Fitbit Charge 2 Review

Summary

If you are after a fitness tracker and don’t require water resistance or GPS connectivity, the Fitbit Charge 2 will be great at tracking your fitness activities. 

What is the main difference between the Fitbit Charge 2 and Fitbit Charge HR?

The Fitbit Charge 2 performs the same functionalities and features as the Fitbit Charge HR. The difference or upgrades that the Fitbit Charge 2 offers besides an improved
design are new idle alerts, automatic activity tracking, guided breathing sessions, interchangeable bands, and give the user options for connecting your smartphone for GPS functionality.

The guided breathing is a cool feature added to the Charge 2 that assists you in returning your breathing to a normal rate after an intense workout or brisk walk.  Those users that are into yoga, meditation, or interval training will find this additional fitness tracker feature essential to their training regime.

Check out: Latest Review Fitbit Charge HR

Review

We are big fans of the Fitbit Charge 2 as an overall great performer in the mid range fitness tracker market.  This Fitbit model auto-tracks calories burned, distance traveled, steps climbed, always on hear rate monitor, and a cool sleep setting.

Another great plus for purchasing a Fitbit fitness model is you are buying from a manufacturer that is the market dominator of the wearable tech fitness tracker field.  Fitbit trackers work across multiple platforms, smartphones, and social networks, so there are few compatibility issues that you many encounter with more niche or IOS/Android smartphone platform limitations.

Some users are going to be turned off by the lack of built-in GPS functionality, and if that was included, this model would have received an overall rating of 9 by our Team.  If this is essential, then you may want to look at upgrading to a model such as the Fitbit Blaze that offers built-in GPS.  If GPS is a function that you want to use for capturing running routes or calculating lap splits, you can connect your phone which will give you some GPS data.

Check out: FITBIT BLAZE FITNESS TRACKER REVIEW: OR IS IT A SMARTWATCH?

Design

This comfortable fitness tracker model offers a modular display, which means you can easily just pop out the “body or face” with a push-slide mechanism and insert back into a variety of colorful designer bands.  You could easily have a fitness tracker rubber band for the gym and then pop out a more fashionable leather band for work.  Now that’s a great idea!

The design is similar to the Fitbit Alta in terms of having a rectangular OLED display and silicone rubber band with a single button on the side of the display but also incorporates some of the upgrades seen in the Fitbit Charge HR model.

The Fitbit Charge 2 has a steel body and large screen that is covered in a layer of clear polycarbonate to withstand the punishment of intense physical activity.  The band is secured using a buckle fit which is far more secure than the snap clasp designs of other fitness tracker models.  You don’t have to worry about the Charge 2 flying off your wrist during an intense Zumba class.

The Charge 2 is bulkier than the Fitbit Flex 2, but that is tradeoff for having the OLED display that the Flex 2 lacks.

Check out: Latest Review Fitbit Alta

Display Screen

We have mentioned the large OLED screen display and the durability designed for intense use…but what does the screen display and how does it work?

The Charge 2’s screen monochrome display has the capability to view multiple lines at once and indoors the characters are sharp.  If you do a great deal of outdoor activity, you may find that there is reflection issues in direct sunlight that can make the display harder to read.

The Fitbit Charge 2 does not have an always-on display.  This means that you need to either tap the display or use what is termed a lift to look gesture.  You raise your arm to look at the devices display and the Charge 2 knows you want to see the display-thereby bringing up your data for viewing such as pace, estimated calorie burn or resting heart rate.

Once you have the screen on you can cycle through to 5 different screens, depending on what type of information you are after.

1. Time of Day
2. Heart Rate (HR)-Tap to interchange between continuous or resting HR
3. Activities-Tap to select biking, elliptical, running, weights, treadmill, and workout
4. Stopwatch
5. Relax (This is the guided breathing function)

You also have “Smart Notifications” such as text, phone calls, calendar appointments etc. that you receive alerts.  The Charge 2 doesn’t allow any interaction functionalities, so you can’t reply to a text or return a phone call from this fitness tracker, but it can let you know what important notifications are being received.

Check out:  Fitbit Surge Smartwatch/Fitness Tracker Review

Features

Fitbit Charge 2 is compatible with IOS, Windows, and Android Smartphones, so downloading and installing the Fitbit app via your Bluetooth enabled Smartphone is a breeze.  The Charge 2 also auto-syncs to your smartphone whenever you are within range of the device which is a big plus for the active lifestyle.

The technology built-in to this Fitbit fitness tracker are impressive with a three-axis accelerometer, altimeter, optical heart rate monitor (providing more accurate HR results), and vibration motor.  By incorporating these tech innovations, the Charge 2 has the ability to more accurately track both vertical and horizontal movements which is a great plus for step results etc.

Just like the Fitbit Alta and now the Fitbit Blaze, the Fitbit Charge 2 offers the “move” feature that reminds wearers to get up and go every hour.  This reminder is a vibration on the device that requests you accomplish a preset 250 step goal that is adjustable in the Fitbit app according to your fitness and time restrictions.

There is an auto-track feature that users of the Fitbit Alta and Fitbit Blaze are familiar with that tracks exercises such as:

1. Biking
2. Running
3. Basketball
4. Hiking and more

Are you into high-intensity interval training (HITT) or interval running sprints?

One of the really cool new features that the Charge 2 has over the Charge HR is the interval training workout function.  The user has the ability to set up various variables for their interval training workout such as:

1. Length of active time
2. Rest time
3. How many intervals you want to achieve per workout

The Fitbit Charge 2 will then vibrate when you have accomplished each phase of your training so you know when to rest, be active, and continue your session.

Check out: Latest Wearable Tech Smartwatch Reviews

What is the New Relax Function and How does it work?

The Charge 2’s new signature feature is the added Relax functionality.  This new fitness tracker feature is similar to the Apple Watch’s Breath application.  They both provide a timed breathing exercise designed to focus your concentration and encourage relaxation (hence the name).

This Charge 2 Relax function collects heart rate data from your respiration rate and then guides the user to timed inhale/exhale intervals over the a preset 2-5 minute timeframe.  Basically a fitness tracker with a built in meditation coach on your wrist.  The purpose of this function is not to sync data back to the Fitbit App but rather to provide you with a structured “cool down” or “re-center” experience.

Verdict

The Fitbit Charge 2 offers amazing bang for your buck for a mid-range fitness tracker.  If you like lots of bells and whistles with built-in GPS tracking and waterproof for swimming or having a shower after the gym-then there are other choices available.

But if you want a great priced fitness tracker that will deliver activity data on both the Fitbit app as well as across a multitude of cross platforms with integration on IOS, Android, and Window Smartphones-this device will fit the bill.

Fitbit Charge 2 offers fitness tracker users a great interactive and customizable product for activity tracking, always-on heart rate monitoring, in a sleek but versatile design with customizable fitness bands.  The Charge 2 can grow with you as you progress in your fitness levels and is overall a great product for a price that isn’t going to break the bank.

If you are looking for additional features, we would recommend looking at either the Fitbit Blaze or one of the Garmin Fitness Tracker/Smartwatch wearables for increased functionality.  But as always, a fitness tracker is a very personalized choice based on your individual needs and goals.

Are you a diehard Fitbit Junkie or just looking for more information?  Visit us on I Wear the Tech for the Latest News, Reviews, and Trends for Fitbit Fitness Trackers