Fitbit Charge 6 Review

I’ve owned many Fitbits over the years, but the Fitbit Charge 6 is my favorite so far. It’s comfy to wear, has a long battery life, and keeps track of everything I want to monitor daily. 

I’ve tried many Fitbits and smartwatches, including the Apple Watch Series 9, Garmin Forerunner 265, and Samsung Galaxy Watches.

The Fitbit Charge 6 isn’t as high-end as any of those, and it lacks the ability to install third-party apps, but I’d still recommend it to most people.

It’s got that magic that comes from tech that simply works without much tweaking; it’ll work just as well with my iPhone as it does with my Android phone.

Maybe even better, its battery life is far superior to most smartwatches.

Pricing and What’s New

The Fitbit Charge 6 costs $159, and the only complicated part is deciding which color to get. Each tracker comes with watch straps for small and large wrists.

The color choices are silver with a white band, black, or gold with a red band. 

The Fitbit Charge 5 before it lacked a haptic side button, and that makes a big difference to how you use the Fitbit Charge 6.

The Fitbit Charge 6 also has a more accurate heart rate sensor, added activity profiles, and Google apps built-in.

There’s less difference between the two than you’d think, but of course, you’re getting newer technology with the Fitbit Charge 6.

Also, the Fitbit Charge 5 is only about $20 less than the newer model, so it doesn’t make much sense to scrimp.

Fitness Tracking

The Fitbit Charge 6’s greatest strength is its fitness tracking. Its app is incredibly clearly laid out.

At a glance, you can see how many steps you’ve taken, how many calories you’ve burned, and how many zone minutes you’ve accrued.

These zone minutes are your active moments -- when you’re exercising or putting more effort into things.

Throughout the week, it’s really nice to look at the app and see how many days you’ve exercised, for how long, and how quickly those active zone minutes increase.

Active zone minutes aren’t just for exercise. You can also gain them when you’re stressed and your heart rate is higher than usual, but they’re still a reasonable guide.

They definitely encourage you to do more, which is the main advantage of any fitness tracker.

Sleep Monitoring

The Fitbit Charge 6 uses its sensors well when you’re sleeping. Its SpO2 pulse oximeter sensor helps you understand your sleeping patterns more accurately than a regular fitness tracker.

You can always check your sleep score, find out how much REM sleep you got and how much light sleep you achieved, and set a smart wake alarm so you wake up at the ‘optimal’ time.

It works pretty well, and if you have trouble sleeping like me, it's helpful to see what might make a difference. 

You’ll need Fitbit Premium to get the most out of it, as that’s where the sleep breakdown and sleep profiling features are shown, but the six-month free trial that comes with the device gives you plenty of time to see if it’s worth the money.

I found it worthwhile. However, I was frustrated that it couldn't clock whether I was lying down to relax or actively napping.