Hey there! As a wearable tech specialist, I‘ve tested and researched just about every fitness tracker on the market. And without a doubt, Fitbit‘s Charge series represents the best combination of sophisticated health tracking in a slender, comfortable design.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll be comparing the latest two models—the Fitbit Charge 4 released in 2020 and the all-new Charge 5. You might be wondering…should you upgrade to the newest tracker? Or does the Charge 4 still hold up well?
After dozens of hours testing the devices hands-on and analyzing expert reviews, I‘m going to lay out exactly how the Charge 4 and Charge 5 compare across all the key categories. Read on for the definitive showdown!
At a Glance: Charge 4 vs Charge 5 Features
Before we dig into the nitty gritty details, let‘s briefly summarize what each device brings to the table:
[Fitbit Charge 4 Key Features]
- Built-in GPS tracking
- Active Zone Minutes metric
- SpO2 blood oxygen monitoring
- Advanced sleep tracking
- 7 day battery life
- Smartphone notifications
- Contactless payments
- Lightweight, swim-proof design
[Fitbit Charge 5 Key Features]
- Daily Readiness Score
- EDA stress tracking
- Color AMOLED touchscreen
- ECG app (coming soon)
- 7 day battery w/ fast charge
- Thinner stainless steel design
- Advanced health metrics tracking
- Brighter, more responsive display
The core capabilities are quite similar—both track steps, calories, heart rate, sleep and more. But the Charge 5 brings some fancy extras to the table. Now let‘s examine the key categories in detail…
Design and Display Updates
The Charge 4 features an understated matte black or rosewood body with a grayscale OLED touch display. It‘s subtle, lightweight, and comfortable for 24/7 wear. The Charge 5 steps up the design significantly—the body uses polished stainless steel in an array of colors like black, steel blue, and lunar white. This gives it a much more stylish, premium look.
In terms of display, the Charge 5 again wins out. It uses a bright AMOLED touchscreen that is nearly 2x more vibrant than the Charge 4‘s display. The colors really pop, making the stats and notifications easily readable in all lighting conditions. It also adds an always-on display mode so your stats or the clock face remain visible at all times without having to lift your wrist.
Lastly, the overall footprint shrinks down slightly from the Charge 4, making the Charge 5 10% thinner. Both models are waterproof up to 50 meters, so they can handle anything from rainstorms to swimming laps.
In summary:
[Display and Design Comparison]
| Spec | Charge 4 | Charge 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Display | Grayscale OLED | Bright AMOLED |
| Body Material | Matte plastic | Polished stainless steel |
| Dimensions | 35.8 x 22.7 x 12.5mm | 26.43 x 21.93 x 14.75 mm |
| Weight | 30g | 28g |
| Waterproof Rating | 5ATM (swimproof) | 5ATM (swimproof) |
Verdict: The Charge 5 wins for its brighter display, thinner body, and more stylish design. But both trackers remain lightweight and comfortable for 24/7 wear.
Health & Activity Tracking Sensors
Being brand new, the Charge 5 unsurprisingly brings some shiny upgraded sensors to the table:
Daily Readiness Score
The Charge 5 introduces Fitbit‘s "Daily Readiness Score"—a metric that analyzes your heart rate variability, recent activity levels, and sleep quality. It then assigns you a score from 1-100 each morning that represents how "ready" your body is to exercise vs potentially needing rest. This helps tailor your workouts to your actual condition day-by-day.
EDA Stress Tracking
The Charge 5 has sensors that can passively track electrodermal activity from your skin throughout the day. These sensors detect subtle electrical changes that reflect your body‘s response to stress. With enough data, you can identify peak stress moments and understand patterns over time. Very handy!
ECG App (Coming Soon)
Fitbit promises to add full ECG functionality to the Charge 5 via a software update later this year. This will allow you to take on-demand ECG readings from the tracker that detect signs of atrial fibrillation or other heart rhythm issues. Don‘t expect a full-blown ECG like on an Apple Watch, but still a nice addition.
Aside from those extras, the core activity tracking and sleep monitoring features are largely similar. Both utilize all-day heart rate tracking, blood oxygen sensors, 20+ exercise modes with real-time stats, and advanced sleep phase/quality analysis. Any everyday health and fitness metric you could want—from steps to calories burned to resting heart rate—is covered by both the Charge 4 and Charge 5.
Verdict: The Charge 5 wins this round clearly thanks to the fancier stress tracking sensors and upcoming ECG capabilities. But for activity basics, you can expect similarly great results from either tracker.
[Sensors and Capabilities Comparison]
| Feature | Charge 4 | Charge 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Onboard GPS | Yes | Yes |
| Heart Rate Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| SpO2 Monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep Stages Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Smartphone Notifications | Yes | Yes |
| Contactless Payments | Yes | Yes |
| Daily Readiness Score | No | Yes |
| EDA Stress Tracking | No | Yes |
| ECG App | No | Coming soon |
Fitbit Charge 4 vs. Charge 5: Accuracy
Beyond just the sensors themselves, I took a close look at professional reviews analyzing the accuracy of health & fitness tracking on the Charge 4 and Charge 5.
Fitness Tracking Accuracy
For step counting and activity tracking, both models exhibit extremely impressive accuracy. Tests involving everything from walking to running to mixing up intense gym routines find near perfect accuracy on both trackers. They also track heart rate zones exceptionally well during vigorous exercise based on expert testing.
GPS tracking remains accurate on the Charge 5 as with past Fitbit trackers. By overlaying recorded runs and rides with mapped data, the distance and pacing statistics match up reliably.
Sleep Tracking Accuracy
Due to the lack of robust sleep stage validation methods, quantifying sleep tracking accuracy remains difficult. But Fitbit continues to leverage industry-leading analysis models fine-tuned using sleep lab research from the watchmaker‘s partnership with the Mayo Clinic. I found no expert accounts calling out any alarming accuracy issues for either device.
Health Metric Accuracy
Both oxygen saturation and resting heart rate measurements fall well within a few percentage points of medical-grade control measurements from what I‘ve seen across reviews. The newer EDA stress and upcoming ECG data have not been empirically validated yet, but Fitbit utilizes rigorous analysis to hopefully match their outstanding benchmark for accuracy in other areas.
Verdict: Both trackers benefit from Fitbit‘s years of research and sensor refinements for unmatched accuracy. The occasional errant heart rate read might occur but overall any discrepancies from true values remain minor. For most buyers, that high level precision without confusion best justifies the Charge series premium price point.
Software, Apps, and Compatibility
I also compared how the onboard software and smartphone app compatibility stacks up:
The Charge 4 runs Fitbit OS, the company‘s proprietary wearable operating system. The Charge 5 likely utilizes a modified version of Fitbit OS optimized for the device‘s new display and sensors. But the core functionality remains familiar – you swipe through various widgets and data screens seeing stats, notifications, weather and more.
Both sync data seamlessly to Fitbit‘s mobile app available on iOS and Android. This gives you deeper insights, trends over time, custom goal setting, and social challenges to motivate you. Fitbit Premium can further unlock guided health programs, workout intensity heatmaps, sleep recommendations and wellness reports.
For iPhone users, the Fitbit app integrates remarkably well with Apple Health to share data. That allows Fitbit activity and sleep data to be used across other health apps. Android users unfortunately don‘t benefit from this level of system-wide integration. Instead Google Fit merely receives your daily step and calorie burn totals.
Verdict: The seamless Fitbit app experience and Health app integration makes their trackers more versatile companions for iPhone owners in my opinion. But Android users miss out slightly unless sticking strictly within the Fitbit ecosystem. Both the Charge 4 and 5 share this advantage/limitation equally.
Battery Life and Charging
Fitbit promises "7 days" of usage from both the Charge 4 and Charge 5 before needing to juice up again. But with continuous heart rate tracking, notifications lighting up the screen, and GPS usage – most owners find themselves charging roughly every 4-6 days in practice.
Both trackers offer a "Quick Charge" fast charging mode for when you‘re in a jam. After 12 minutes plugged in, you can gain about 24 hours worth of charge—pretty handy.
The Charge 5 does feature a faster processor and more advanced display than its predecessor which may use a tad more power. But so far experts have not noticed a major difference in actual battery runtimes between them in practice. I‘ll be keeping an eye out for any owner reviews indicating otherwise.
[Battery Life Comparison]
| Spec | Charge 4 | Charge 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Official Battery Claim | 7 days | 7 days |
| Real-World Runtime | ~5 days | ~5 days |
| Quick Charge | 12 mins = 24 hrs juice | 12 mins = 24 hrs juice |
Verdict: It‘s pretty much a complete draw when it comes to battery metrics. Both fitness trackers easily make it through a full work week before needing more juice.
Fitbit Charge 4 vs Charge 5: Which Should You Get?
Okay, after comparing all the specs, features, reviews and usage details – which one reigns supreme? Here‘s my take:
Get the Charge 5 if you:
- Want the most cutting edge health tracking sensors
- Are intrigued by the Daily Readiness Score and EDA stress tracking
- Like the polished, premium stainless steel design
- Appreciate a bright and colorful touch display
Get the Charge 4 if you:
- Mostly care about GPS tracking during outdoor workouts
- Want a simpler, more subtle activity band
- Have concerns about short battery life
- Prefer the lower $130 price point
Honestly, either Fitbit tracker makes an excellent daily companion for keeping tabs on your health metrics 24/7. The newer Charge 5 certainly pushes the envelope for what we can expect out of these slim wearables. But the Charge 4 maintains practically all the same great wellness tracking in a more understated package. Ultimately it comes down to your personal preferences and budget!
Let me know if any questions pop up about the ins and outs of either tracker! I‘m always happy to dig deeper into the specs and compare pros vs cons to help find your perfect match. Talk soon!
