As a former track-and-field athlete who enjoys living the life in the fast lane, it’s always important for me that I make sure I get to move enough even in this new normal. With my work from home situation, the latest fitbit Charge 4 has helped make sure that I achieve my fitness goals. Read more to find out how.
The fitbit Charge 4 is the latest advanced fitness tracker and GPS from fitbit. It features a built-in GPS system, personalized heart rate zones, a workout intensity map, sleep quality analysis, Spotify Control and up to 7 days of battery life on a full charge, with 5 hours of battery life purely using the GPS. It sports a lithium-polymer battery that takes about 2 hours to charge.
It is water-resistant up to 50m and can thus be worn when you swim or do any water activities. It comes in a multitude of colors such as a classic Black, Rosewood, an edition with a Granite Reflective Woven Band/Black Tracker, and Storm Blue/Black which is the fitbit Charge 4 featured here. The classic wristband has two different lengths to ensure you get the right fit. It’s made to be comfortable enough to use during sports but I find it a bit too firm. It also has a touch button on its left side to activate the screen or let you return or go back to the home page.
I can easily customize the Charge 4 with its range of clock face designs from the fitbit app. The smartwatch itself provides 24 pre-installed designs to choose from, 7 of which are exclusive to the Charge 4. I personally chose the asymmetrical clock that has a large display for the time, steps, and heart rate. This design makes it easier for me to keep track of all three things easily when I’m on the move compared to more unique designs or text-heavy faces.
The Charge 4’s smart features include notifications for incoming calls, calendar events, text and smartphone app alerts. Android users can send quick text messages by tapping a notification to respond. You can also control Spotify and see your playlists and podcasts as you exercise to get that perfect mood. The useful Smart Everyday Experiences allows you to check the weather forecast and calendar, set a stopwatch, or run a timer. Lastly, fitbit Play lets you securely make a purchase with the simple tap of a button – extremely handy especially during these unprecedented times.
The Charge 4 has a lot of sports features available. It can record data of up to more than 20 exercises in addition to walk, run, bike, interval workout, and weights exercises. (See right photo below for reference).
The fitbit Charge 4 is a great companion to easily track all of your fitness and health goals, and this particular model comes with a host of new features to help you with those. As mentioned, a built-in GPS tracks your outdoor runs, cycles, swims, and hikes. Automatic Exercise Recognition will use SmartTrack to automatically record these activities. I can even see my speed, distance, and a Workout Intensity Map of my entire workout in the fitbit app. Goal-Based Exercise Modes allow me to choose from a variety of workouts so I can set a specific goal and view my real-time progress toward it.
I can also choose a specific goal I want to achieve each day whether its my number of steps, distance covered, calories burned, floors climbed, or active zone minutes. With my unpredictable work schedule, I prefer to have a fixed number of steps to achieve everyday. The Charge 4 has been really helpful when it comes to this because it reminds me to move when I haven’t reached my goal.
A 24/7 Heart Rate feature helps guarantee that I get optimal workouts and accurate calorie burning information. Active Zone Minutes makes sure I meet the weekly recommended 150 minutes while Heart Rate Zones automatically detects whether I’m in a personalized fat burn, cardio, or peak heart rate zone. Keeping the Charge 4 on all the time will enable me to know my resting heart rate and track heart rate trends over a period of time.
Wearing the fitbit Charge 4 while I sleep allows me to get a personalized Sleep Score in the fitbit app, revealing if I got a good night’s sleep. It also lets me know the different sleep stages I go through to further understand the quality of sleep that I get. It’s not all about getting the daily recommended 8 hours of sleep but making sure it’s quality rest. Impressively, the Charge 4 also shows an Estimated Oxygen Variation that can reveal any breathing disturbances during my sleep.
Verdict: definitely a good buy
The fitbit Charge 4 retails for ₱9,590 and includes the aforementioned Built-in GPS, Personalized Heart Rate Zones, Workout Intensity Map, Sleep Quality Analysis, and Spotify Control. It also has fitbit pay which now comes standard on all models. With all of these useful features it is impressively packed for its price point. To add to this it has a sleek look and the battery life lasts up to 7 days which makes it convenient and handy compared to similar devices that typically last only a day. However, along with its firm strap there were admittedly a few lags using the touch screen and the touch button on the Charge 4. Other than these minor issues, I don’t see any reason why this smartwatch wouldn’t be a solid buy, unless you prefer a bigger watch face or screen.
To know more visit https://www.fitbit.com/ph/charge4. The fitbit Charge 4 is also available on their official flagship store on Lazada.
