Fitbit Charge 3 Review

This fitness tracker narrowly finished ahead of the Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro and the Fitbit Alta HR. We found that the fitness tracking features are just a bit better on the Charge 3, but the health tracking features are quite comparable across this trio of trackers, as well as the displays. The Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro and the Charge 3 are both a bit easier to use than the Alta HR.

Fitness Impact

This tracker is one of the more accurate when it comes to tracking distance and steps traveled, only differing from the true count by 15 steps or less in our tests. The largest discrepancy we got was 15 steps over, then 12 under, then 4 over.

The distance measurement was also quite accurate, with the calculated distance being within 0.05 miles of the correct amount. The Charge 3 is also excellent at calculating the number of sets of stairs you have climbed, registering the correct number exactly in each of our tests.

The cycling workout data was fairly accurate in our test, with the speed and distance being essentially spot on, but the distance was about 0.1 miles short of the true count, with the GPS track showing a few corners cut. However, the Charge 3 relies on your smartphone's GPS unit, so your results could vary a bit depending on which phone you have — we tested with a Samsung Galaxy S8.

The Charge 3 will also show you what activity impacted you the most, showing the Impact of the Day and how many additional steps you took, calories burned, and activity duration. This wearable will also give you some detailed heart rate data after your workout, showing you how long you were in each heart rate zone and maximum heart rate.

There is a decent selection of trackable activities, including running, biking, swimming, treadmill, weights, interval workout, elliptical, hike, golf, stair climber, tennis, walk, spinning, yoga, boot camp, circuit training, kickboxing, martial arts, pilates. However, you can only pick seven of these to show on the tracker, with the remainder requiring you to use the app to initiate them.

The Charge 3, like all the other Fitbit models, has an extensive set of challenges and competitions that you can participate in to provide that little extra push to get up and moving. There are non-competitive “Adventures” that allow you to go on a virtual vacation or you can challenge your friends and family in the head-to-head “Workweek Hustle”. Overall, we found the Fitbit models to be the best at this, so if you are really into the social aspect of having a fitness tracker, then a Fitbit model should be your first choice.

Health Impact

Unfortunately, this fitness tracker only did about average in our heart rate accuracy tests. It did quite well at lower resting heart rates, but we found discrepancies of over 15 bpm when our tester's heart rate was elevated mid-workout.

When it comes to diet tracking, the Charge 3 does a decent job of estimating the calories burned through your resting metabolism, and the app has a section where you can input your meals and snacks to track calorie intake. This fitness tracker will also remind you to get up and move if you have been sedentary for close to an hour. Additionally, this tracker also offers some guided breathing exercises if you are feeling too much stress and need some help relaxing.

The Charge 3 also has a vibration alarm and automatic sleep tracking, which we found to be as accurate as any other product we have tested, but still far from perfect.

Ease of Use

This fitness tracker syncs quickly and reliably with your smartphone, automatically transmitting all of the data within 2-10 seconds as soon as you log in. This smartphone app is also exceptionally easy to use and navigate through all the menus, with a very intuitive layout.

The Charge 3 has a great battery life, lasting for up to 7 days depending on usage, and relies on a proprietary USB charger to replenish its built-in lithium battery.

The band on the Charge 3 is quite stiff, making it really easy to take the tracker on or off. Additionally, this product is rated as water-resistant to 5 ATM, so more than enough for the shower, a quick dip, or even a full swimming workout.

However, we would have liked to see a button or other physical interface on the Charge 3. The touchscreen is decently responsive and makes it quite easy to navigate through all the menus on the device, but we did find other products with a tactile interface are a bit easier to use.

Ergonomics

Our panel was fans of the design of the Charge 3, finding it to be one of the sleeker and overall more attractive fitness trackers we have seen to date. It is also quite comfortable, though there were a few other trackers that are a bit less noticeable. The overall profile is quite slim, making it about as likely to get caught as any standard wristwatch.

Display

It's very easy to read the screen of the Charge 3 in dimmer conditions, but it isn't the easiest in bright sunlight. The screen can pick up fingerprints that obscure your view and can be almost impossible to read if your sunglasses are polarized. The touchscreen is decently responsive, as mentioned above, but occasionally can misread the direction of a swipe and open the wrong menu.

The Charge 3 can display most push notifications from apps that your phone can, such as calls, texts (and quick replies!), text notifications, and other app notifications. The home screen will also show the current time, but not the date. Further screens will also show your current step count, distance, estimated calories burned, active minutes, and steps per hour.

Value

While the Charge 3 is our favorite fitness tracker of them all, it isn't an amazing value, as there are cheaper models out there that don't do that much worse.

Conclusion