More than half of the world’s population does not engage in the physical activity needed to stay in shape, the World Health Organization (WHO) denounces. Obesity and sedentary lifestyles are on track to become a plague in the West and, to combat them, the best help may be technology.
Tying to your wrist a fitness wristband can be a good idea, because in addition to counting the steps or calories burned we can set different progressive challenges for our health to improve in the medium and long term. That is precisely what the Fitbit Charge 2 proposes that we are going to examine in this analysis.
Founded in 2007 Fitbit has become a reference in the wearables market, with products very attractive to the public for their value for money and good performance. Now, however, more and more manufacturers dare to get into this market so the competition is tougher.
The Fitbit Charge 2 is a heart rate and physical activity tracker that lands with some new features regarding the interior model. It is not a smartwatch, since in that category the Blaze is framed, nor a sports watch such as the Surge, but an off-road smartband that we can wear around all day.
Design more attractive than ever
There’s no room for confusion. The Charge 2 has the characteristic look of a Fitbit, but it’s somewhat thinner and sleek than its predecessors, as well as having a larger screen: much, in fact, when compared to the first version of the Charge family.
Fitbit has strived to style its new wristbands so that they can be worn everywhere, something that can be done without problems thanks to the interchangeable straps – sold separately – that make this fitness bracelet a more fashionable complement.
On the one hand we have the classic models, like the one we have been able to test in this analysis of the Fitbit Charge 2, with the screen in silver finish and the strap -rubber- in black, although you can also get the strap in turquoise, dark blue, plum color and, coming soon, in lavender.
The odds don’t end there. If you are looking for a more casual style you can choose the authentic leather straps in pink stick, indigo or brown color. And finally, you’ll soon also have two special edition series with high-quality straps and finishes: one in lavender color bathed in 22-karat rose gold and another in lead grey matte finish made with a high-quality bathing process.
It is therefore clear that this Fitbit Charge 2 aspires to be much more than a fitness monitoring wristband. Already in hand it is surprisingly comfortable and quite light, which is extremely important in a product that also works overnight to follow in detail our hours of sleep.
The heart rate sensor sticks out slightly from the body, but if we adjust the strap correctly it won’t bother us. Unfortunately the Charge 2 is not waterproof, so we can’t take it to the pool and not even to the shower, although it can get against splashes and with the sweat of physical activity.
A larger OLED display
The rectangular-shaped OLED display of the Fitbit Charge 2 is much larger than the previous version. In particular we are talking about a 1.5 inch monochrome panel that behaves very well outdoors even in broad daylight, although we have no option to regulate brightness.
By default we can see the time, the steps taken during the day and our heart rate. We can navigate between different data by tapping on the screen, although the response is sometimes disappointing since it is not a touchpad to use but responds to the keystrokes (touches) with the help of the accelerometer.
We have a physical button to navigate between the different monitoring functions, but unfortunately we do not have any option to navigate backwards, something that costs a couple of days to get used to and can despair us for moments
Hardware and fluid performance
The Fitbit Charge 2 comes equipped with a three-axis accelerometer, altimeter, optical heart rate monitor and vibration motor. Unfortunately it does not have built-in GPS, so you will have to resort to that of the mobile phone.
So what can the Fitbit Charge 2 do? The wristband monitors all your daily physical activity, counting the steps you take, calories burned, distance traveled, floors raised and serves to measure your heart rate and your sleep hours.
If you press the physical button of the device you can manually activate one of the modes of activity that it incorporates: running, cycling, treadmill, elliptical, weights or interval training, something very interesting for the most sportsmen. In addition, the smartband is able to automatically detect if we go for a walk, run, bike ride or some activities determined thanks to SmartTrack technology.
On the other hand, the bracelet aspires to keep us active throughout the day, not just when we go to training. That’s why the device sends us reminders to give at least 250 steps every hour if it detects that we are standing for too long, a function that can be configured and deleted through the app.
The accuracy of the Fitbit Charge 2 on both the pedometer and the heart rate sensor is good, above even the previous model, although it is not much less perfect as usual in this type of smarbands that usually count extra steps in specific situations, such as if we cook with them by the movement of the arms. There may also be problems if we travel in a motorized transport at low speed, as you may think we are exercising.
Either way they are very specific failures that do not have a major impact in general terms, since this fitness bracelet is designed to wear it 24 hours a day. The more we use it, the better – and more useful – data we’ll get. However, in which we should have a pause mode during training periods.
If we scratch a little more we will find two of the most noteworthy new features of the Fitbit Charge 2: the measurement of our aerobic capacity and the guided breathing sessions. The first function performs an estimate of our maximum oxygen consumption, and we say estimate because the most accurate way to know the actual value is through an ergospirometer.
Fitbit performs the measurement taking into account various values such as your resting heart rate, age, gender or weight. To improve it there are two fundamental recipes: loss of kilos and active exercise.
Guided breathing sessions can be helpful in lowering our pulsations at a given time and, in the long run, reducing our stress and anxiety. The first time is a somewhat strange function, especially if we are not used to performing this type of exercises common in activities such as yoga or tai chi.
The Fitbit Charge 2 takes your heart rate into account so sessions can take two to five minutes during which you’ll receive instructions through on-screen animations to inspire or breathe properly.
Limited mobile notifications
The Fitbit Charge 2 is not a smartwatch as we can say of the Apple Watch Series 2, which by the way costs more than twice as much. That’s why we’ll have a lot of limitations when it comes to receiving notifications on the wristband from our mobile phone.
Basically we will receive call notifications, text messages and event reminders in our calendar, but to do this we will always have to have our mobile phone close by.
Through the latest updates with certain smartphones it is able to receive notifications from third-party applications, such as WhatsApp messages, but it does not happen at all and in any case will only serve as a warning, since we will not be able to respond from the bracelet.