Fitbit unfurls last new wearable before it's gobbled by Google, right on time for global pandemic lockdown
- Reference: 1585818004
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/02/fitbit_charge_4/
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This wrist-worn Mr Motivator is very much business as usual, representing a fairly modest upgrade on the previous Fitbit Charge 3, released in August 2018.
The aesthetic remains pretty much unchanged. Put the two wearables on a police lineup and you'd struggle to tell the difference.
The biggest upgrade comes in the form of a built-in GPS receiver, allowing the user to cartographically track their government-approved daily jog. This allows the user to automatically register important metrics, like pace and distance.
For the sake of clarity, the previous model allowed the user to track their workouts via GPS, but it had to be consistently connected to a smartphone.
Some people are understandably reluctant to lug their pricey mobes with them while exercising. The reason why should be obvious: there's always the risk they could pop out of pockets mid-bike ride, resulting in cracked iPhone and Galaxy screens. This update, therefore, makes the Fitbit Charge a more viable self-contained exercise companion.
Fitbit has also slathered attention on the software side of the Charge 4. This includes a feature called Active Zone Minutes, which is designed to track high-intensity workouts by measuring how long the user's heart rate is at a sustained, active level. Calculating this requires the user to fork over detailed information about their physical condition, including height and weight.
Besides that, the Charge 4 retains the same features as its predecessor, including notifications, Spotify controls, and a small ecosystem of applets.
As before, it also includes [1]Fitbit Pay , which allows its sweat-soaked owner to buy things with their watch, including, for UK users, getting about with Transport for London. Bank support, sadly, is limited, with Santander and Northern Ireland's Danske Bank the only mainstream financial institutions working with the platform. That said, the service is compatible with a decent array of challenger banks, including Revolut and Bunq – but sadly not [2]Monzo .
The Fitbit Charge 4 will cost £129.99 when it goes on sale later this month. For aesthetically minded gym bunnies, there's also a pricier Special Addition model, which packs a nicer wristband. The core functionality, however, will remain the same.
From Fitbit to Chocolate Factory
The Fitbit Charge 4 is also the first device released by the company since Google announced its intent to acquire it in November. The deal is still in the pipeline, but values Fitbit at a cushty $2.1bn.
Devices like the Charge 4 are Fitbit's bread and butter. They're typically priced towards the bottom of the pack, compared to the firm's more capable Versa line of sub-smartwatches. But it's also a category of wearable that's under pressure due to the rise of affordable Wear OS and WatchOS devices.
For £70 more than the Fitbit Charge 4's asking price, you can get the eminently more potent Apple Watch 3, which Cupertino has positioned as an entry-level introduction to Apple's wearable line. And, on the Android front, there are no shortage of bargain-basement WearOS devices, including the recently reduced Fossil Sport, which costs about £100.
Data from Gartner paints a less-than-rosy picture for the basic fitness wearable sector, with spending on devices forecast to slump from $3.4bn in 2018 to $3bn in 2021. Meanwhile, consumer spending on smartwatches is expected to skyrocket, from $12.4bn in 2018 to $27.4bn in 2021.
There's also no shortage of Chinese manufacturers who are all too eager to undercut Fitbit with their own pocket-money fitness bands.
The Xiaomi Mi Band 5, for example, costs £34.99. Huawei's youth-focused subsidiary, Honor, makes an even cheaper one – the Honor Band 5 Sport retails under £20.
Got a Fitbit? Thought you were achieving your goals? Better read this [3]READ MORE
That's not to diminish the value Fitbit still offers to consumers. It boasts an active population of users, who compete via the firm's social platform. And, as an incumbent player in the market, punters are more inclined to trust the metrics their Fitbit wearables produce – well, [4]sometimes . It's these attributes that have allowed Fitbit to stand tall in the face of fierce competition from both sides of the market.
It's unclear whether Google will absorb Fitbit entirely, or choose to preserve the brand as it did with Nest. Either way, the acquisition promises Mountain View an influx of sector-specific software engineering and manufacturing nous. If things go right, it should help Google regain ground captured by Apple. ®
[1] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/08/31/samsung_keeps_the_smartwatch_alive_just/
[2] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/09/monzo_microservices/
[3] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/05/23/fitbit_heart_rate_data_wrong/
[4] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/05/23/fitbit_heart_rate_data_wrong/
Still not a patch on a Garmin.
Just sayin'...
Still this pandemic has done wonders for my running and cycling fitness overall.
I quite like my Charge 3. The waterproofing which was new in this version was a welcome addition.
I'm not happy about them adding new features to the app and making them premium only - ie: paying a subscription to access them.
The important question
is really: when Google take over Fitbit, who does someone who quite likes looking at the statistics from their fitbit but who is not at all comfortable with Google having them move to? Withings seem like an option (French I think so based somewhere were there is at least some privacy protection). But I'm not sure.
"a built-in GPS receiver"
So, on top of all the functionality that that little wristwatch-sized thingy already has, they've added a built-in GPS receiver. And they can log the data for a certain amount of time.
My, my. Technology really can do wonderful things.
I wonder how much energy a GPS receiver uses ?
Warning: please consider carefully before buying Android Wear devices, no matter how cheap. The performance and battery life start off barely passable and swiftly decline, mainly due to the ancient CPU they ship. I gave up and use a second-hand Fitbit, which at least works better than the two Android Wear devices I had.
My Mi Band 3 is over a year old and still in regular use, and the battery lasts for a month. Other Mi Band 4's in the house are similar.
I bought an Fitbit Versa 2 and swapped it for an android wear device when it spectacularly failed to do any of the things it was supposed to be able to do. Battery life on the wear device isn't amazing, although I can easily get a full day on a charge, but at least it works, I can get ALL my notifications on it, and it remains paired to my phone for above 10 minutes without requiring a complete reinstall of the Fitbit app. It was also considerably cheaper than the Fitbit. The Fitbit was also measuring my heart rate incorrectly. And my weight (Aria scales). And miscounting my steps.
Fitbit products are expensive trash.
All your health data are belong to us
I had been considering FitBit (among other options) for a while, but ever since I learned of their impending assimilation by GRUgle, unfortunately that's ruled them out from my perspective. The obvious alternative, Apple, is far too expensive, too fancy (and with too mediocre a battery life) for my use.
Inasmuch as most fitness tracking is fairly frivolous anyway, all I really want is something that can measure walking/running, cycling (maybe?) distance, and, most importantly for me (although, again, still essentially frivolous), swimming distance (not that I'm getting any chance to do that just now, sadly). The ability to be alerted to incoming calls and messages from my phone (not even necessarily the content of them) and perhaps to control music playing, would arguably be "nice" to have, but I don't really need anything super fancy. My fear is that the cheapo Chinese alternatives are probably also slurping your data away somewhere undesirable, are there any semi-smart-watches available that would do the trick and respect the privacy and sensitivity of your data?
Smart watch
Fitbit are a niche company and fitness watches is what they do. (Clue's in the name). However, I've no interest in a smart watch just to tell me I haven't taken enough exercise. But the devices from all companies seem to be aimed at the joggers. And none seem to have anything that I would welcome on my wrist. I'm sure they could find something to design in, (?) but the focus on fitness has made them complacent.
Re: Smart watch
A friend of mine has the annoying habit of using his on our gig and seems to OCD us to do 10km even if we have been doing racing starts and other extreme workload exercises. And then tries to say that's enough when we hit 10k on a beautiful morning when we've got a good 2 or 4 k left in most of us.
Is there any watch out there with an open api?
I'm not convinced these things are of a lot of use in terms of exercise but I'd quite like one that would record my 4D progress and perhaps heartbeat for my own use without it going out of my intranet.
Xiaomi Mi Band 5?
It's actually the Mi Band 4 which is their latest one. It's very good too.