I love this watch. I’ve had no issues that some people have been complaining about. I opted out of getting an Apple Watch because I didn’t want the “smart features” and only the fitness & health benefits
Another reviewer gave a pretty good analysis of the GPS tracker with the Charge 5. He found in order for the GPS tracker to work properly during his runs, the wrist band has to be worn loose. By doing that though, the heart rate monitoring did not work. When he tightened the wrist band back up, the heart rate monitor worked great, but then the GPS stopped working. he could never find a wrist band setting to get both working at the same time. The reviewer talked to support about that, the problem was never solved. I dont have a fitbit charge 5, but it is on sale now and plan to get one. People say the Apple watch series 7 (400 dollars) is better, but I found out that you also need a 1000 dollar Iphone to make it work properly. Apple sucks far as not letting their devices not work with non-apple type devices. So their watch would not work with my android phones or PC laptops even though they both have bluetooth. thanks for your video and take care, learning allot about these devices.
Great review! I had battery issues the 1st few days and was about to return it. But I finally figured out what the issue is. It'll go to 99% rather fast when charging. Everyone naturally assumes it'll go up 1% in 5 mins to hit 100% and will take it off the charger. However, this isn't the case. It'll have to stay on the charger for close to 2 hours before it switches by 1% to 100%. Since then, its gone 5 + days. No issues. Happy camper. Thank goodness.
Yep battery issues for me too at the First charge...then After the update i restarted the tracker and booom 7 days battery.The battery Is Great! And the tracker too!
Checking out your other videos on this now, but I wanted to say I love this review. Thank you for all the effort and time you put into being thorough on this. Great job! I was hoping you would address the missing altimeter piece(maybe you did and I blinked). I'm on the charge 3 now and want a GPS watch to track obstacle course events where I can't have my phone on me, but the missing altimeter is the biggest hesitation I'm having, cause I love tracking stair sets through my everyday life. Hate the idea of having 2 watches for a "daily" tracker and an "event/exercise" tracker and it feels like the Sense is too bulky and awkward to be comfortable in an obstacle course race. If charge 5 didn't have the brighter display and aluminum case I'd just get a charge 4, but I do love the idea of being able to read the display more easily on a sunny day. Anyway, love the work you put into this video to be as comprehensive as possible! Thank you!!!
Thanks for an awesome review. I appreciate you explaining the features and how well they work/ how useful you find them/ how they stack up to competitors in the market. By far the best Charge 5 video I've seen.
I love that you bring up The Quantified Scientist! It's the best reviewer regarding testing the sensors of fitness trackers/smart watches. Your test is really good too. Also, you are a sympathetic person :-) Subscribed!
I agree. Your channel is one of the most interesting out there covering a much broader range of devices than many others, plus you always home in on the practical issues. Always great to follow what a young smart watch reviewing, gaming professional, pc building, skate boarding as well as app building star is doing! Please keep these reviews coming and your channel growing! Thank you.
The thing is that this is a fitness band and not a smart watch. People tend to confuse this two. You need all those info get a smart watch. For me it’s moore than ok with the C5. Overall good review!!
I’m still using a charge 2 & love the completely passive nature, I really don’t want to interact with it so i like the lack of smart features. I’m impressed with the auto workout sensing & think perhaps it’s time for an upgrade. Thanks.
This is exactly why I switched out my galaxy watch 4 for this one. Also, I switched to iPhone and the galaxy watch 4 wasn’t compatible. How are you liking it?
Thanks for the honest review! I have had Fitbits since the Charge 1 up to the Ionic. Unfortunately I had a bike fall and haven’t been able to update to this Charge. Now using Garmin 245, where the sleep tracking is terrible and the app not very friendly. Can’t wait to get the C5 next month!
I think having a readiness score is actually bad because it guides one into thinking that he or she should not exercise on certain days. From my experience I can tell that my best workouts were on the days where I didn't want to go to the gym initially, was tired and so on but still went working out.
This is a very helpful review. I was looking at this watch and another brand. The premium subscription was something I don't want to commit to. Thanks for helping me make an informed decision!
Just ordered this since $50.00 off at Amazon today. But like you I NEED better info on the SP 02 Since my obstructive sleep Apnea converted to CENTRAL Sleep Apnea dice needing 5 major surgeries that have required my using extremely high dose Opioid Pain medication for what life is now left for me. This also required the new purchase of an ASV Ventilator instead of the vastly cheaper CPAP device. I’ve literally nearly died now countless times when falling asleep watching TV in a recliner to wake only thanks to my wife SCREAMING for me to wake up and then freaking out saying I am literally blue from not breathing. I formally rigged a Chinese SP 02 Finger monitoring device that DID have an alarm I could set to wake me but taping the damned thing to my finger all the time and the too weak beeping of the alarm if my O2 or pulse went through my alarms I set often failed anyway… scary stuff that BETTER tools need to be built for! Another NICE review especially for we who have major medical reasons for this search for device’s just to stay alive….
Hi Mike, would you be willing to share how your experience with wearable tracking of spO2 levels with different devices has been? Which ones you have tried seemed to work best for you, and which ones were quite useless in your opinion? Regards
Wow! Excellent review! I just bought one a few days ago and I'm still checking it out. I use it mainly to track workouts because I do a lot of cross-training. Everything from weight training to martial arts to running and even calisthenics. I use this to replace the Samsung Galaxy Fit and it seems like the tracking on this one is a little more on point. Thanks for the review!
Nice review but would’ve been nice if you could share your experience regarding the functionality of the watch while swimming as only smart watches are doing well with swimming. Really not found a single health band where swimming tracking is upto the mark. Most bands screen just doesn’t operate nicely.
It’s a fitness tracker, not a smart watch, but very good indeed. Battery life excellent, 7 days no problem, why would you want it on all the time? If you do, switch that on. Good review.
Own it and it is great. Owned garmin and it is way worse then fitbit in data tracking. I dont actually like interacting with a band itself, but IMO phone app is good as well as web panel. It is just mind blowing how much fitbit is better in tracking than garmin - you wear it and forget it. It auto-detects everything without a problem. With garmin, even if you specify exact hours you go to sleep, it still will detect that you are sleeping when watching movie on a couch - fitbit only detect actual sleep.
I've found GPS to be accurate pretty much to the inch, steps fine, calories too, heart rate inconsistent (which I don't use anyway), and the only nit I'd pick is that it's often slow to connect to GPS!
I bought this new today. 8/27/23 and it does have a Find Phone option. I'm looking at it right now. Also I always have my phone with me in my pocket so I have a weather app with me at all times so that doesn't bother me it's not on the fitbit.
phenomenal review..... take a bow.....helped me take an informed decision of not buying charge 5..... Thank you.... I will probably move on to Garmin Venu 2 plus.... DO you have any idea on this gadget?
has the heartrate been accurate? ive been looking to get one but it seems like a lot of people are having issues with the heartrate accuracy by as much as 20 bpm, which is a definite dealbreaker
Great video Could you please do a video about the devices you use for monitoring and treating the sleep apnoea I was diagnosed with sleep apnoea and it would help me alot
Great review, thank you. My biggest complaint is the lack of auto pause on exercises. I would have thought that was so basic it would be essential. Manual pausing while riding is a pain.
Thank you...........I've been searching for info on the premium feature and you gave me the info I needed to decide to purchase or not to purchase this tracker.........
Great review, I had a 2HR for many years until the display went black. Purchased the Charge 5, which I really liked, only to have the band brake in less than a year. Purchased another charge 5, the problem I have with this one is that "Reminders to move" doesn't work. I have it set in my app, however the tracker doesn't remind me. The display on the app shows the description fainted. Do you have any idea as to why this may be? Thank you.
I’ve come from a charge 2 and I am currently enjoying the charge 5. I s ask not worried about smart features like calendar and weather. Interesting to hear about premium is not worth it. I may give the 6 month a go but good to know what to expect.
Great review, I have a Fitbit charge 3 and am overall happy with it except for one thing, the fact that the screen is impossible to read outside or in a bright indoor location, this is why I was thinking of upgrading to the charge 5, is the charge 5 screen easy to view outside? Btw I also use the weather on my charge 3 everyday so I'd really miss that too but would give it up to be able to read my screen outdoors. Is the sleep information the same on the charge 5 as the charge 3? Thanks
I’m thinking about upgrading my fitbit charge 3 because of the same reason, I even thought that It was because of programmed obsolescence, it so hard to read in medium light conditions
That is exactly what happened to my charge 3. Dim was so low. I couldn't read at all. I did have it for a couple years tho...but was a bit disappointed. I just ordered charge 5.
My charge 5 died after less than 4 months. Lots of other charge 5 owners have had similar 'bricking' issues. You can find more info about this on other RUclips vids.
There is a FIRMWARE UPDATE dated Dec 2023. This finally fixed connectivity issues with my Charge 5. I had previously gone back to my Charge 4 (very reliable). Ch 5 no longer mothballed. Prefer having a home button which Charge 6 went to.
My charge 5 does have a find your phone but it can’t find my iPhone. I even tried opening the Fitbit app to see if that helps. I’m right by the phone but no. I’ll research if I need more setup
I do have a question for you. How good is the oxygen level monitoring on the Fitbit charge 5? I was initially going to get a finger type device, then found out about the fitbit products. thank you for any info. Added note: your cons at the end of the video may be nice to have, but they are not the most important to me. I have a laptop and a Motorola smartphone that tells me all those utilities, plus a much bigger display to see them on.
for the watch I have no complains, its good reliable. App on the other hand... most of the features works great - food log for example sometimes get so buggy... right now its bugged for almost a month now and in the forums they just say we work on it ...
@@JSyntax I like the smaller form factor still with the functions I need. I would miss the apps, but it's not a deal breaker. I saw it on Amazon yesterday for $99. In a few minutes they changed it to $109. So, I paid $109. Now it's $128. Snooze you loose.
Hello JSyntax, great work. Guidance for 'Fitbit', considering: Daily usage, compliment traditional watch, current premium trials, at least 2 yrs usage. Regards from India, Happy New Year- Avi
I have the 3 and I’m satisfied with it. Have thought of getting the 4 but nothing new. Waited for 5. And nope for sure. I don’t like when I have to change the accessories. I don’t want to have to buy new bands. Or can’t use my old charger. My 3 still does what I want it to do.
AWESOME REVIEW!! I just purchased this fitbit but When it's not in use for long periods how do you store it since you can't shut it down to save battery life.
Im new to fitbit. Just bought the charge 5 today. I didnt realize there are no controls for music. Seems a bit crazy that a fitness device wouldnt have that. I hope that could possibly be added in a future update.
Good review but there is one very annoying thing with the charger. The cord is only 20 inches long from the magnetic connector to the USB plug which has to be plugged into a charger. Since it is so short you can only charge it in certain places like your kitchen counter. I can't charge it on my desk, night stand, side table, in bed, sitting in a chair or a couch, because the wall plugs are too far away or behind furniture. If the cord was 6 feet, I could charge it in most of those places.
Is the spo2 relative range tracking useful for you and do you think it’s useful for those with sleep apnea like me? I use an oral appliance and not a cpap or apap.
I had an O2 measurement at hospital of 100% and charge 5 said 97. It is not actually measured but the figure given is not too bad. It's the trend that is important
@@MrGerrymagic I've heard that because of the S curve of oxygen saturation, anything above 95 is almost exactly the same, it's when it gets lower than that when you need it to work.
For me, this is perfect. I want the weather or stuff, I'll use my phone. Problems - date format is really really annoying. Sleep doesn't measure actual o2 level. I've got find my phone on my one!
Got mine 12/25/21. Wear it all the time. I do a daily 5.5 mile loop hike that starts on city streets with the middle of the hike through hills and redwoods in Marin County, California. The built in GPS is fairly accurate in city streets but gets "stupid" in the hills and trees. It records waypoints every second but they are often +/- 100 ft off. Tried loosening the band per fitbit support - helped in city but not in the hills. When I map the route in the dashboard - it makes it look like I am spiderman - jumping 75 feet to the left, then 50 feet to the right every few seconds or so (in the hills). My old Garmin E-Trex GPS does fine on the same trail, it has other terestrail position correction features so not a fair fight. With fit bit gps all the zigs and zags in the waypoint list - fit bit reports that I hiked 6.7 miles, not 5.5 miles. I got the Charge 5 because it had the GPS built in so I could leave my phone at home. I hope Fitbit resolves this. My suggestion to them - only record waypoints when you have enough satellites ( 4, 5, 6 ?) to be accurate, otherwise - SKIP recording. If the resulting waypoint list is missing a few seconds but more accurate - when mapping it will smooth between the points and not calculate overstated distances.
Great video, I know the ECG wasn't available at the time but can someone share if that is usable only with premium or is that part of the basic health and fitness stats that are free with it?
I just got the Charge 5 with a premium package; the ecg dies not want to connect to the phone app. Very frustrating! the wrist band keeps telling me to check my phone.
Geez, i totally love all your reviews but i think watching all the smart watch reviews at once has overwhelmed me and I just don't know how to move forward. I have an google pixel 4 5G and i want to get a great fitness tracker. I have sleep apnea like yourself and would love a great tracker for that, plus music control, workout tracker ( for weights too), calorie burner, gps, notifications for my apps and letting me know when im getting a call but not I don't need to answer it with the watch. I would love to find one that is dustproof as well... There are soo many that do this that you have reviewed but I am just stuck. Would you be able to point one or two out that meet what I need? With boxing day coming up I would save some money and purchase the best one for my needs. I would appreciate any help. You have been soo much help already and I really appreciate all you postings and how in depth you go with each watch. Thanks either way kris
my charge 3 was doing fine for 2 years but is now failing in the heart sensor function - how long should you expect the charge 5 to last/perform accurately?
@JSyntax great review again, thank you. I am trying to choose between Fitbit Charge 5 and Garmin Venu 2/2S/2Plus. I'm purely interested in a comfortable and wearable fitness and health tracker with lots of reliable and useful data. Less interested in smartwatch app features (messaging/notifications/voice control/music etc.). Which do you recommend?
@@JSyntax Thanks for responding. I kept going back and forth and eventually settled on the charge 5. I always have my phone nearby so the few added health features and the $30 less price point swayed me to the fitbit charge 5. Have a great day and thanks!
Hi. I tap on hear trate and it tells me to open the fitbit mobile app, which is open. the phone says we're synced, but the info isn't goint to the phone. How do I get the charge 5 to talk to my android?
Thank you for this video! Do you have a recommendation between the charge 5 and Garmin vivosmart 4? I’m looking for a fitness tracker to track sleeping and workouts.
You mentioned a charge or subscription for the sleep data was that right ? Does that mean you don’t get to see the sleep data/ scale on you phone without subscription?
Looks like a pretty attractive fitness tracker. Are you planning on looking at the new Ticwatch Pro 3 Ultra? From what I can see it's not really an "Ultra" upgrade at all. Probably not worth your while buying one to review therefore!
I have found on most of fitbit's the quick view, when raising my arm or rotation of wrist, so quick that I'm rarely able to see the akways on display. Therefore I find AOD being a useless option
Always On Display - Can read the display at ALL times when it's on. That's why to me the AOD is essential (like JSyntax); I always consider battery life with AOD on. With AOD it's like wearing a regular watch - don't need to manipulate the wrist to see the watch/tracker face and don't have to worry about the display switching off before I can read the face.
@@singtay7738 I don't manipulate my wrist, I simply rotate and move the tracker where I can see the face. And of course the face lights up and without AOD.
Google is putting smart features into the Google Pixel and limiting Fitbit to fitness tracking only, In fact, they have blocked access to smart features in the new Sense Fitbit which has really upset those who bought them expecting to use thise smart features. So you either buy a smartwatch or a fitness tracker.
I was specifically interested in details about the GPS, was kind of disappointed the superficial mention (and makes me think what other people's say is right).
Just wish you had an option to switch off the Charge. I work where you have to switch off bluetooth enabled items and cannot take my Charge 3. I like the small form factor and dont need too many bells and whistles, but this wont shut down on command.
I've never owned a fitness tracker or smartwatch before, so I'm a little confused. Does this show only your heart rate history? Or does it also give an alarm as an alert if your heart rate is too high/low? I'm hoping to find something that will warn me about my heart rate so I know I need to find a seat before I blackout. I'm an android phone user. A heart rate alarm is really the only feature I need at the moment.
I love this watch. I’ve had no issues that some people have been complaining about. I opted out of getting an Apple Watch because I didn’t want the “smart features” and only the fitness & health benefits
This guy really cares that we get what we can out of this fit bit and I am thankful for this video
Yes indeed thank you for your kind words
Another reviewer gave a pretty good analysis of the GPS tracker with the Charge 5. He found in order for the GPS tracker to work properly during his runs, the wrist band has to be worn loose. By doing that though, the heart rate monitoring did not work. When he tightened the wrist band back up, the heart rate monitor worked great, but then the GPS stopped working. he could never find a wrist band setting to get both working at the same time. The reviewer talked to support about that, the problem was never solved.
I dont have a fitbit charge 5, but it is on sale now and plan to get one. People say the Apple watch series 7 (400 dollars) is better, but I found out that you also need a 1000 dollar Iphone to make it work properly. Apple sucks far as not letting their devices not work with non-apple type devices. So their watch would not work with my android phones or PC laptops even though they both have bluetooth. thanks for your video and take care, learning allot about these devices.
Great review! I had battery issues the 1st few days and was about to return it. But I finally figured out what the issue is. It'll go to 99% rather fast when charging. Everyone naturally assumes it'll go up 1% in 5 mins to hit 100% and will take it off the charger. However, this isn't the case. It'll have to stay on the charger for close to 2 hours before it switches by 1% to 100%. Since then, its gone 5 + days. No issues. Happy camper. Thank goodness.
Wow that's odd! Glad it worked out
Ah, the stay in the car I'm just running in for a minute trick. 40 minutes later hauling a full cart over to the car.
Yep battery issues for me too at the First charge...then After the update i restarted the tracker and booom 7 days battery.The battery Is Great! And the tracker too!
Does it drop pairing often like the luxe?
Good point thanks
Checking out your other videos on this now, but I wanted to say I love this review. Thank you for all the effort and time you put into being thorough on this. Great job! I was hoping you would address the missing altimeter piece(maybe you did and I blinked). I'm on the charge 3 now and want a GPS watch to track obstacle course events where I can't have my phone on me, but the missing altimeter is the biggest hesitation I'm having, cause I love tracking stair sets through my everyday life. Hate the idea of having 2 watches for a "daily" tracker and an "event/exercise" tracker and it feels like the Sense is too bulky and awkward to be comfortable in an obstacle course race. If charge 5 didn't have the brighter display and aluminum case I'd just get a charge 4, but I do love the idea of being able to read the display more easily on a sunny day. Anyway, love the work you put into this video to be as comprehensive as possible! Thank you!!!
Thanks for an awesome review. I appreciate you explaining the features and how well they work/ how useful you find them/ how they stack up to competitors in the market. By far the best Charge 5 video I've seen.
thank you so much for your kind words
I love that you bring up The Quantified Scientist!
It's the best reviewer regarding testing the sensors of fitness trackers/smart watches.
Your test is really good too. Also, you are a sympathetic person :-)
Subscribed!
Thank you!
I really appreciate your detailed review, best, most thorough review I've probably ever seen!
Thank you
Waiting for your channel to take off. Such great quality vids man.
Thank you!
I agree. Your channel is one of the most interesting out there covering a much broader range of devices than many others, plus you always home in on the practical issues. Always great to follow what a young smart watch reviewing, gaming professional, pc building, skate boarding as well as app building star is doing! Please keep these reviews coming and your channel growing! Thank you.
Maaaaaan I love the time stamps so much
Yeah ty!
The thing is that this is a fitness band and not a smart watch. People tend to confuse this two. You need all those info get a smart watch. For me it’s moore than ok with the C5. Overall good review!!
I’m still using a charge 2 & love the completely passive nature, I really don’t want to interact with it so i like the lack of smart features. I’m impressed with the auto workout sensing & think perhaps it’s time for an upgrade. Thanks.
Awesome!
I still have my charge 2 as Well! Definitely tempted to upgrade by the additional health tracking benefits.
This is exactly why I switched out my galaxy watch 4 for this one. Also, I switched to iPhone and the galaxy watch 4 wasn’t compatible. How are you liking it?
Thanks for the honest review! I have had Fitbits since the Charge 1 up to the Ionic. Unfortunately I had a bike fall and haven’t been able to update to this Charge. Now using Garmin 245, where the sleep tracking is terrible and the app not very friendly. Can’t wait to get the C5 next month!
I'm really excited for you as well
There is a discount at the moment!
I think having a readiness score is actually bad because it guides one into thinking that he or she should not exercise on certain days. From my experience I can tell that my best workouts were on the days where I didn't want to go to the gym initially, was tired and so on but still went working out.
This is a very helpful review. I was looking at this watch and another brand. The premium subscription was something I don't want to commit to. Thanks for helping me make an informed decision!
Awesome! :)
Just ordered this since $50.00 off at Amazon today. But like you I NEED better info on the SP 02 Since my obstructive sleep Apnea converted to CENTRAL Sleep Apnea dice needing 5 major surgeries that have required my using extremely high dose Opioid Pain medication for what life is now left for me. This also required the new purchase of an ASV Ventilator instead of the vastly cheaper CPAP device. I’ve literally nearly died now countless times when falling asleep watching TV in a recliner to wake only thanks to my wife SCREAMING for me to wake up and then freaking out saying I am literally blue from not breathing. I formally rigged a Chinese SP 02 Finger monitoring device that DID have an alarm I could set to wake me but taping the damned thing to my finger all the time and the too weak beeping of the alarm if my O2 or pulse went through my alarms I set often failed anyway… scary stuff that BETTER tools need to be built for!
Another NICE review especially for we who have major medical reasons for this search for device’s just to stay alive….
Thank you!
Hi Mike, would you be willing to share how your experience with wearable tracking of spO2 levels with different devices has been? Which ones you have tried seemed to work best for you, and which ones were quite useless in your opinion? Regards
Wow! Excellent review! I just bought one a few days ago and I'm still checking it out. I use it mainly to track workouts because I do a lot of cross-training. Everything from weight training to martial arts to running and even calisthenics. I use this to replace the Samsung Galaxy Fit and it seems like the tracking on this one is a little more on point. Thanks for the review!
So glad to hear!
Nice review but would’ve been nice if you could share your experience regarding the functionality of the watch while swimming as only smart watches are doing well with swimming. Really not found a single health band where swimming tracking is upto the mark. Most bands screen just doesn’t operate nicely.
It’s a fitness tracker, not a smart watch, but very good indeed. Battery life excellent, 7 days no problem, why would you want it on all the time? If you do, switch that on. Good review.
There was a 20 minute update yesterday. Everything wors much better.
Really? What's it have
@JSyntax I just got mine today. It has a find my phone feature. So mabey that was in the update.
Thank you for this review. I'm going to buy Fitbit Charge 5
Own it and it is great. Owned garmin and it is way worse then fitbit in data tracking. I dont actually like interacting with a band itself, but IMO phone app is good as well as web panel. It is just mind blowing how much fitbit is better in tracking than garmin - you wear it and forget it. It auto-detects everything without a problem. With garmin, even if you specify exact hours you go to sleep, it still will detect that you are sleeping when watching movie on a couch - fitbit only detect actual sleep.
Great in-depth review, and particularly appreciate the deep Toronto content in the video. Thanks!
Thank you!
I've found GPS to be accurate pretty much to the inch, steps fine, calories too, heart rate inconsistent (which I don't use anyway), and the only nit I'd pick is that it's often slow to connect to GPS!
I bought this new today. 8/27/23 and it does have a Find Phone option. I'm looking at it right now. Also I always have my phone with me in my pocket so I have a weather app with me at all times so that doesn't bother me it's not on the fitbit.
phenomenal review..... take a bow.....helped me take an informed decision of not buying charge 5..... Thank you.... I will probably move on to Garmin Venu 2 plus.... DO you have any idea on this gadget?
thank you for your kind words 👌
I have have an Apple Watch and I’m so over it. Thanks for your review 😃
awesome review i loved my charge 4 then got versa 2 for larger color screen
Great review. I just purchased the fitbit charge 5. The only problem I'm having is, I cannot get notifications for text messages.
has the heartrate been accurate? ive been looking to get one but it seems like a lot of people are having issues with the heartrate accuracy by as much as 20 bpm, which is a definite dealbreaker
You can change out. Defective watches under warranty or if functions fail
Excellent presentation!
Thank you kindly!
Great video
Could you please do a video about the devices you use for monitoring and treating the sleep apnoea
I was diagnosed with sleep apnoea and it would help me alot
Solid review man. Lot of good information
💜Awesome, and detailed review, thank you so much🌸💜
Great review, thank you. My biggest complaint is the lack of auto pause on exercises. I would have thought that was so basic it would be essential. Manual pausing while riding is a pain.
I must have missed the HR section. Looking to find for HR accuracy maybe more importantly consistency. Thank you for the video.
Thank you...........I've been searching for info on the premium feature and you gave me the info I needed to decide to purchase or not to purchase this tracker.........
Did u end up getting it?
Great review, I had a 2HR for many years until the display went black. Purchased the Charge 5, which I really liked, only to have the band brake in less than a year. Purchased another charge 5, the problem I have with this one is that "Reminders to move" doesn't work. I have it set in my app, however the tracker doesn't remind me. The display on the app shows the description fainted. Do you have any idea as to why this may be? Thank you.
Best review on here! Thanks for sharing
Thank you
I’ve come from a charge 2 and I am currently enjoying the charge 5. I s ask not worried about smart features like calendar and weather. Interesting to hear about premium is not worth it. I may give the 6 month a go but good to know what to expect.
Great review, I have a Fitbit charge 3 and am overall happy with it except for one thing, the fact that the screen is impossible to read outside or in a bright indoor location, this is why I was thinking of upgrading to the charge 5, is the charge 5 screen easy to view outside? Btw I also use the weather on my charge 3 everyday so I'd really miss that too but would give it up to be able to read my screen outdoors. Is the sleep information the same on the charge 5 as the charge 3? Thanks
Yes outdoors it's no issue at all!
I’m thinking about upgrading my fitbit charge 3 because of the same reason, I even thought that It was because of programmed obsolescence, it so hard to read in medium light conditions
That is exactly what happened to my charge 3. Dim was so low. I couldn't read at all. I did have it for a couple years tho...but was a bit disappointed. I just ordered charge 5.
My charge 5 died after less than 4 months. Lots of other charge 5 owners have had similar 'bricking' issues. You can find more info about this on other RUclips vids.
You're still under the warranty so you can get an exchange I have had no issues so far and it's been more than 4 months
there are other comments about the device died after 1x months / becomes problematic in other youtube videos. hmmm, something to watch out for
There is a FIRMWARE UPDATE dated Dec 2023. This finally fixed connectivity
issues with my Charge 5. I had previously gone back to my Charge 4 (very reliable).
Ch 5 no longer mothballed. Prefer having a home button which Charge 6 went to.
Comprehensive review, thanx !!!!!
thank you!
Thanks! Great review!
Really good and thorough review.
My charge 5 does have a find your phone but it can’t find my iPhone. I even tried opening the Fitbit app to see if that helps. I’m right by the phone but no. I’ll research if I need more setup
I do have a question for you. How good is the oxygen level monitoring on the Fitbit charge 5? I was initially going to get a finger type device, then found out about the fitbit products. thank you for any info.
Added note: your cons at the end of the video may be nice to have, but they are not the most important to me. I have a laptop and a Motorola smartphone that tells me all those utilities, plus a much bigger display to see them on.
for the watch I have no complains, its good reliable. App on the other hand... most of the features works great - food log for example sometimes get so buggy... right now its bugged for almost a month now and in the forums they just say we work on it ...
Try looking for an update for the app. Have an inspire at the moment looking for charge as Xmas gift. Have had a Fitbit n the app for years.
Great review! Can you review the Galaxy Watch4? Compare it to the Fitbit Charge 5 maybe?
Buying it next week. Cant wiat!!!
Great review, well done
Thanks for the tip ! Very used full.
Very in-depth review. I have a Sense and I would consider upgrading to a Charge 5. Do you think that it would be worth it?
If you need the smaller form factor, yes otherwise no
@@JSyntax I like the smaller form factor still with the functions I need. I would miss the apps, but it's not a deal breaker. I saw it on Amazon yesterday for $99. In a few minutes they changed it to $109. So, I paid $109. Now it's $128. Snooze you loose.
really good upgrade from charge 2!
Hello JSyntax, great work. Guidance for 'Fitbit', considering: Daily usage, compliment traditional watch, current premium trials, at least 2 yrs usage. Regards from India, Happy New Year- Avi
this watch it’s to wonderful beautiful watch i love it
I have the 3 and I’m satisfied with it. Have thought of getting the 4 but nothing new. Waited for 5. And nope for sure. I don’t like when I have to change the accessories. I don’t want to have to buy new bands. Or can’t use my old charger. My 3 still does what I want it to do.
AWESOME REVIEW!! I just purchased this fitbit but When it's not in use for long periods how do you store it since you can't shut it down to save battery life.
Good question! i just let it die when not in use!
@@JSyntax You are AWESOME thank you for your reply❤🙏
Im new to fitbit. Just bought the charge 5 today. I didnt realize there are no controls for music. Seems a bit crazy that a fitness device wouldnt have that. I hope that could possibly be added in a future update.
Forgot to mention that!
I thought there was controls for music. I think of its a notification on your phone (usually currently playing) and can pause/play that way
Good review but there is one very annoying thing with the charger. The cord is only 20 inches long from the magnetic connector to the USB plug which has to be plugged into a charger. Since it is so short you can only charge it in certain places like your kitchen counter. I can't charge it on my desk, night stand, side table, in bed, sitting in a chair or a couch, because the wall plugs are too far away or behind furniture. If the cord was 6 feet, I could charge it in most of those places.
I totally feel your pain
Is the spo2 relative range tracking useful for you and do you think it’s useful for those with sleep apnea like me? I use an oral appliance and not a cpap or apap.
I had an O2 measurement at hospital of 100% and charge 5 said 97. It is not actually measured but the figure given is not too bad. It's the trend that is important
@@MrGerrymagic I've heard that because of the S curve of oxygen saturation, anything above 95 is almost exactly the same, it's when it gets lower than that when you need it to work.
Thank you so much!!😘😘
For me, this is perfect. I want the weather or stuff, I'll use my phone. Problems - date format is really really annoying. Sleep doesn't measure actual o2 level. I've got find my phone on my one!
How's the band clip-on? I had fitbit 1 or 2, it would break every other month..
Got mine 12/25/21. Wear it all the time. I do a daily 5.5 mile loop hike that starts on city streets with the middle of the hike through hills and redwoods in Marin County, California. The built in GPS is fairly accurate in city streets but gets "stupid" in the hills and trees. It records waypoints every second but they are often +/- 100 ft off. Tried loosening the band per fitbit support - helped in city but not in the hills. When I map the route in the dashboard - it makes it look like I am spiderman - jumping 75 feet to the left, then 50 feet to the right every few seconds or so (in the hills). My old Garmin E-Trex GPS does fine on the same trail, it has other terestrail position correction features so not a fair fight. With fit bit gps all the zigs and zags in the waypoint list - fit bit reports that I hiked 6.7 miles, not 5.5 miles. I got the Charge 5 because it had the GPS built in so I could leave my phone at home. I hope Fitbit resolves this. My suggestion to them - only record waypoints when you have enough satellites ( 4, 5, 6 ?) to be accurate, otherwise - SKIP recording. If the resulting waypoint list is missing a few seconds but more accurate - when mapping it will smooth between the points and not calculate overstated distances.
How to correct time &date
Great review. Does the beddr sleep tuner still work? Thought they went out of business.
looks like it :/
Great video, I know the ECG wasn't available at the time but can someone share if that is usable only with premium or is that part of the basic health and fitness stats that are free with it?
I just got the Charge 5 with a premium package; the ecg dies not want to connect to the phone app. Very frustrating! the wrist band keeps telling me to check my phone.
ECG feature is free with the fitbit charge 5, you won't need premium to use it and see/download results. I love using it!
Thanks for a great review
How do I get back to my original screen? I want the easiest possible screen to read.
Can you choose your type of exercises if you choose. How many inches is your band? It looks wider than my Lutz.
Geez, i totally love all your reviews but i think watching all the smart watch reviews at once has overwhelmed me and I just don't know how to move forward. I have an google pixel 4 5G and i want to get a great fitness tracker. I have sleep apnea like yourself and would love a great tracker for that, plus music control, workout tracker ( for weights too), calorie burner, gps, notifications for my apps and letting me know when im getting a call but not I don't need to answer it with the watch. I would love to find one that is dustproof as well... There are soo many that do this that you have reviewed but I am just stuck. Would you be able to point one or two out that meet what I need? With boxing day coming up I would save some money and purchase the best one for my needs. I would appreciate any help. You have been soo much help already and I really appreciate all you postings and how in depth you go with each watch. Thanks either way
kris
Thank you so much!
Does the smart alarm allow waking up later if you are in deep sleep phase? I think postponing waking up by 15 minutes max could be more useful.
No, it's time you set minus 30 minutes! Very simple.
Yes it does...
my charge 3 was doing fine for 2 years but is now failing in the heart sensor function - how long should you expect the charge 5 to last/perform accurately?
@JSyntax great review again, thank you. I am trying to choose between Fitbit Charge 5 and Garmin Venu 2/2S/2Plus. I'm purely interested in a comfortable and wearable fitness and health tracker with lots of reliable and useful data. Less interested in smartwatch app features (messaging/notifications/voice control/music etc.). Which do you recommend?
That's tuff. If you don't care about smart features, maybe Fitbit is better. Venu 2 has a lot of great smart features.
@@JSyntax Thanks very much. Will look at the Charge 5 some more then :) Best wishes to you.
Great review, thanks. I'm torn between the Versa 3 and the Charge 5. The difference is about $30. Any suggestions? Thanks
Do you prefer more smart features or slimmer design?
@@JSyntax Thanks for responding. I kept going back and forth and eventually settled on the charge 5. I always have my phone nearby so the few added health features and the $30 less price point swayed me to the fitbit charge 5. Have a great day and thanks!
Hi! Very good review! I'm considering Fitbit Charge 5 and Garmin Vivoactive 4. What would you recommend?
It depends on your preferences!
Awesome video! Subbed and waiting on the daily readiness feature before I consider upgrading from the charge 4 to the charge 5 or Apple Watch 7.
Thank you! Can't wait for it be out
I had a Fitbit charge 4 for one year and I upgraded to an Apple Watch series 7 and it’s a huge difference like day and night.
@@binasser do you consider it an upgrade, although battery life is worse and sleep tracking is less useable on the Apple Watch?
Very nice, I just got one.
Hi. I tap on hear trate and it tells me to open the fitbit mobile app, which is open. the phone says we're synced, but the info isn't goint to the phone. How do I get the charge 5 to talk to my android?
Was the ECG stuff covered? Maybe I missed it. Wait, this review was from 2021. Maybe ECG wasn't a feature then.
Is it constantly counting steps or do I have to tell it when I'm walking ?
It's always counting steps
Thank you for this video! Do you have a recommendation between the charge 5 and Garmin vivosmart 4? I’m looking for a fitness tracker to track sleeping and workouts.
F
Also interested in this
For Garmin, you must set sleep hours to be able to track sleeping. I like Fitbit is able to track sleeping automatically anytime.
You mentioned a charge or subscription for the sleep data was that right ? Does that mean you don’t get to see the sleep data/ scale on you phone without subscription?
You still most of the data without a subscription of course!
How do I get the premium off ? And what does the auto wake off mean , with a line through it?
Looks like a pretty attractive fitness tracker. Are you planning on looking at the new Ticwatch Pro 3 Ultra? From what I can see it's not really an "Ultra" upgrade at all. Probably not worth your while buying one to review therefore!
Agreed! Not sure if ultra is a big upgrade. I want more spo2 tracking instead of more advanced heart rate tracking, ugh.. :'(
I have found on most of fitbit's the quick view, when raising my arm or rotation of wrist, so quick that I'm rarely able to see the akways on display. Therefore I find AOD being a useless option
Fair enough!
Always On Display - Can read the display at ALL times when it's on. That's why to me the AOD is essential (like JSyntax); I always consider battery life with AOD on. With AOD it's like wearing a regular watch - don't need to manipulate the wrist to see the watch/tracker face and don't have to worry about the display switching off before I can read the face.
@@singtay7738 I don't manipulate my wrist, I simply rotate and move the tracker where I can see the face. And of course the face lights up and without AOD.
@@richlaue for me, it's when you're laying in bed and it won't turn on for you
@@mikafoxx2717 yup because you're arm, when the wrist rotates, is not horizontal, IE parallel with the earth
Thank you!!!! Great vidio!!
Hey man. Is been diagnosed with sleep apnea. Does this go away after losing weight
no unfortunately. I lost 30 lbs and still the same. Maybe slightly better.
Google is putting smart features into the Google Pixel and limiting Fitbit to fitness tracking only, In fact, they have blocked access to smart features in the new Sense Fitbit which has really upset those who bought them expecting to use thise smart features. So you either buy a smartwatch or a fitness tracker.
You never made a video with the added features that were activated after the launch
my apologies! been busy but would like to as they made a good amount of software updates!
I was specifically interested in details about the GPS, was kind of disappointed the superficial mention (and makes me think what other people's say is right).
Had no issues! Not sure what else more I could say
Vivosmart5 review? Accuracy test please
What features do you have access to without premium?
Just wish you had an option to switch off the Charge. I work where you have to switch off bluetooth enabled items and cannot take my Charge 3. I like the small form factor and dont need too many bells and whistles, but this wont shut down on command.
Thanks for the great review! My charge 4 broke where the band connects to the tracker and I am wondering if the charge 5 is better. Thanks!
Fitbit does not read HR or track sleep if the optical sensor is in a heavily tattooed area.
Unfortunately for myself I have both of my arms sleeved.
That's terrible! Damn
I've never owned a fitness tracker or smartwatch before, so I'm a little confused. Does this show only your heart rate history? Or does it also give an alarm as an alert if your heart rate is too high/low?
I'm hoping to find something that will warn me about my heart rate so I know I need to find a seat before I blackout. I'm an android phone user.
A heart rate alarm is really the only feature I need at the moment.
I bought mine recently and "find my phone" is available and also the clock face is different. I'm in EU, though.