Fitbit Charge 4 Review: A Lot Of The Same But There Is More To Help You Stay Fit And Sleep Better

---

#1

The Fitbit Charge 4 is made for a purpose, and you’ll buy it for a purpose.
The Fitbit prowess with fitness tracking really needs no introduction,
and the companion app remains one of the best.

Highlights
The Fitbit Charge 4 has built-in GPS, something that a lot of fitness wearables don’t have
At Rs 14,999 and not the most expensive all things considered, it'll still require some dedication from you
You'll need to pay for Fitbit Premium subscription for sleep score breakdown, 200 workout types and more

We have just gone through what has been, to put as politely as possible, a weird year. in the midst of all that was happening, fitness routines went for a toss. The smart wearables were resigned to a space in the drawer as people stayed cooped up at home. Binging on food and TV shows. Over-working from home. Dealing with anxieties of the unusual scenarios where your only human interaction was with someone on your smartphone or tablet screen. Yet, as things slowly seem to be returning to normal, it may just be a good time to get back to your fitness routine. And you’ll probably need a fitness focused wearable that can tell you how well (or how badly) you’re doing with regards to staying fit. There aren’t many fitness bands as feature packed, as accurate and yet as simple to use as the Fitbit Charge 4. Good timing then, for you to be reading this review.

Before you say that this is just another fitness band in a world that is filled to the brim with fitness bands ever since smartphone companies got in on the act, I’d like to share that the Fitbit Charge 4 is the most advanced fitness band the company has ever made. This is priced at Rs 14,999 which while not the most expensive considering what all it packs in, will still require some dedication from you to persist with it and get a fitness focused return for your investment. Some of the headline features—advanced sleep tracking, blood oxygen monitoring, great battery life, built-in GPS, detailed workout tracking and if you’re up for it, the premium Fitbit subscription that adds even more features and functionality.

Before you say that this is just another fitness band in a world that is filled to the brim with fitness bands ever since smartphone companies got in on the act, I’d like to share that the Fitbit Charge 4 is the most advanced fitness band the company has ever made. This is priced at Rs 14,999 which while not the most expensive considering what all it packs in, will still require some dedication from you to persist with it and get a fitness focused return for your investment. Some of the headline features—advanced sleep tracking, blood oxygen monitoring, great battery life, built-in GPS, detailed workout tracking and if you’re up for it, the premium Fitbit subscription that adds even more features and functionality.

As far as the design goes, the Fitbit Charge 4 looks a lot like the Charge 3. And why change something that simply works. I have often been found claiming that wearing a lot of fitness bands or indeed smartwatches to bed is plainly uncomfortable. Because it just is. But the Fitbit Charge 4 stayed snugly on my wrist and didn’t bother at all while sleeping. It thin enough, though for the sake of it, one can observe that it could have been thinner still. You could also say that Fitbit, after all this while, could have perhaps shown off a slimmer and a more modern design. But that’s just nitpicking. It just works. The good thing is, there are a whole bunch of bands that you can get for your Fitbit Charge 4, if accessorizing it catches your fancy. By default, you can have this in Black, Storm Blue and Black, and Rosewood colours. If you’re okay spending a bit more, that’s Rs 16,999 to be precise, there’s the special edition as well with the Granite Reflective woven band.



Now on to the premium subscription, something that you must shell out for if you want to get the most out of the Fitbit Charge 4 that you’ve just bought. While the free tier in the app still gives you some data, the deeper insights reside with the Fitbit Premium subscription. That includes a sleep score breakdown, a wellness report, more than 200 workout types, mindfulness session and also guided programs that take you step by step in an attempt to improve your sleep, activity and diet intake, spread over a period of 1 to 3 weeks. The Fitbit Premium is priced around Rs 819 per month, or Rs 6,999 if you are motivated enough to pay for all of it in one go. Whether this is worth it or not, totally depends on you.