FitbitCharge 6 Fitness Tracker with Google apps, Heart Rate on Exercise Equipment, 6-Months Premium Membership Included, GPS, Health Tools and More, Porcelain/Silver, One Size (S & L Bands Included)

I had a Charge 5 previously, bought at another retailer. I didn't want a smart watch, but a decent fitness tracker with EKG function. The Charge 5 bricked at 11 months and was replaced under warranty. The replacement bricked at 13 months and I was out of luck and money. Spent months researching the options and finally decided to but the Charge 6 , even though a web search told me I might face the same problems as my Charge 5, so I also bought the extended warranty. So, what I do like is the size. It seems the smart watches are big and getting bigger every upgrade. The Charge 6 captures a really decent EKG tracing, enough to impress me (a nurse looking at EKG for years) and my cardiologist. It tracks my steps fairly accurately, close to my iPhone count. It automatically detects my walks and elliptical sessions. It reminds me to get up and move every hour, good when I've been sitting and working on a project or watching TV. I don't use the messages notification or payment options so can't attest to those. Glitches include counting steps when I'm on my riding mower. It will add a couple thousand steps to my count. And if I'm using a shopping cart in the store, it doesn't count steps because it tracks arm movement in counting. Over all the Charge 6 does what I want. And if it does stop working, I'm covered with the extended warranty.

I had my old FitBit Charge 4 for 5 years. The band broke off at year 2, so I would put it in a pocket or in a sock while I went about my day....worked great, just easy to lose that way. We were on vacation and it just died. I had really gotten used to having a FitBit to track steps (really all I do). Amazon had the Charge 6 for a good price, and it was almost seamless to set this up. I love the ability to change the clock face. It does track sleep but I'm not sure it's accurate. No matter. It tracks my steps, reminds me to move when I am sitting, notifies me if my phone is ringing when my ringer is off, and (bonus) I can see what time it is on my wrist. Glad I bought this one

The Charge 6 model looks good and, with GPS, is more accurate than the old Luxe my wife used before it died. The Luxe battery would not hold a charge long and seemed to perform erratically often giving readings of distance traveled that made no sense. My wife uses her Charge 6 as a watch and to track her daily walking recommended by her primary care doctor. The distance traveled and timing for the walk is all she really is interested in. It requires only weekly charging. She doesn't use the heart rate tracking and is very well satisfied with the distance and speed/time functions she uses. If you aren't into high performance fitness, this model could be a good choice for a basic exercise tracker.This model works very well with an Apple phone even though Fitbit is now a Google product. The same app that she used for the Luxe works well with the Charge 6.

I upgraded from the Charge 5What I like about the Charge 6:- Great price- Sensors to track body activity are more accurate (I don't have a way to test this but other people in YouTube have and these sensors are really good for a device at this price point with no chest strap)- Same great battery life. I get 6-7 days (I use normal brightness, do not use GPS, have sleep mode programmed, and keep the screen off unless I need to see it).- The home button to return to the time screen is great.- Triple tapping to zoom in is nice- When it works the Google Maps app is really nice. When you launch the phone app it kicks in automatically (need to set it up this way in your Fitbit app) otherwise you have to start the walk on the phone app and then manually connect to the app from your Charge 6. It tells you where to turn and it is nicer/safer than staring at your phone. The connectivity to the Phone app however is unreliable. Lots of retries and fiddling with the bluetooth settings to get it to work. Feels like a beta. I hope this is improved with a future upgrade. I have my Charge device set to 12 hr time format but this app shows 24 hr format at the top which to me is confusing and it may be a bug. I hope this is addressed in a future update.- More exercise modes and more settings/mode- The double tapping for water locking the device seems to work a little better to me than the Charge 5.- The unit's vibration when alarm goes off seems to be more noticeable than in the Charge 5. Less likely to miss it.- Bluetooth integration with gym cardio workout machines is nice however I don't have any equipment to test this. I read that there is an issue with the encryption that Google uses. Just be aware that unless you are at a gym that has bought very recent equipment, the machines aren't likely to support bluetooth. Most hotels I workout in don't have this either. I don't really need this but some people may find it useful.What I don't like:- If you are on iOS you still can't reply to texts (I know there is an iOS security constraint that doesn't allow this but come on Google...time to find a workaround)- Like the Charge 5 the GPS is terrible. It drains the battery and it is very inaccurate. I use my iPhone's GPS tracking synced to my Charge 6 instead and it works great. If you don't have your phone with you then you are out of luck.- The biggest disappointment is the YouTube Music app. Like the Google Maps it is a remote control for the phone app. I'm a YouTube Music subscriber so I was really looking forward to this but the connectivity to the phone app is very unreliable (like the Google Maps app). You can't really see your music library, find an artist, and select Shuffle Play. All you can do is use the playback controls. (which I already have in Siri and on my Powerbeats pro earbuds), see a list of your recently played songs, and a couple of Google created playlists that I don't care to use. I really hope that they improve it in future software upgrades.- Some exercise modes have an Auto Detect and Auto Stop feature. Basically this feature auto starts an exercise mode if the device detects that you are exercising. It sound good but in reality I found it to be more of a nuisance. The device can't tell if I'm just in a hurry or warming up for a workout. If I'm in the middle of a workout and I slow down to catch my breath, the Charge 6 will ask me if I want to stop which means I'm forced to interact with the device when I don't really want to. Luckily you can turn this feature off per mode.- When you reach a new target zone the Charge 6 displays the new target zone and the number like the Charge 5 however Google has changed the number/graphic and made it impossibly small to read without stopping and staring or triple tapping which are tedious while you are moving during your routine. I hope Google improves this in a future software update.- When the device is on exercise mode the screens shows the time at the very top. The Charge 5 I believe showed the total calories burned which is far more useful, Not sure why Google messed with this. If I need t know the time I can scroll to it during my workout or I can ask Siri.- I use the timer a lot...it is still limited to 1 hour.The phone app was cool until Google did a complete redesign which a lot of users are unhappy about.I use the app and the web portal to log my food consumption and my weight. IMHO any fitness tracker is worthless if you don't track both. The app calories data is also broken. The calories left for the day count is incorrect compared to the web portal (there is a difference of hundreds of calories). This to me is unacceptable and It has been broken for months. Not sure what Google is waiting on to fix it. As a workaround if I need to see how many calories I can consume...I just look at the portal on a browser on my mac, iPad or iPhone..In spite of my dislikes overall I do like the Charge 6 and it is a nice upgrade specially for $100. The more accurate sensors are worth the upgrade. That said if you plan to upgrade because of the GPS or the YouTube Music app you may want to hold off.