OK, that’s totally a lie. I love nitpicking, but I generally treat the output as an “inside the head” thought, and not the kind that comes pouring out. But, since the echos of our breakup are still reverberating, I couldn’t let this go…
These are not new features of the Charge 4. My Charge 3 had them… I can only speculate as to why Ray didn’t get this right, he’s generally spot-on, but I suspect that it probably comes down to the software features being added after launch, and the contactless payment only being available on the “Special Edition” Charge 3 (or whatever it was called). Nits. Picked.
– Added Fitbit Pay contactless payments: You can add your credit card and then tap to pay at stores/massage parlors/etc…
– Added Sleep Score: Essentially gives you a nightly score (0-100) on how your sleep was. You can trend this over time
– Added Sleep Mode: Ability to turn-off notifications and other annoying middle of night things (some of this you can do via Android/iOS anyway)
With that out of the way, there’s a lot of excellent detail in the review, but nothing surprising since Fitbit is still, Fitbit. HR is good for running, rubbish for riding, there’s still no way to export data for non-GPS workouts from their ecosystem for analysis, and the SpO2 sensor is mostly useless. So while the price is great, and there are a lot of good things about the Charge 4 as a fitness tracker for casual use, there’s nothing there that changes the value prop for anyone who isn’t 100% in on Fitbit.
