The Fitbit Charge has, for a long time, been the brand’s most popular fitness tracker, with built-in GPS, and a number of advanced health tracking features in an affordable package.
Fitbit has announced the launch of the Fitbit Charge 6, and if you’re thinking about upgrading your Fitbit Charge 5, read on to find all the important information about the new fitness tracker, including release date, price, and what’s new.
Fitbit Charge 6: Cheat sheet
- The Fitbit Charge 6 is an update on the Fitbit Charge 5, and now has all of the major Google apps built-in to the watch, including Google Maps and Google Wallet. New Charge 6 users will need a Google Account now. It’s the first tracker to get these Google features.
- Design-wise, Fitbit has added a haptic side button back to the watch to make navigating around the watch a little simpler.
- There are 20 new exercise modes coming to the Fitbit Charge 6, including surfing, skiing, CrossFit, and HIIT workouts.
- You’ll be able to pair the Charge 6 to gym equipment, allowing you to use it as a heart rate monitor. Fitbit announced the Charge 6 will allow HR streaming to Peloton, NordicTrack, and Tonal, and more partners will be added in the future.
- Fitbit says the Charge 6 has its most accurate heart rate sensor to date, and that the sensor is 60% more accurate than the sensor on the Fitbit Charge 5.
Fitbit Charge 6 release date
You’ll be able to pre-order the Fitbit Charge 6 from September 28, 2023. The Fitbit Charge 6 will be available from Fitbit and third-party vendors from October 12, 2023. The new Fitbit comes in three different colors — black, champagne gold/coral, and silver/white. Fitbit has also released a new ocean-woven sports band for workouts and all-day wear, although the Charge 6 comes with the ‘Infinity’ band as standard.
Fitbit Charge 6 price
The Fitbit Charge 6 will cost $159.95, which is $20 cheaper than the Fitbit Charge 5 when it was launched in September 2021. The cost includes six months of Fitbit Premium membership, where you can view metrics like your Daily Readiness Score.
Fitbit Charge 6 features
The Fitbit Charge 6 has a number of new features we’ve not seen on one of the best Fitbit fitness trackers to date. Firstly, the band will now have Google apps built into the watch, similar to the innovations on the Google Pixel watch. You’ll be able to use the Google Map tool to check your running route, and Google Pay to make payments from your wrist.
Another big change is the haptic feedback button, which was missing from the Fitbit Charge 5. The side button, which was present in older generations, like the Fitbit Charge 4, is now back, allowing you to navigate around the watch without having to rely on the touchscreen.
Like the Fitbit Charge 5, the Charge 6 has an optical heart rate sensor, although Fitbit has said it is now 60% more accurate than that found on previous fitness trackers. The Charge 6 also has built-in GPS, red and infrared sensors for SpO2 monitoring, a skin temperature sensor, and the ability to do an EDA and ECG scan.
From a fitness tracking perspective, there are 20 new exercise modes coming to the Fitbit Charge 6, including surfing, skiing, CrossFit, and HIIT. You’ll also be able to use the Charge 6 as an external heart rate monitor on gym equipment for more accurate readings. Fitbit has said the Charge 6 will be able to pair with Peloton, NordicTrack, and Tonal devices, and that they will be adding more partners.
Fitbit Charge 5 vs. Fitbit Charge 6 — what’s changed?
From the looks of things, there are some big similarities between the Fitbit Charge 5 and the Fitbit Charge 6 — forgetting the side button, design-wise, the two devices look pretty similar. They both have an AMOLED screen, measuring 0.86 x 0.58 inches, and they both have a 7-day battery life and all of the same sensors.
That said, Fitbit has said the heart rate sensor on the newer tracker is more accurate, and that they have been lab testing to make improvements to the GPS tracking on the Charge 6. We’ll be sure to test both of these when we get our hands on the Charge 6 for testing.
From a design perspective, in our eyes Fitbit made a big improvement by adding that side button back — during testing, we found the Fitbit Charge 5 was difficult to navigate around with sweaty fingers, or when wearing gloves. The haptic button will likely perform like that on the Fitbit Inspire 3, making it easier to go back and forth around the watch.
Peloton lovers and regular gym-goers are likely to be excited by the option to pair the tracker to third-party equipment, and it’s definitely a big move for Fitbit. Along with the new workout modes, and hopefully a better heart rate monitor, this might be an upgrade in terms of fitness tracking.
Like all of the best Fitbits, Charge 6 users will still have to pay for a Premium membership to access a lot of their data (once their six-month free membership ends). Here’s everything you need to know about Fitbit Premium, and whether it’s worth it.
More from Tom's Guide
