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Summary
Many people choose smartwatches because they’re more versatile than standalone fitness trackers.
TheFitbit Charge 6isnota smartwatch, but it’s also trying to be more than just a fitness tracker.
With Google apps onboard, the Charge 6 just might be the perfect middle ground.
I’m one of those people who chooses asmartwatch over a fitness tracker.
I don’t want to have one wearable for daily life and one for exercising.
I’ve always leaned toward smartwatches despite them having slightly worse fitness tracking than standalone devices.
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
The idea of a fitness tracker withsomesmartwatch features is very appealing.
The classic Fitbit design hasn’t changed much over the years.
The Charge 6 features a matte aluminum housing in black, silver, or “Champagne Gold.”
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
It’s a very light gold tone.
Both long sides of the Charge 6 have shiny strips of metal for ECG and EDA scanning.
Speaking of the sides, the Charge 6 brings back the “physical” button on the left side.
The button worked pretty well, and the haptic motor felt really nice.
My one gripe about the hardware is the screen: it’s very small.
I understand this is not a smartwatch, but it’s trying to do a lot of smartwatch things.
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
The small screen hampers some of that experience.
I had to really whale on it with my finger to get this to work.
It would be nice if the actual screen were closer to the size of the display glass.
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
I was very impressed with the battery life on the Charge 6.
On Monday, I only had time to charge it to 70% before I had somewhere to be.
Basically, I only needed to charge it once a week.
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
Lastly, I found the Fitbit Charge 6 to be very comfortable to wear.
The low-profile case has no sharp corners, and the included silicone band is soft.
I barely noticed it was on my wrist while sleeping.
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
Fitbit includes two sizes of bands in the box, which is a nice touch.
It essentially disappears from my consciousness when I’m not using it.
Google Maps and YouTube Music can be accessed by swiping left or right from the clock face.
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
to use Google Maps, you have to start navigation from your phone.
I was very happy to see Google Maps directions on a fitness tracker, and it worked really well.
The YouTube Music applet is essentially a remote.
It allows you to play, pause, skip, and browse music.
Sadly, this is the only music app that integrates with the Charge 6.
The functionality is great, but as a Spotify user, it was completely useless to me.
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
There’s no generic media controller for whatever is playing on your phone.
It’s YouTube Music or nothing.
Google Wallet works very similar to how it works on smartwatches.
Thankfully, you only have to do that every 24 hours.
This was my first experience with the Fitbit OS, and I was pretty impressed with it.
I’ve knocked the small screen several times, but the OS takes that into account nicely.
I had no trouble getting around with the swipe gestures and side button.
Essentially, everything I wanted to do was no more than two or three swipes away.
It’s simple without feeling patronizing or restricted.
Notification mirroring is one thing I was particularly curious about before I received the rig.
It’s one feature that I use a lot on my smartwatch.
There are a couple of software-related things that I didn’t love.
First, Fitbit’s watch faces are severely lacking.
I also really missed having weather information available on my wrist.
A dedicated weather applet or a watch face with a temperature metric would be very much appreciated.
The Fitbit Charge 6 is clearly one of the most smartwatch-y fitness trackers you might get.
I honestly don’t use a ton of apps on my smartwatch.
Google Maps, Wallet, and notification support are almost enough to replace my smartwatch entirely.
The only app I really missed was Google Assistant.
That’s a big win for a $160 fitness tracker.
It also has an EDA sensor that measures your skins electrical changes and helps you understand your stress levels.
However, you dont get as much information from automatic workouts as you do when manually starting them.
For example, GPS is not tracked on automatic workouts.
Speaking of GPS, I was happy with the accuracy of the location tracking during workouts.
Thats what I was hoping for from a full-blown fitness tracker, but it was nice to confirm.
Simply tapping “Sleep Mode” before bed and looking at graphs every morningisn’t accomplishing much.
One important thing to note is some of the best health and fitness features are kept behind theFitbit Premiumpaywall.
Much of the advanced sleep-tracking information I mentioned, for example, is not available for free.
Personalized workouts, the Daily Readiness Score, and Fitbit’s library of workouts also require Fitbit Premium.
I would be more than willing to trust this machine for all my activity tracking needs.
Should You Buy the Fitbit Charge 6?
I feel pretty confident in saying theFitbit Charge 6is one of the best fitness trackers you might buy.
As I look back over my review, there really aren’t many negatives.
Yes, the screen is small, but this is not a smartwatch.
The Charge 6 sits atop Fibit’s tracker lineup at $160$60 more than theInspire 3.
That makes the decision pretty easy if you’re in the market for a Fitbit.
Not to mention only needing to charge the unit weekly instead of daily.
The Charge 6 is almost a smartwatch, and that might be smart enough.
