Hi Rob, I've been watching your brilliant reviews for a couple of years now and just wanted to tell how much your efforts in doing such comprehensive scientific reviews testing devices that are actually important to one's health are appreciated. Keep up the great work!
From my experience with Charge 6: - HR sensor is improved but not always performs well - HR performs really well (comparing to Garmin HRM-Swim chest strap)... in the water (auto-detected swim keeps HR sensor on) - HR locks onto the cadence. I run with cadence 195spm+ and HR often locks for a couple of minutes reporting numbers near 195. It may last a few minutes or more (longest such lock lasted 45 minutes on one of my easy steady runs) - Built-in GPS doesn't work for me. It connects sometimes and a few moments later disconnects and tracker gives up on trying to connect. Dynamic mode isn't making things any better. Only Phone mode is somewhat reliable. - Running distance is always short. I noticed that steps reported for the run don't match my cadence but they are always several hundreds lower. That may explain the distance issue (Fitbit never used GPS for running distance). - Sports tracking in general is very basic and often inaccurate when it comes to metrics (swim lengths always wrong, running distance always short, less features like manual laps or swim stroke detection) - HR broadcasting is almost useless as it won't work with majority of equipment (requires differenr connection handshake), it won't work with bike computers either. From all the equipment I could use only my PC and mobile phone connected. Nothing else.
Another review I saw pointed the issue with GPS and HR broadcasting. The GPS antenna is under the watch face, so you have to choose between a firm fit and good HR sensing or a looser fit and getting GPS signal. It's apparently a design issue they carried form the Charge 5. As for HR broadcasting this watch apparently is one of a few which encrypts HR data, which most devices don't have the ability to work with encrypted broadcast.
Thanks for precise details and presenting graph data. For me it is well within my personal tolerance for accuracy. What I was surprised to see missing is Step count tests. Any average person who gets regular exercise, but does so by walking rather than running or biking is far more interested in step count over the course of day and likely has step count goals rather the miles. Example, I often spend 1-2 hours working in the yard, so step count helps understand how much yard work counts toward my daily goal.
I would say *although I didn’t test it scientifically* it is very accurate and it never really miscalculated my steps. Sometimes it would miss 1-2 if I suddenly started running
I was seriously considering swapping to the Apple ecosystem just to use their superior Apple Watches for fitness tracking. Seeing these results makes me feel I can stay with android and upgrade my Inspire 3 to the Charge 6. Thanks a lot for this review! I've been waiting all week for it.
@@Marc-io6pv lol. If you already have an iPhone it's not a big jump, but I would need to dump a lot of money to get a new phone+watch if I were to switch. Another main downside keeping me from switching is the 1 day battery life.
@@Jinru919 True, I'm also an android user. I do have access to an iPhone 11 if needs be. I want this watch as it has good sleep tracking (same with apple watch) it appears I don't really need that good tracking anymore and yeah if wearing a smartish watch, I'd actually want more out of it. So yeah been looking at the Huawei band 8. Seems to do more, way cheaper and after 6 months isn't going to cost me £8 a month for very little (that I can see) information
@@Jinru919 I agree, I like the Apple watch, but it has a ton of drawbacks, cost being major! I'd need the phone too...like after spending over 450...then the 1500 phone?? NOPE! Cost in Canada is through the roof, so need something doing a simple job like this watch...and I do not like the huge round watches at all!
Maddening, but Fitbit consistently does software upgrades that they could pass backwards to older devices but refuses to. Charge 4 won't show a readiness score, for instance, even though charge 5 doesn't use any data charge 4 doesn't give. Pixel 8 pro has same hardware has pixel 8, but ai features are only enabled for 8 pro. Etc., etc... This should be a crime.
Hey Rob, congrats on hands down the best channel about wearables and surprising how many channels just do shallow reviews! and it'd be great to see more comparison in terms of sleep duration (start, wake up and nap detection) as there seems to be a lot of discrepancies among devices, for example, I've observed discrepancies between samsung watch classic 4, honor band 6 and fitbit charge 6 (interestingly honor band seems to be the best at this) and considering duration is one of the core metrics of sleep having data on this can help a lot to decide which device would offer a net positive for certain people (example, personally i would trade off a bit of phase detection accuracy in favor of total sleep duration accuracy)
Rob, your Fitbit Charge 5 review, reports a 92,2% accuracy for the deep sleep detection. Check at timestamp 7 min 4 sec. And much better awake time detection as well(94,7%). Maybe you need to clarify this difference to your audience? 😉
Nice weightlifting is getting better on fitbit as seen with the pixel 2 and now with the charge 6. Happy to see more android friendly companies driving the change to better tracking! Thanks for the videos Rob! Love the detail as usual!
This has to be the best performing band in the market according to your testing. I've been binging your videos for the past 2 weeks and with certainty the charge 6 has outperformed all other bands (not watches) for both heart rate and sleep tracking. I mean usually the heart rate correlation for outdoor cycling really starts to fall off and gets even worse for weight lifiting, but the correlation for the charge 6 was above .90 for BOTH exercises. That really outperforms all other bands you've tested where typically the correlation will be around .60-.70 for those same exercises. I'm really impressed
Thanks to this review i remembered why i returned my Fitbit Charge 5 because it was no so reliable in sleep tracking. Not every night it recorded my sleep and several times it didnt record some moments in the night . It seems it's doing again that . I'm not impressed.
First of all, I would like to thank you very much for the quick review of the new fitbit. It is now clear to me that if Fitbit wanted to, it would fix the serious problem with the Fitbit charge 5 caused by update 194.61. Many users have a dead bracelet. Others have battery life issues. It only lasts a few hours after charging. Sorry if this doesn't belong here, but if the Fitbit charge 6 has similar or even the same hardware, then they could release an update and improve / fix the Fitbit charge 5.
Yes, i'm one of the people who has a dead fitbit at home now. My charge 5 fried a week ago, 7 months after the warranty experied. They gave me a 50% discount on a new one and i am going to use it, but only to make some profit and buy anything that its not fitbit
I love the data and testing. It would be even better if you can review the product regarding value and data access+usefulness. This could be a separate video. The thing is most of the top accurate devices now have some kind of paywall that keeps useful analytics or metrics away from their users and that's a very important criteria when it comes to purchasing decisions.
After a few weeks of usage - it usually misses one or two pool lengths, measuring a walk against phone GPS and phone app Charge 6 added extra 1km to a 6 km walk.
Your reviews are great with superb rigorous testing giving a lot of detail usually missing from other reviewers. Consequently, many viewers will use your videos to help them make purchasing decisions. With this in mind, please inform viewers when features are locked behind a paywall. For example, the excellent sleep tracking features you speak about in detail are Fitbit Premium features. Without the expensive Fitbit Premium, you don't even get the breakdown of deep, light, REM, awake etc. If you consider many folks will own a watch for 2 years the cost for this watch in EU will currently be around 400€ (160 + 24x9.90) … that's no longer such a bargain.
Outstanding review, as always! I wonder whether you've thought about incorporating additional statistical measures like the MAPE, or even sharing the raw data (not necessarily in the video, but maybe even as supplementary material). I think that providing such information could be very helpful (particularly now that most devices are improving so much their HR PPG correlation values).
Congratulations on your reviews! I would just like to give you a suggestion to make them more "scientific" even about the GPS. You should add distance values recorded with a Garmin in order to have a numerical benchmark, which can make it clear how much the accuracy or inaccuracy affects the performance.
I just love your channel!! It makes me order and end up canceled. Super informative , makes me avoid any "wrong buy" thank you so much and keep the good work 💪
I'm torn between the Charge 6 and the Pixel Watch 2. I have been using watch trackers for fitness for years now, but the current one I have is quite broken. Thankfully, it still tracks and I can still use it to an acceptable degree, but the screen is the only thing that doesn't work. I intend to get a new watch, but my budget is rather thin. If going for the Pixel Watch 2 is significantly better in it's performance, I might just fork over the cash because I do value these kinds of watches thanks to how useful it has been in my daily life. However, if the performance is not worth the high price, then the Charge 6 will do. I'm someone who has an android phone, so I cannot get those Apple watches to get the full functionality due to myself not being in their "ecosystem". Since I have been using Fitbit for years now, I'm more familiar with those devices than any other and generally best for the budget I have. By any chance, could you do a direct side by side comparison between the Charge 6 and Pixel Watch 2?
Wonder if the Charge 6 and PW2 have the same biometric sensors? Or maybe the Charge 6 just inherited the Charge 5's sensors. I believe I read that the PW2 would have the same sensors as the Fitbit Sense 2.
I'm in the same boat. My charge 5 worked great for first 4 months , and the heart rate got funky. They replaced it, I believe with a refurbished one, and that one has other issues. I do mostly weight training and running, plus sleep tracking. I'm willing to fork out a little more to get something more accurate and reliable. Can't get apple either, so want something for android. I'm worried the charge 6 sensors will crap out after a while like the charge 5 did for me.
@@alinapiekna6963 Yea, that is my worry as well. I have noticed with Fitbit watches, they can be hit or miss. But with the Pixel Watch 2, well I'm sure they're incentivized to make it as durable and best they can. This due to it being part of the whole Pixel ecosystem for Google. So it might be worth the upgrade to a Pixel Watch 2, but the cost is still something that makes me think it's not worth it.
I think they are different sensors, the pixel is bigger and there's not room for the same sensor array in the charge. But for me, daily charging is a deal breaker for a watch, so I'm only willing to consider charge series. Smart watches are just unnecessary for me, a minimalist tracker with more battery and only basic features like find my phone and alarm/timer is really all that makes sense imo
Great detailed reviews, but as a couple other comments have mentioned - the calories burned accuracy is one of the biggest points of contention with all these trackers. Accurate HR sensing seems to be one of the larger factors associated with it, but if possible, would be a great addition to your (already great) reviews. Thanks !
Hey man! Love your videos Just came up the idea that you could calculate RMSE in the analysis. Correlation is good as it measures comovoments. However variables of different levels might comove similarly even though they are measuring quite differently. By RMSE, root mean swuared error, i just mean make the deviation of what is measured, square it, take a mean and finally a squareroot. Its easy and might be helpful. Great job!
Bellissimo video, grazie per il tuo ottimo e instancabile lavoro!! Sto aspettando con curiosità il prossimo video su questo smartwatch, quando uscirà? 👋👋complimenti ancora
oof I was thinking of using this for running, those are some odd results for new hardware. Looking forward to you revisiting the running in you further testing. TY
For running i read one should tighten the watch on your wrist for no slack. Doing so will ruin the in watch gps performance but increase the sensors performance.
Congratulations on your hard work. One of the few I trust. Comparing the Fitbitcharger 5 device: Zmax EEG Regarding Deep FitBitcharger 5: 92% accuracy, deviations considered light 7.8% and 0% Rem 0% Awake. Regarding Light FitBitcharger 5: 61.8% accuracy deviations considered 19.1% as deep 13% rem and 6.1% awake Regarding Rem Fitbitcharger 5: 66.1% accuracy deviation 23% as light 0% as deep and 10.8% awake Regarding AWAKE Fitibitcharger 5: 94.7% accuracy deviation 0% rem 0% 0% light and 5.3% as deep. Dream2EEG Regarding Deep FitBitcharger 5: 96.2% accuracy, deviations considered light 1% and 2.9% Rem 0% Awake. Regarding Light FitBitcharger 5: 79.5% correct deviations considered 15.5% as deep 2.7% as rem and 2.4% as awake Regarding Rem Fitbitcharger 5: 50.2% accuracy deviation 23% as light 0% as deep and 10.8% awake Regarding AWAKE Fitibitcharger 5: 89.5% accuracy deviation 40.5% rem 0.6% as deep and 8.78% light Based on your testing you can control variables without third party data. Technically, the fitbit charger 5 should have a better score. If you also consider the smart wake of the fitbit charger 5 it would be extremely accurate since it can achieve zmagx eeg 94.7 for wake and 92% for deep i.e. for this feature it would be extremely accurate. You could test for agent.
Jouw videos moeten de standaard zijn voor fitness horloges! Super. Ik heb naast mijn garmin forerunner een fitbit luxe voor de sleeptracking, maar nog steeds jammer dat alles ver weg is van apple watch.. en 1 dag battery life is echt niet te doen helaas
Zo ver vind ik de Charge 6 niet meer verwijderd van de Apple watches. En dan heb je dus ook nog 4 a 5 dagen realistische batterijduur. Alleen zal je voor accurate gps je forerunner nog nodig hebben of natuurlijk de Charge 6 gebruik laten maken van de smartphone gps sensor.
Excellent video Rob, recently discovered your channel as I was interested in buying a tracker to get my ass of the couch and especially interested in Fitbit since my girlfriend and her kids are on that platform. I was a bit shocked how inaccurate the fitbits actually were. Your pixel 2 review gave me hope though but I don't want to spent €400,- and I want a longer battery life of at least a few days. So I was especially interested in this review considering the claims by Fitbit about the Charge 6. Wow, the Charge 6 did amazing! That new algorithm really makes a huge difference. It's a shame fitbit didn't redesign the implementation of the gps antenna as it was a known design flaw of the Charge 5. Oh well, I can at least use my phone's gps. Really strange results with the running (I'm no runner so not an issue for me). Really intrested in your more thorough reviews of both the pixel 2 and charge 6 as it looks like they are top choices in their respective markt segments. All things considered this looks like agreat choice for me since I want a tracker form factor with long battery life without breaking the bank. In most tests it performs very close to the Pixel 2 at 40% of the price and irl it should get a battery life of 4/5 days 🎉. Mine is ordered :)
Great review. I can't wait to see how you rate the Charge 7 when it drops. My Charge 5 lasted about 2 yrs and recently died. As much as I value a HR monitor during workouts and other activities, I refuse to buy one right before new devices are scheduled to drop in the coming months.
Crazy that charge 4 had this. Would be great to combine with gps and show you present altitude, I would absolutely love that feature. Instead we don't even have the sensor. Still, most phones have it, and I'm never without phone, would be nice if a watch face would use gps for that. I'm not a runner or cyclist, so gps doesn't matter to me, but keeping an eye on altitude would interest me.
Maybe need to also look at RMS deviations for the higher R value results. Maybe also plot some stats on the spread of tracks from the GPS, though it might be a bit more tricky.
When you are comparing devices, handedness set on the device matters for the sensors. You should specify your handedness and whether you will be wearing the device on your dominant or nondominant hand.
Hi Rob, great to see a Charge 6 review so soon after release. As someone with a Charge 5, I have been wanting to upgrade to something a bit more accurate. I love the battery life of the charge series, but the screen is small and the GPS sucks (unless paired with a phone). The Pixel Watch 2 did really well so that's a contender. My fingers are crossed that we will get a Garmin Venu 3 review in the near future because that one seems really promising!
With Black Friday coming up, have you considered doing a video showing the best devices on sale then? You could do a quick TLDR on each device and link back to your full reviews. Hopefully it would drive some affiliate link sales for you.
What version is the Fitbit Charge 6 firmware? Thanks for the video, hope you are able to do another updated Charge 6 review in future with anything else you find out about it. If somebody is using Charge 6, please share the Firmware version it's currently on, wondering if Sense 2 or Charge 5 might receive the upgraded tracking algorithm.
Thanks so much! I always come to you to see if buying a watch, is worth it. I recently lost my charge 5 while I was out and need a new one. Glad to see some slight improvements. Enough for me to upgrade, especially with pre-boxing deal sales on now
Rob, you can manually activate sleep tracking on the Fitbit, by enabling the "Sleep Mode" on the watch right before shutting your eyes. And turning it off, when you are finished sleeping. I do this, to help the accuracy of my Charge 5 Fitbit! 😉
Hi Rob. Thank you. When a cheap Amazon Halo was bricked I lost my mind going through all of your reviews but came out on the other side much wiser and with a better understanding of the limitations of wearables. I made an informed decision and purchased the Charge 6 after this review and the great sale price I found online.
Interesting. I thought that by now the gps and the sleep tracker would be better. Does the calories counter is accurate? And what about the steps counter? 🤔 Amazing video as always, thanks for all the effort you put on your videos 🙌🏽
The pairing issue from the start can really frustrate a lot of customers… if you’re patient enough and figure it out, after that, the overall experience is good
Can you explain why you still use the Whoop? Other devices like the Charge 6 seems to be more accurate. e.g. spinning R=0.99 and for Whoop R=0.94. Even for sleep tracking the Charge 6 is slightly better. Is it because of the Whoop app?
Thanks for the video! Do you think sweating has an influence on the heart rate measurements on the Fitbit Charge 5 and 6? I have some experience with the older Charge 5, and it basically often stopped getting any sensible heart rate readings whenever I sweat a lot during a workout. Did you sweat much during your testing? Maybe during the running where you got the least accurate readings from the Charge 6?
This is what apple did about 3-4 years ago when they updated the software to include ML into their heart rate tracking (even retroactively on previous data!). Next, Garmin needs to step up. Upgraded sensors will only get you so far with accuracy.
Another great review...I hope you can do an in depth review about the Huawei Band 8, highlighting Cardio and SPo2...and many more at the same time how would you recommend the watch to be worn is better to be worn under the arm or use it just how it is indicated in the instructions... your review would be a great help.... thank you and God Bless 😊...
For sleep the Fitbit is very inconsistent last night it only recorded for half the night. I also have a Garmin that is much more consistent night after night but the Fitbit is so different from my Garmin which detect when I actually go to sleep and wake up. Which of course I know, since I’m awake.
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.
I bought the charge 5 thanks to your videos because I needed a cheap watch that tracked sleeping decently. Let's see if what they say about the 6 is true.
You're doing incredible work, and I'm really impressed by the thorough reviews and analyses you provide on watches. I'm looking for some guidance on selecting a watch that suits my active lifestyle, which includes walking and weightlifting. I'm primarily interested in a watch that offers precise step tracking and reliable sleep monitoring, all within a budget of under $100. Could you suggest some options? Any suggestions you might have would be super helpful.
Seems like a great watch if you aren’t looking for the whole smart watch experience. The price of $160 is a little much imo, but thankfully I managed to get a brand new unopened one for $80 cash. So I think definitely worth it at that price 😂
Awake sleep is not matter because we know when go bed we can approximate when we sleep even we if we wake up during sleep we will watch for time the important is deep light snd rem sleep
Please re-review the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro after most recent updates to the newest OS, same as the GW6. Apparently the watchs no longer use the green LEDs to monitor sleeping, rather just infrared, so that's they're less disruptive at night. How does that affect sleep tracking performance
The GPS tracking by the Charge 6 doesn't look too much worse than on my phone (Samsung Galaxy S7), which will quite often show me in entirely the wrong place. I just bought a Pixel 8a because my old Galaxy S7 isn't compatible with the Fitbit App, so I'll have to see if that does better. It turned out to be an expensive Fitbit!
curious to know if there are any features you actually use that the Charge 6 doesn't have. I've been wanting a Pixel Watch 2 but doubt the price is worth the extra features over the Fitbit
I will stay with my Apple Watch ultra it’s still 100% battery i can use that a few years easy or even longer since it’s so accurate even appel watch 6 is good and no different to others
HI, huge fan of your scientific approach to testing. Please please can you review the new Withings Scanwatch 2 to help consumers make informed choices.Thanks!
Hi Rob, thank you for the review. Would you consider using Muse S headband as a reference in sleep tracking ? Will you post your UltraHuman ring results as well ?
IN MY OPINION* the Fitbit charge line is one of the best for budget and having used the charge 5 for about a year it really is a nice device. I will say if you want the most accurate the chest strap is gold standard and apples line beats it out in features and ease of use. And unfortunately fitbits best features are behind the premium paywall. As Someone who has used premium for a good 6 months now and having switched to Apple I have to say it’s not that worth it. The readiness score is nice but not necessary. If apples data was a little more detailed on exercises then Apple would be the best hands down.
The heart rate tracking on my charge 5 is abysmal. Its just a random number generator. So, I doubt a 60% increase in accuracy ( whatever that means ) on awful is enough to convince me.
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Hi Rob, I've been watching your brilliant reviews for a couple of years now and just wanted to tell how much your efforts in doing such comprehensive scientific reviews testing devices that are actually important to one's health are appreciated. Keep up the great work!
From my experience with Charge 6:
- HR sensor is improved but not always performs well
- HR performs really well (comparing to Garmin HRM-Swim chest strap)... in the water (auto-detected swim keeps HR sensor on)
- HR locks onto the cadence. I run with cadence 195spm+ and HR often locks for a couple of minutes reporting numbers near 195. It may last a few minutes or more (longest such lock lasted 45 minutes on one of my easy steady runs)
- Built-in GPS doesn't work for me. It connects sometimes and a few moments later disconnects and tracker gives up on trying to connect. Dynamic mode isn't making things any better. Only Phone mode is somewhat reliable.
- Running distance is always short. I noticed that steps reported for the run don't match my cadence but they are always several hundreds lower. That may explain the distance issue (Fitbit never used GPS for running distance).
- Sports tracking in general is very basic and often inaccurate when it comes to metrics (swim lengths always wrong, running distance always short, less features like manual laps or swim stroke detection)
- HR broadcasting is almost useless as it won't work with majority of equipment (requires differenr connection handshake), it won't work with bike computers either. From all the equipment I could use only my PC and mobile phone connected. Nothing else.
I haven't found this many issues... As a beginner it's great and good price
Another review I saw pointed the issue with GPS and HR broadcasting.
The GPS antenna is under the watch face, so you have to choose between a firm fit and good HR sensing or a looser fit and getting GPS signal. It's apparently a design issue they carried form the Charge 5.
As for HR broadcasting this watch apparently is one of a few which encrypts HR data, which most devices don't have the ability to work with encrypted broadcast.
Thanks for precise details and presenting graph data. For me it is well within my personal tolerance for accuracy. What I was surprised to see missing is Step count tests. Any average person who gets regular exercise, but does so by walking rather than running or biking is far more interested in step count over the course of day and likely has step count goals rather the miles. Example, I often spend 1-2 hours working in the yard, so step count helps understand how much yard work counts toward my daily goal.
I would say *although I didn’t test it scientifically* it is very accurate and it never really miscalculated my steps.
Sometimes it would miss 1-2 if I suddenly started running
I was seriously considering swapping to the Apple ecosystem just to use their superior Apple Watches for fitness tracking. Seeing these results makes me feel I can stay with android and upgrade my Inspire 3 to the Charge 6. Thanks a lot for this review! I've been waiting all week for it.
Thats funny, i just got this watch and have been thinking about getting an Apple warch se. The chatge 6 is ok, but just doesn't do a lot.
@@Marc-io6pv lol. If you already have an iPhone it's not a big jump, but I would need to dump a lot of money to get a new phone+watch if I were to switch. Another main downside keeping me from switching is the 1 day battery life.
@@Jinru919 True, I'm also an android user. I do have access to an iPhone 11 if needs be. I want this watch as it has good sleep tracking (same with apple watch) it appears I don't really need that good tracking anymore and yeah if wearing a smartish watch, I'd actually want more out of it. So yeah been looking at the Huawei band 8. Seems to do more, way cheaper and after 6 months isn't going to cost me £8 a month for very little (that I can see) information
@@Jinru919 I agree, I like the Apple watch, but it has a ton of drawbacks, cost being major! I'd need the phone too...like after spending over 450...then the 1500 phone?? NOPE! Cost in Canada is through the roof, so need something doing a simple job like this watch...and I do not like the huge round watches at all!
Why not get the Watch 2? It ranked better than Apple. You could get them for free with Pixel Pro phone last month.
Amazingly that charge bit 6 using the old sensor with exceptional improvement. That software could easily be installed on the 5th version.
I wonder how long the sensor lasts. I read so many that break just outside the warranty.
Yes but then Google won't profit as much, and as we all know it's profit above all.
They could sell a software upgrade with one time cost. Maybe 100e costs? since it's just software.
@@1Guggaburggi100 €? 😂😂
Maddening, but Fitbit consistently does software upgrades that they could pass backwards to older devices but refuses to. Charge 4 won't show a readiness score, for instance, even though charge 5 doesn't use any data charge 4 doesn't give. Pixel 8 pro has same hardware has pixel 8, but ai features are only enabled for 8 pro. Etc., etc... This should be a crime.
Hey Rob, congrats on hands down the best channel about wearables and surprising how many channels just do shallow reviews! and it'd be great to see more comparison in terms of sleep duration (start, wake up and nap detection) as there seems to be a lot of discrepancies among devices, for example, I've observed discrepancies between samsung watch classic 4, honor band 6 and fitbit charge 6 (interestingly honor band seems to be the best at this) and considering duration is one of the core metrics of sleep having data on this can help a lot to decide which device would offer a net positive for certain people (example, personally i would trade off a bit of phase detection accuracy in favor of total sleep duration accuracy)
I have Fitbit 3 and will keep it for 2 years. I think I will be getting Fit bit 6. Thanks for sharing.
Rob, your Fitbit Charge 5 review, reports a 92,2% accuracy for the deep sleep detection. Check at timestamp 7 min 4 sec. And much better awake time detection as well(94,7%).
Maybe you need to clarify this difference to your audience? 😉
holy CRAP what an improvement over the other fitbits!
Nice weightlifting is getting better on fitbit as seen with the pixel 2 and now with the charge 6.
Happy to see more android friendly companies driving the change to better tracking!
Thanks for the videos Rob! Love the detail as usual!
This has to be the best performing band in the market according to your testing. I've been binging your videos for the past 2 weeks and with certainty the charge 6 has outperformed all other bands (not watches) for both heart rate and sleep tracking. I mean usually the heart rate correlation for outdoor cycling really starts to fall off and gets even worse for weight lifiting, but the correlation for the charge 6 was above .90 for BOTH exercises. That really outperforms all other bands you've tested where typically the correlation will be around .60-.70 for those same exercises. I'm really impressed
Thanks to this review i remembered why i returned my Fitbit Charge 5 because it was no so reliable in sleep tracking.
Not every night it recorded my sleep and several times it didnt record some moments in the night .
It seems it's doing again that .
I'm not impressed.
First of all, I would like to thank you very much for the quick review of the new fitbit. It is now clear to me that if Fitbit wanted to, it would fix the serious problem with the Fitbit charge 5 caused by update 194.61. Many users have a dead bracelet. Others have battery life issues. It only lasts a few hours after charging. Sorry if this doesn't belong here, but if the Fitbit charge 6 has similar or even the same hardware, then they could release an update and improve / fix the Fitbit charge 5.
Yes, i'm one of the people who has a dead fitbit at home now. My charge 5 fried a week ago, 7 months after the warranty experied. They gave me a 50% discount on a new one and i am going to use it, but only to make some profit and buy anything that its not fitbit
Got battery life reduced from 1 week to 30 min thanks to the update 194.91. Interesting way to promote Charge 6 sales
Hey! I hope you add more test subjects soon! Like different ages, skin tone (for the sensors), sex, and etc!
I love the data and testing. It would be even better if you can review the product regarding value and data access+usefulness. This could be a separate video. The thing is most of the top accurate devices now have some kind of paywall that keeps useful analytics or metrics away from their users and that's a very important criteria when it comes to purchasing decisions.
After a few weeks of usage - it usually misses one or two pool lengths, measuring a walk against phone GPS and phone app Charge 6 added extra 1km to a 6 km walk.
Americans be using everything besides metric 🤣 Pool lengths, school busses
Aaawww yes! Been waiting for this!
Your reviews are great with superb rigorous testing giving a lot of detail usually missing from other reviewers. Consequently, many viewers will use your videos to help them make purchasing decisions. With this in mind, please inform viewers when features are locked behind a paywall. For example, the excellent sleep tracking features you speak about in detail are Fitbit Premium features. Without the expensive Fitbit Premium, you don't even get the breakdown of deep, light, REM, awake etc.
If you consider many folks will own a watch for 2 years the cost for this watch in EU will currently be around 400€ (160 + 24x9.90) … that's no longer such a bargain.
Outstanding review, as always! I wonder whether you've thought about incorporating additional statistical measures like the MAPE, or even sharing the raw data (not necessarily in the video, but maybe even as supplementary material). I think that providing such information could be very helpful (particularly now that most devices are improving so much their HR PPG correlation values).
Congratulations on your reviews! I would just like to give you a suggestion to make them more "scientific" even about the GPS. You should add distance values recorded with a Garmin in order to have a numerical benchmark, which can make it clear how much the accuracy or inaccuracy affects the performance.
I just love your channel!! It makes me order and end up canceled. Super informative , makes me avoid any "wrong buy" thank you so much and keep the good work 💪
I'm torn between the Charge 6 and the Pixel Watch 2. I have been using watch trackers for fitness for years now, but the current one I have is quite broken. Thankfully, it still tracks and I can still use it to an acceptable degree, but the screen is the only thing that doesn't work. I intend to get a new watch, but my budget is rather thin.
If going for the Pixel Watch 2 is significantly better in it's performance, I might just fork over the cash because I do value these kinds of watches thanks to how useful it has been in my daily life. However, if the performance is not worth the high price, then the Charge 6 will do.
I'm someone who has an android phone, so I cannot get those Apple watches to get the full functionality due to myself not being in their "ecosystem". Since I have been using Fitbit for years now, I'm more familiar with those devices than any other and generally best for the budget I have. By any chance, could you do a direct side by side comparison between the Charge 6 and Pixel Watch 2?
Wonder if the Charge 6 and PW2 have the same biometric sensors? Or maybe the Charge 6 just inherited the Charge 5's sensors. I believe I read that the PW2 would have the same sensors as the Fitbit Sense 2.
I'm in the same boat. My charge 5 worked great for first 4 months , and the heart rate got funky. They replaced it, I believe with a refurbished one, and that one has other issues. I do mostly weight training and running, plus sleep tracking. I'm willing to fork out a little more to get something more accurate and reliable. Can't get apple either, so want something for android. I'm worried the charge 6 sensors will crap out after a while like the charge 5 did for me.
@@alinapiekna6963 Yea, that is my worry as well. I have noticed with Fitbit watches, they can be hit or miss.
But with the Pixel Watch 2, well I'm sure they're incentivized to make it as durable and best they can. This due to it being part of the whole Pixel ecosystem for Google. So it might be worth the upgrade to a Pixel Watch 2, but the cost is still something that makes me think it's not worth it.
I think they are different sensors, the pixel is bigger and there's not room for the same sensor array in the charge. But for me, daily charging is a deal breaker for a watch, so I'm only willing to consider charge series. Smart watches are just unnecessary for me, a minimalist tracker with more battery and only basic features like find my phone and alarm/timer is really all that makes sense imo
Great detailed reviews, but as a couple other comments have mentioned - the calories burned accuracy is one of the biggest points of contention with all these trackers. Accurate HR sensing seems to be one of the larger factors associated with it, but if possible, would be a great addition to your (already great) reviews. Thanks !
Hey man! Love your videos
Just came up the idea that you could calculate RMSE in the analysis. Correlation is good as it measures comovoments. However variables of different levels might comove similarly even though they are measuring quite differently.
By RMSE, root mean swuared error, i just mean make the deviation of what is measured, square it, take a mean and finally a squareroot. Its easy and might be helpful. Great job!
Bellissimo video, grazie per il tuo ottimo e instancabile lavoro!! Sto aspettando con curiosità il prossimo video su questo smartwatch, quando uscirà? 👋👋complimenti ancora
oof I was thinking of using this for running, those are some odd results for new hardware. Looking forward to you revisiting the running in you further testing. TY
For running i read one should tighten the watch on your wrist for no slack. Doing so will ruin the in watch gps performance but increase the sensors performance.
Man I'm soooo interested in a comparison between charge 6 and 5 nowdays.
Great video and thanks 🙏
Thanks, really looking forward to the full review of the pixel watch 2
Congratulations on your hard work. One of the few I trust.
Comparing the Fitbitcharger 5 device:
Zmax EEG
Regarding Deep FitBitcharger 5: 92% accuracy, deviations considered light 7.8% and 0% Rem 0% Awake.
Regarding Light FitBitcharger 5: 61.8% accuracy deviations considered 19.1% as deep 13% rem and 6.1% awake
Regarding Rem Fitbitcharger 5: 66.1% accuracy deviation 23% as light 0% as deep and 10.8% awake
Regarding AWAKE Fitibitcharger 5: 94.7% accuracy deviation 0% rem 0% 0% light and 5.3% as deep.
Dream2EEG
Regarding Deep FitBitcharger 5: 96.2% accuracy, deviations considered light 1% and 2.9% Rem 0% Awake.
Regarding Light FitBitcharger 5: 79.5% correct deviations considered 15.5% as deep 2.7% as rem and 2.4% as awake
Regarding Rem Fitbitcharger 5: 50.2% accuracy deviation 23% as light 0% as deep and 10.8% awake
Regarding AWAKE Fitibitcharger 5: 89.5% accuracy deviation 40.5% rem 0.6% as deep and 8.78% light
Based on your testing you can control variables without third party data.
Technically, the fitbit charger 5 should have a better score.
If you also consider the smart wake of the fitbit charger 5
it would be extremely accurate since it can achieve zmagx eeg 94.7 for wake
and 92% for deep i.e. for this feature it would be extremely accurate.
You could test for agent.
Jouw videos moeten de standaard zijn voor fitness horloges! Super.
Ik heb naast mijn garmin forerunner een fitbit luxe voor de sleeptracking, maar nog steeds jammer dat alles ver weg is van apple watch.. en 1 dag battery life is echt niet te doen helaas
Zo ver vind ik de Charge 6 niet meer verwijderd van de Apple watches. En dan heb je dus ook nog 4 a 5 dagen realistische batterijduur. Alleen zal je voor accurate gps je forerunner nog nodig hebben of natuurlijk de Charge 6 gebruik laten maken van de smartphone gps sensor.
I've been literally refreshing your channel waiting for this video! Awesome!
Excellent video Rob, recently discovered your channel as I was interested in buying a tracker to get my ass of the couch and especially interested in Fitbit since my girlfriend and her kids are on that platform. I was a bit shocked how inaccurate the fitbits actually were. Your pixel 2 review gave me hope though but I don't want to spent €400,- and I want a longer battery life of at least a few days. So I was especially interested in this review considering the claims by Fitbit about the Charge 6.
Wow, the Charge 6 did amazing! That new algorithm really makes a huge difference. It's a shame fitbit didn't redesign the implementation of the gps antenna as it was a known design flaw of the Charge 5. Oh well, I can at least use my phone's gps. Really strange results with the running (I'm no runner so not an issue for me). Really intrested in your more thorough reviews of both the pixel 2 and charge 6 as it looks like they are top choices in their respective markt segments.
All things considered this looks like agreat choice for me since I want a tracker form factor with long battery life without breaking the bank. In most tests it performs very close to the Pixel 2 at 40% of the price and irl it should get a battery life of 4/5 days 🎉.
Mine is ordered :)
Great review. I can't wait to see how you rate the Charge 7 when it drops. My Charge 5 lasted about 2 yrs and recently died. As much as I value a HR monitor during workouts and other activities, I refuse to buy one right before new devices are scheduled to drop in the coming months.
I am happy with Charge 6's HR accuracy. Sadly, it does not have an altimeter. I'll wait for the next Versa/Sense.
Crazy that charge 4 had this. Would be great to combine with gps and show you present altitude, I would absolutely love that feature. Instead we don't even have the sensor. Still, most phones have it, and I'm never without phone, would be nice if a watch face would use gps for that. I'm not a runner or cyclist, so gps doesn't matter to me, but keeping an eye on altitude would interest me.
Venu3 next?? 🙏🙏
Maybe need to also look at RMS deviations for the higher R value results. Maybe also plot some stats on the spread of tracks from the GPS, though it might be a bit more tricky.
When you are comparing devices, handedness set on the device matters for the sensors. You should specify your handedness and whether you will be wearing the device on your dominant or nondominant hand.
Hi Rob, great to see a Charge 6 review so soon after release. As someone with a Charge 5, I have been wanting to upgrade to something a bit more accurate. I love the battery life of the charge series, but the screen is small and the GPS sucks (unless paired with a phone). The Pixel Watch 2 did really well so that's a contender. My fingers are crossed that we will get a Garmin Venu 3 review in the near future because that one seems really promising!
With Black Friday coming up, have you considered doing a video showing the best devices on sale then? You could do a quick TLDR on each device and link back to your full reviews. Hopefully it would drive some affiliate link sales for you.
What version is the Fitbit Charge 6 firmware? Thanks for the video, hope you are able to do another updated Charge 6 review in future with anything else you find out about it. If somebody is using Charge 6, please share the Firmware version it's currently on, wondering if Sense 2 or Charge 5 might receive the upgraded tracking algorithm.
Thanks so much! I always come to you to see if buying a watch, is worth it. I recently lost my charge 5 while I was out and need a new one. Glad to see some slight improvements. Enough for me to upgrade, especially with pre-boxing deal sales on now
Rob, you can manually activate sleep tracking on the Fitbit, by enabling the "Sleep Mode" on the watch right before shutting your eyes. And turning it off, when you are finished sleeping.
I do this, to help the accuracy of my Charge 5 Fitbit! 😉
That's not what Sleep mode does. It just changes some notification options and the the screen, to make sure the watch doesn't disturb you.
Hi Rob. Thank you. When a cheap Amazon Halo was bricked I lost my mind going through all of your reviews but came out on the other side much wiser and with a better understanding of the limitations of wearables. I made an informed decision and purchased the Charge 6 after this review and the great sale price I found online.
Interesting. I thought that by now the gps and the sleep tracker would be better. Does the calories counter is accurate? And what about the steps counter? 🤔 Amazing video as always, thanks for all the effort you put on your videos 🙌🏽
YES! Was hoping you'd cover this one! Thanks!!!!
Do you share your testing data somewhere? Would love an update on this watch and the pixel2 with some more data. Great work man!
would also love an update as well!
The pairing issue from the start can really frustrate a lot of customers… if you’re patient enough and figure it out, after that, the overall experience is good
Thanks bought this instead of the inspire 3 based on the hr monitor consistency
Can you explain why you still use the Whoop? Other devices like the Charge 6 seems to be more accurate. e.g. spinning R=0.99 and for Whoop R=0.94. Even for sleep tracking the Charge 6 is slightly better. Is it because of the Whoop app?
+1
Money
Yep, wondered the same thing.
Extremely detailed video, thank you for this. We would really appreciate it if you could do a garmin venue 3 review next.
Hi Rob, thank you for this awesome video! And I love the orange colored band 🤩
Thanks for the video!
Do you think sweating has an influence on the heart rate measurements on the Fitbit Charge 5 and 6? I have some experience with the older Charge 5, and it basically often stopped getting any sensible heart rate readings whenever I sweat a lot during a workout.
Did you sweat much during your testing? Maybe during the running where you got the least accurate readings from the Charge 6?
Please test the Polar Vantage V3! Thanks in advance! :)
Thanks for all these efforts! 💙 Thanks for helping us in taking better and informed decisions.
This is what apple did about 3-4 years ago when they updated the software to include ML into their heart rate tracking (even retroactively on previous data!). Next, Garmin needs to step up. Upgraded sensors will only get you so far with accuracy.
Another great review...I hope you can do an in depth review about the Huawei Band 8, highlighting Cardio and SPo2...and many more at the same time how would you recommend the watch to be worn is better to be worn under the arm or use it just how it is indicated in the instructions... your review would be a great help.... thank you and God Bless 😊...
For sleep the Fitbit is very inconsistent last night it only recorded for half the night. I also have a Garmin that is much more consistent night after night but the Fitbit is so different from my Garmin which detect when I actually go to sleep and wake up. Which of course I know, since I’m awake.
It would be great if you could also measure the calories burned accuracy 🙏🏼 also for the Fitbit inspire 3 :)
what an incredible review. new subscriber for sure
Hi @TheQuantifiedScientist are you able to comment on the HRV performance / accuracy?
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.
I bought the charge 5 thanks to your videos because I needed a cheap watch that tracked sleeping decently. Let's see if what they say about the 6 is true.
You're doing incredible work, and I'm really impressed by the thorough reviews and analyses you provide on watches. I'm looking for some guidance on selecting a watch that suits my active lifestyle, which includes walking and weightlifting. I'm primarily interested in a watch that offers precise step tracking and reliable sleep monitoring, all within a budget of under $100. Could you suggest some options? Any suggestions you might have would be super helpful.
The real question is how long does it last? I've had 3 Charge 5. All lasted approximately 1 year before they cratered. What a waste.
Thank you, SmartWatchPewdiepie.
Please review the galaxy fit 3 band review
Thanks a lot.. Was waiting for this video... 😮
Thanks for review, I think this is my next watch!
thanks for video. Should i upgrade from my charge 4 to this?
Seems like a great watch if you aren’t looking for the whole smart watch experience. The price of $160 is a little much imo, but thankfully I managed to get a brand new unopened one for $80 cash. So I think definitely worth it at that price 😂
Hi. Hope you can do the retest for running soon. Thanks.
Thanks mate, another great review! I might upgrade from my honor band 8
Thank you for the great work.
Please try steps while shopping and pushing a cart 🛒
Awake sleep is not matter because we know when go bed we can approximate when we sleep even we if we wake up during sleep we will watch for time the important is deep light snd rem sleep
Please re-review the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro after most recent updates to the newest OS, same as the GW6. Apparently the watchs no longer use the green LEDs to monitor sleeping, rather just infrared, so that's they're less disruptive at night. How does that affect sleep tracking performance
Is HRV accurate on this one?
You should also try the ScanWatch 2 for sleep tracking. I would be curious where it ends in the overall list
Impressed, just bought it.
The GPS tracking by the Charge 6 doesn't look too much worse than on my phone (Samsung Galaxy S7), which will quite often show me in entirely the wrong place.
I just bought a Pixel 8a because my old Galaxy S7 isn't compatible with the Fitbit App, so I'll have to see if that does better. It turned out to be an expensive Fitbit!
Venu 3 please
Yes please...
So overpriced
Very overpriced!!!
Or Vivoactive 5
Same sht as venu 2
I have the pixel watch 2 that came with my pixel 8 pro and I'm so torn on whether to keep it or sell and grab the fitbit charge 6.
curious to know if there are any features you actually use that the Charge 6 doesn't have. I've been wanting a Pixel Watch 2 but doubt the price is worth the extra features over the Fitbit
The most important reviewer...!!!
I will stay with my Apple Watch ultra it’s still 100% battery i can use that a few years easy or even longer since it’s so accurate even appel watch 6 is good and no different to others
HI, huge fan of your scientific approach to testing. Please please can you review the new Withings Scanwatch 2 to help consumers make informed choices.Thanks!
Thanks for a video, couldn't find answer to one important question, does it support wireless charging function ?
I like the new background. 🤠
Is there anywhere we could browse this graph of all watches you show in the end of heart rate segments? Pretty please?
Hi Rob, thank you for the review. Would you consider using Muse S headband as a reference in sleep tracking ? Will you post your UltraHuman ring results as well ?
Muse2 why TQS ignore this for years???????????????
IN MY OPINION* the Fitbit charge line is one of the best for budget and having used the charge 5 for about a year it really is a nice device. I will say if you want the most accurate the chest strap is gold standard and apples line beats it out in features and ease of use. And unfortunately fitbits best features are behind the premium paywall. As Someone who has used premium for a good 6 months now and having switched to Apple I have to say it’s not that worth it. The readiness score is nice but not necessary. If apples data was a little more detailed on exercises then Apple would be the best hands down.
Also, Fitbit has some very weird HR spikes and glitches over time so it can be hard to deal with as the device gets older.
Hey man! Any chance you’re doing the Garmin Venu 3 soon?
Love your channel, thanks!
Yay! Come on fitbit lets return to the glory days
How is the HRV tracking??
Hi Rob. I really appreciate your great reviews! Do you have any plans to review the Garmin Venu 3 in the near future? Thanks!
The Fitbit Inspire 4 better have the pixel watch 2 sensors 😪
The heart rate tracking on my charge 5 is abysmal. Its just a random number generator. So, I doubt a 60% increase in accuracy ( whatever that means ) on awful is enough to convince me.
Feels like this is just an over the air update no hardware changes but a botton
Great test do you plan to review also the Scanwatch 2
Awesome video!
@TheQuantifiedScientist I love your tests! However Why are the new Casio watches missing?