Fitbit updates its most popular fitness tracker, adding a full touchscreen, waterproofing and up to seven days battery life
Fitbit has announced the Charge 3, a fitness tracker designed to be worn for up to a week between charges that tracks tour every move. Compared to the Charge 2, it retails for less, is fully water- and swim-proof and has a full touchscreen.
Despite its familiar design, it’s a decent upgrade from 2016’s Charge 2. Here’s all you need to know about the Fitbit Charge 3.
There are two versions of the Charge 3. The base model costs £129.99/$149.95, less than the RRP of the Charge 2 – great stuff.
A version with different bands and NFC for mobile payments costs £149.99/$169.95.
Slightly annoyingly, having been announced on 20 August 2018, the Charge 3 will not ship until early October with a precise date unconfirmed. The NFC version will ship even later.
Check out our hands-on review of the Fitbit Charge 3 here .
The Charge 3 continues the popular ‘just right’ form factor of previous Charge Fitbits with a slim design of a tall display the same width as the band it’s on. That screen is now fully touch, with an indent on the left edge indicating a pressure sensitive rather than physical button.
Charge 3 is 20% lighter than the Charge 2 with a display that’s 40% larger and 1.5% brighter. Fitbit claims that with medium usage it will last up to seven days on a single charge.
Fitbit said this was to improve the aesthetic and make waterproofing possible, though the Ionic is fully waterproof with mechanical buttons. The underside of the Charge 3 has a heart rate sensor with a slighter design to sit closer to the skin.
A subtle but welcome update is the ability to set goals before a workout measured in distance or calories, rather than just time. And while you still have to manually start and stop a workout, the Charge 3 will auto start and stop if you pause for a breather mid-run.
Those workouts can now, for the first time on a Charge, be in the water. The Charge 3 is waterproof to 5ATM meaning you can swim while it detects laps and your pace.
Other new features include better animations on the grayscale display, full notification integration and Android quick replies (sorry iPhone fans) and female health tracking first seen on the Fitbit Versa. In a future update, you’ll be able to track your ovulation directly from the Charge 3’s screen rather than just from the app.
One thing missing from the Charge 3 is integrated GPS. This is likely to keep the price down and keep the Fitbit Ionic as the premium option for those that wanted. That said, the Charge 3 has connected GPS, so you can still track your routes if you take your phone along with you on that run.
