Fitbit’s flagship fitness tracker finally has a successor after two years: the Fitbit Charge 6. Ever since Google acquired Fitbit, the company has slowly been adding Google features to its trackers, and the Charge 6 is the latest to receive apps like Google Maps for route-tracking and Google Wallet for tap-to-pay capabilities. All this for a modest $160, which is slightly cheaper than its predecessor. The Charge 6 launches on October 12.
You can continue to track health metrics on Fitbit OS, however, the most important change is that you’ll need to sign in with your Google account for new Fitbit devices. You can see all your stats in the newly redesigned (and Google-ified) Fitbit app. However, that doesn’t include the $10-per-month Fitbit Premium service, which hides some of Fitbit’s best features behind a paywall.
If you were expecting a new Fitbit fitness tracker with some form of Google’s Wear OS, it looks more and more like Google will confine the wearable operating system to fully featured smartwatches like the Pixel Watch, and we’re expecting a new Pixel Watch 2 on October 4.
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Heart Beat
The Charge 6 is an update to the Charge 5, a lightweight, affordable fitness tracker that’s one of Fitbit’s most popular models and our top pick in our Best Fitness Trackers and Best Fitbit guides. The company got rid of the side button in the Charge 5, but it has brought it back in the Charge 6, offering an additional way to interact with the interface.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Fitbit claims the heart rate tracker is the company’s most accurate yet. That’s because it’s utilizing many of the on-device learning models Google introduced in the original Pixel Watch to deliver precise heart rate results. Fitbit claims these algorithms have been optimized to maintain a seven-day battery life, despite the higher processing power.
More precise data will let Fitbit and Google fine-tune all of your proprietary health metrics that were also previously available on the Charge 5. Those include your Active Zone Minutes, which differentiate between the minutes you’re simply up and moving versus the minutes of vigorous exercise when your heart rate pushes you into the fat-burning zone. It continues to support SpO2 measurements, and it has the FDA-cleared electrocardiogram, which can detect irregular heart rhythms for atrial fibrillation, as well as high and low heart rates.
New in the Charge 6 is the ability to connect the tracker to popular Bluetooth-compatible exercise machines, like the Peloton bike and the Tonal Home Gym. There are also new workout activities like surfing, skiing, and CrossFit, adding up to a total list of over 40 different exercise modes.
Your Daily Readiness Score helps you decide whether you should work out hard or take a break on any given day; your Stress Management score shows whether you need to chill out a bit; and Advanced Sleep Tracking gives you a detailed Sleep Profile to tell you whether you’re a champion snoozer like a bear, or if you’re continually popping up for air like an ever-wakeful dolphin. These are locked to Fitbit Premium customers, though Fitbit is offering a six-month trial.
Finally, Fitbit’s claims to sustainability may not be as all-encompassing as Apple’s claim that the Watch Series 9 is carbon-neutral. However, the pebble is now made from 100 percent recycled aluminum, and the tracker itself comes in plastic-free packaging.
Google Feature Creep
In addition to route-tracking with Google Maps and paying with Google Wallet, you’re now able to have YouTube Music controls on the Charge 6’s display. (Google also owns YouTube.) But it’s important to note that to access YouTube Music controls, the Charge 6 needs to be within Bluetooth range of your phone and you need a paid YouTube Music Premium subscription. (Fitbit is offering a 1-month free trial.) There’s no offline music support. And even though the Charge 6 has built-in GPS and GLONASS positioning, you won’t be able to use Google Maps for navigation unless the tracker is connected and within Bluetooth range of its paired smartphone.
Garmin watches continue to function well mostly as stand-alone units and without paywalled subscriptions. However, both Fitbit and Apple acknowledge that, even when we’re burning it out on a pickleball court or a treadmill, most of us are rarely without our phones.
New Fitbit device owners will have to sign up with their Google accounts. If you have an existing Fitbit account, you have the option to wait to transition to your Google account until 2025. Fitbit is one of the original fitness tracker manufacturers, and an extended timeline gives legacy Fitbit users time to transition (as well as give Google and Fitbit a chance to iron out the bugs that will inevitably crop up). If you have an iPhone, you will still be able to install the app as long as your device runs iOS 15 or newer.
The Charge 6 comes in black with the Obsidian Infinity band, silver with the Porcelain Infinity band, and champagne gold with the Coral Infinity band. (As usual, you can swap out the bands for other Fitbit straps.) It costs $160 and is up for preorder starting today in 30 countries, and it launches October 12.