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The IFA is in full swing until Wednesday, September 6th. The biggest technology gathering in Europe will see a quarter of a million people infiltrate the corridors of Messe Berlin. Large and small brands are present at the event and present their latest gadgets. Fitbit is a regular at the show and this year, he brought his new brilliant device, Charge 3.
Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets
As the leaks predicted, it's more like a smartwatch qualified fitness tracker. It comes with a full touch screen, waterproofing, 7-day battery life, smart features, additional sensor, and more.
As you head to Fitbit's IFA stand, you can not go wrong with what the San Francisco group wants you to see. Of course, you get the full range of his fitness trackers and smartwatches, but to get there, you have to pass in front of a house-sized poster of his Charge 3 device. It was right in the center of the scene. The much talked about new laptop.
By squeezing it in your hand, you feel strangely familiar. That's because it's not a distant cousin of Charge 2, it's a nicer brother – clearly recognizable, but a brighter and more sophisticated version. There was a range of colors on the display, the one that caught my eye especially was the white sports iteration.
The straps are interchangeable and feature standard watch style closures. You can customize the garment as you wish. Unlike its predecessor, this is a unique solution. In the box, Charge 3 comes with a large and a small strap that you can use depending on the size of your wrist.
What strikes right away is its lightness. At your wrist, you will hardly feel like it is there. In fact, despite the bump in the specs, its slightly lighter and a slimmer fraction than its predecessor.
Essential reading: The best new smartwatches and fitness trackers at IFA 2018
The OLED screen is bright and clearly readable. It is 40% larger than on the charge 2, which is perhaps the most important improvement over its predecessor. The larger view makes it easier to view your statistics. In addition, the high-resolution backlit display reacts perfectly to the touch and supports grayscale colors (compared to black and white). It's a beauty thing.
Swipe up on the touch screen to daily browse your fitness stats, swipe down to see notifications, swipe right to open exercise, relax, timers, alarms, and settings . Everything feels very responsive and smooth. If you have already used a Fitbit device, you will feel at home. No learning curve here.
Then there is the inductive button. Fitbit has removed the physical button in order to improve the resistance to water. And improve they did. Charge 3 is a swimming proof with its 5 ATMs, which means you can dive it to a depth of 50 meters. He will also follow your swimming sessions.
The full range of Fitbit sensors is packaged under the hood. This includes a 3-axis accelerometer, an optical heart rate monitor, an altimeter, a vibration motor and the NFC (only in special editions) for on-the-move payments. The relative SpO2 sensor is also present, but we are still waiting for Fitbit to use it wisely. It has the potential to monitor conditions such as sleep apnea in the future. The battery life is 7 days on a single charge.
Unfortunately, there is no built-in GPS. Like most other devices in the Fitbit range, you will have GPS connected, which means that the tracker graft on your smartphone for readings.
So, what else's new?
Fitbit says that the heart rate sensor has been improved and that it is much more effective at keeping an eye on your ticker during intense activities. There is an automatic stop function for runners and Fitbit's Women's Health Tracking feature.
Charge 3 also comes with the ability to reply to messages (for Android users) and the option to accept or reject calls. I could not test that, but the bigger screen will make the notifications much more useful.
Like the Versa and Ionic, Charge 3 also comes with applications. This is where the boundaries between fitness trackers and smartwatches begin to blur. Applications include alarms, timer, weather, calendar, Fitbit ranking, as well as popular third-party apps that will be added in the coming months. Unfortunately, offline storage for music or a way to control your smartphone's music remotely from your wrist is lacking.
For Fitbit fans, the big question is of course to know if they should upgrade to the higher version.
Charge 3 is currently selling at the same price as Charge 2. Once the expedition begins in early October, the price of its predecessor will inevitably fall.
If you already have a 2 charge, you will pay extra money for a bigger screen, protection against water, a slightly longer battery life and some physical modifications. Unless you have your device for a while and as wear begins to show up, it's probably not logical to proceed with an upgrade.
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Fitbit Charge 3
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But if the new features are important to you or if you are looking for a new fitness tracker, that's a no-brainer. Charge 3 is clearly the way to go. I do not doubt that the company is sitting on another bestseller here.
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