Fitbit charges ahead

Fitbit has unveiled the Charge 5, their “most advanced health and fitness tracker”.

Packed with features previously available only on their smartwatches, the Charge 5 is 10% thinner than its predecessor, has an aerodynamic design and features a new AMOLED colour display which is twice as bright as its predecessor.

Daily preparation

Fitbit Premium — the membership service that is coming soon to the Charge 5 — offers Daily Readiness, a feature to help you understand if your body is ready for a workout or if recovery is what you should be prioritising instead. Every morning you’ll receive a score based on various metrics including your fitness fatigue, heart rate variability (HRV) and recent sleep, and an analysis of what affected your score. You’ll then be provided with suggestions, as well as premium content, to help you make the best decisions for your body.

Focusing on your holistic health and wellbeing, the Charge 5 is Fitbit’s first tracker to include an EDA sensor. First launched with the Fitbit Sense, the sensor uses tiny changes in the sweat glands on your fingers to help measure your body’s response to stress.

You’ll also get a stress management score in the Fitbit app every morning to see if you’re ready to take on more challenges or if you need time to recharge.

Fitbit Premium offers access to meditation and mindfulness sessions from Deepak Chopra and others. You’ll soon also get access to content from Calm, an app for sleep, meditation and relaxation.

Protect your heart

Charge 5 also has an electrocardiogram (ECG) app — first launched on the Fitbit Sense — bringing an important tool to more people at a more affordable price. The tracker can also monitor your heart rate 24/7 and will notify you when you’re above or below your personal ranges.

The tracker has GPS, 20 exercise modes, automatic exercise recognition and SpO2, or oxygen saturation, monitoring. Fitbit stalwarts will be happy to know that daily sleep score, sleep stages and SmartWake alarms are still available too.

Besides health and wellness, the Charge 5 includes a range of convenience features, including contactless payments and the ability to receive notifications and messages — and send replies — from your smartphone (quick replies are available only with Android).

The Fitbit Charge 5 has a recommended retail price of R3,999 with accessories starting at R599. The device will be available from autumn at Makro, Cape Union Mart, Incredible Connection, Takealot.com, Hi Online, Dis-Chem, Superbalist. Totalsports, Sportsmans Warehouse, FNB eBucks and FNB Connect.