As soon as the Fitbit Charge 4 is introduced in market I was curious if I shall upgrade my Fitbit Charge 2 which I feel like outdated now! (for no reasons!)
This latest Charge 4 activity tracker is best fit in between the Fitbit Inspire and Fitbit Versa range.
A million Dollar Question for me was is it really worth spending $130 to get Charge 4 or I should be still happy getting Charge 3 at descent price of around $100? or search for any other smartwatch tracker in market which I can get by spending around $100?
One more thing that make me think before spending a penny is Covid19 pandemic situation, where every penny is important to me.
With numerous activity trackers floating in market from basic simple tracker to latest trending AI enabled inspirational smartwatches, I want to speak here only for basic comparison of Fitbit Charge 4 vs 3 vs 2.
So here I have compared the latest launched Fitbit Charge 4 with baseline version Charge 2 as well as its predecessor Charge 3.
To under the subtle changes its required that I should first look into simple specs compare chart with background colors. Like Blue background indicates change over baseline Charge 2, whereas Green background shows improvements over predecessor Charge 3.
Fitbit Charge 2 vs Charge 3 vs Charge 4 Specifications & Features comparison table
| Fitbit Charge Series Differences | Fitbit Charge 2 | Fitbit Charge 3 | Fitbit Charge 4 |
| Indicative price July 2020 | — | $100 | $130 |
| Check best price & offers | Check availability | Best buy charge 3 | Best buy charge 4 |
| EXERCISE FEATURES | |||
| Real-Time Pace & Distance | Connected GPS, which relies on your phone | Built-In GPS | |
| Active Zone Minutes | — | — | Yes |
| Personalized Reminders | Yes | ||
| SmartTrack™ Automatic Exercise Recognition | Yes | ||
| 20+ Goal-Based Exercise Modes | Yes | Yes, including 7 GPS-enabled exercise modes to choose from | |
| Swimproof? | Splashproof | Waterproof to 50 meter | |
| Reminders to Move | Yes | ||
| Workout Intensity Map | — | Yes | |
| Heart Rate Zones | Yes | ||
| DESIGN STYLE FEATURES | |||
| Fitbit Charge Series Differences | Fitbit Charge 2 | Fitbit Charge 3 | Fitbit Charge 4 |
| OLED Greyscale display | Tap to switch | Touchscreen | |
| Display size | — | 40% bigger than Charge 2 | |
| Accessories | Yes | ||
| Customizable Clock Face | Yes | ||
| Interchangeable straps | Yes | Yes, with more refined mechanism for changing the straps |
|
| Body | Stainless steel | Aluminium | |
| Accelerometer | Yes | ||
| Altimeter | Yes | ||
| Vibration motor | Yes | ||
| HEALTH FEATURES | |||
| Fitbit Charge Series Differences | Fitbit Charge 2 | Fitbit Charge 3 | Fitbit Charge 4 |
| Cardio Fitness Score | Yes | ||
| Sleep Tracking with Light, Deep, REM | Yes | ||
| Female Health Tracking | No | Yes | |
| Guided Breathing Sessions | Yes | ||
| 24/7 HeartRateTracking | Yes, PurePulse optical heart rate monitor | ||
| All-Day Activity Tracking | Yes | ||
| Sleep Score | Yes | ||
| Sleep Tracking | Yes | ||
| Resting Heart Rate | Yes | ||
| All-Day Calorie Burn | Yes | ||
| SpO2 monitor | No | Yes | |
| SMART FEATURES | |||
| Fitbit Charge Series Differences |
Fitbit Charge 2 | Fitbit Charge 3 | Fitbit Charge 4 |
| Syncs Wirelessly | Yes | ||
| Battery Life | Up to 5-days | Up to 7-Days | |
| Smartphone Notifications | Yes | ||
| Ability to accept/reject calls from the tracker | No | Yes | |
| Quick replies | No | Yes | |
| Fitbit Pay – NFC mobile payment | No | In special edition | Standard |
| Spotify – Connect & Control | — | — | Yes |
| Smart wake – uses machine learning | — | — | Yes |
| App Dashboard | App only | On screen or On App Both | |
| On-Wrist Stats | Yes | ||
| Fitbit Charge Series Differences |
Fitbit Charge 2 | Fitbit Charge 3 | Fitbit Charge 4 |
| Indicative price July 2020 | — | $100 | $130 |
| Check best price & offers | Check availability | Best buy charge 3 | Best buy charge 4 |
Fitbit Charge 2 vs Charge 3 vs Charge 4 — 5 biggest differences you must know
Difference 1 – GPS makes Charge 4 as a standalone wearable
Difference 2 – Charge 4 gives you access to the Active Zone Minutes first
Difference 3 – Charge 4 have now a Spotify app
Difference 4 – Smart wake uses machine learning
Difference 5 – Fitbit Pay now comes as standard feature of Charge 4
Lets look now in details one by one ….
Design
| Charge 2 | OLED tap display | Stainless steel | Splash resistant |
| Charge 3 | OLED touchscreen
40% bigger than Charge 2 |
Aluminium
20% lighter than Charge 2 |
Water resistant
(Swim proof) |
| Charge 4 |
The aesthetics of The Fitbit Charge 3 and Charge 4 remained same, sharing the same refinements w.r.t. the baseline design of Charge 2.
The Charge 3 and 4 have gained more smoother, sleeker finish compared to the Charge 2.
Since these trackers are also style quotient for many, the latest Charge 3&4 have more refinement in strap changing mechanism, resolving issues faced in Charge 2.
Similarly as a part of improvement, Charge 3 & 4 trade the physical button found on the left of the Charge 2’s display for a sophisticated looking inductive button.
The outdated tap display of Charge 2 has been replaced by modern touch screen in 3 & 4.
Not only the display size has increased by 40% but also the weight have been reduced by 20% using Aluminium body in Charge 3 & 4.
Charge 2 was only splash resistant, making it impossible to use during swimming, whereas Charge 3 & 4 are water proof making them suitable for swimming.
All three trackers have similar buckle fastenings, 3&4 being more contemporary look and feel.
They all feature a PurePulse heart rate monitor located on the underside of their main bodies.
Specs and sensors
| Charge 2 | — | connected GPS | — |
| Charge 3 | Adds SpO2 monitor | NFC in special edition | |
| Charge 4 | Adds Built-in GPS | NFC in standard edition |
Fitbit Charge 2,3,4 all have PurePulse optical heart rate monitor which automatically monitors hear rate through the say and night.
They also have an accelerometer, altimeter and vibration motor.
Upgrades 3 & 4 feature SpO2 sensors which allows you to view a graph in the Fitbit app to see an estimate of the oxygen level variability in your bloodstream. It further helps you to see variations in your breathing during sleep.
Do you need to carry mobile during exercise?
Predecessors Charge 2 & 3 have old type of location tracking which is called as connected GPS, where the tracker uses GPS signal of your mobile device. What it means that inherently you need to carry mobile with you on run or walk, if you want map data.
Similar to most modern days tracker, Charge 4 features built-in-GPS, which means the tracker is capable of mapping itself in standalone mode, eliminating need of mobile device. Further this enhances the way you exercise, using 7 GPS-enabled exercise modes.
One more thing I really liked in Charge 4 is NFC payment facility, which really helps me going for morning exercise without carrying cash! All that I have to do is to goto the contactless terminals & pay through Fitbit Pay 🙂
Although Charge 3 did have NFC, one needs to buy special edition to get NFC on board! and Charge 2 did not have it from beginning!
Features
| Charge 2 | — |
| Charge 3 | Adds swim tracking, goal-based exercise, run detect with auto stop, accept/reject calls, quick replies |
| Charge 4 | Adds Spotify support, Active Zone Minutes, Smart Wake |
Common things in Fitbit Charge 2, 3 & 4 are –
- All-day activity tracking (steps, distance, calories, floors climbed, activity minutes, hourly activity, stationary time)
- Sleep monitoring with sleep stages and sleep score.
- Shows daily stats on their displays, along with smartphone notifications
- SmartTrack, which automatically recognizes when you exercise
- Multi-Sport tracking
- Cardio Fitness Level, which allows you to see a personalized Cardio score and Guided Breathing, and personalized breathing sessions based on your heart rate.
Charge 3 & 4 have additional
- swim tracking on board,
- Goal-Based Exercise,
- Run Detect with auto stop,
- a timer option and weather information.
- Accept or reject calls and send Quick Replies from tracker screen for an Android user.
Charge 4 have additional
- Spotify support for control of Spotify on your phone
- Active Zone Minutes, which uses your personalized heart rate zones to track your effort for any energizing activity, allowing you to earn credit towards the recommended 150-minute weekly goal for each minute of moderate activity in the fat burn zone and double the credit for vigorous activity in cardio and peak zones.
- Smart Wake feature which uses machine learning to wake you at the optimal time – Point to note here is that the Smart Wake feature is carried over in tracker from Fitbit smartwatches.
