you don't move around mutch
Fitbit Premium - no. Galaxy5 pro, getting 3+ days battery life - yes.
I almost went to click buy. Than you said paywall.
So I'll just buy the galaxy watch instead. Time adds up anyway so why mess about?
I just got a charge 6. I am allready disliking the app. I just do not know how to use it. Its a confused but elegantly presented dumpster fire of an app.
If you compare this watch to the Fitbit 5 it would be so short it wouldn't be worth making
I just bought a charge 9 yesterday. It wouldn’t connect to my phone, and wouldn’t charge. I returned it back to the store. Wouldn’t recommend Fitbit.
Thank God I have Google music😂.
Does the sleep track like when u wake up i currently have a defective versa 3 and am sending it back but can get 50% off if i upgrade so i can pick any fitbit and get the deal but really i just want a functioning watch
Learn how to use fixed focus.
Yes definitely aimed at the U.S market as I could only find approx 10 banks re my UK wallet 9 of which I'd never heard of, was unable to use this feature sadly on my recent Xmas present a Fitbit Charge 4 - would have thought a better system would be to go for Visa / Mastercard accessability not bank names? The the mobile app was chaotic and difficult to find what you were looking for I hope it gets dumped / rehashed!
Is it a sponsored video?