FitbitCharge 3 Fitness Activity Tracker

I got this new Fitbit last week because my old Charge 2 broke down after three years of use. It does all the same things as the previous model, and most of them slightly better. Heart rate monitor is slightly better with improved accuracy for example. the physical design is much better and feel thinner due the changed design of the strap hook - this one points the strap at an angle as opposed to straight out as was the case for Charge 2; this strap system also seems stronger and more resistant, but that I'll see in time (of the order of one year at least). So it is a great upgrade from all points of view: same functions done better, slicker design and better interface, plus the touch screen - this makes navigation a lot easier. There are many new features as well, especially when considering phone notifications - I can read the emails I get, the texts, pretty much everything and can dismiss then from the watch (this was not available in Charge 2). I did not really expect this feature because I thought this watch is aimed to fitness purposes only. Nevertheless, it proves to be very useful and I'm glad they incorporated such thing. Another new feature upgrade is the timer: it has both stopwatch and actual timer, as opposed to Charge 2 which only had stopwatch feature. Silent alarms are great too, these were available on Charge 2 as well though. Also has a weather app which I laughed for in the beginning, but then I appreciated having it handy.Before making the upgrade to Charge 3, I considered other watches as well to replace my Charge 2. I was a bit worried about three drawbacks from other reviews:1. Does not show date on main screen. Simply not true... I don't know why somebody would leave that review. Check out one of my photos, it clearly shows the date - I am actually using a similar main screen as I used for my Charge 2 because that one I like best since it shows all of my stats handy (7 stats at the touch of the screen, what could possibly be easier on a nice and small screen?).2. The side button activates at times because it is a touch sensor instead of a physical button. Again, I don't think this could be true - at least if you wear the watch as you are supposed to, above the prominent wrist bone. I did not have this issue at all, not even at night. The side button is not extremely sensitive and it actually requires a bit of pressure, making it hard to activate accidentally.3. Accuracy issues. Any wrist sensor on the market won't be as good as an average or even slightly below average chest strap. Here it depends what you want out of your device. A watch tracker will be used all day long and has many fitness features like sleep tracking, resting heart rate etc.. A chest strap you will likely use only during workout, but if you are not a professional athlete or do not have a heart condition that you need to look out for, it probably gets boring using a chest strap anyway. I have a good chest strap for years that connects easily to my phone, but I rarely use, it's just not convenient for someone who likes working out (weightlifting mostly, and some sports on the side) 5-6 a week. A chest strap simply does not benefit me, I only used for a few times when I bought it, and then sporadically a few more times over 4-5 years. If I look at the ratio between days of usage and price, the strap was simply not worth it. But this depends on your interests, again, so your choice here. In any case you cannot expect a wrist monitor to be as accurate as a chest strap if you have the slightest idea of how these actually work, so its useless to compare then this way. Comparing different watches is a different story, but these days all good sport watch brands perform very similarly.

Tldr summary: Charge 3 is the activity band I have always wanted, finally.Who you are and what you do will dictate whether this review will help you. I am over 45, female, professional, busy and I want stay healthy and become healthier over time. I care about my health but I also have other stuff to do.I use a Fitbit because I want to try to keep moving throughout the day and be mindful but not obvious at work and then try to do low and moderate intensity workouts 3 to 5 times a week. There, I said it. The Fitbit needs to fit the rest of my life and it finally does. I feel the Charge 3 has something valuable to offer for the person who is in the back or middle of the fitness pack.Appearance first: I want my Fitbit to match my professional persona at work and not exude a gym vibe. This has always been my problem with activity trackers in general; I think they are unattractive at work with a suit. I really like the Charge 3 size; it isn't too wide, it isn't too thick, the face isn't too big. To me, it can look like a watch and not some giant work out thing. I switched out the band for more professional and feminine straps from Amazon and I think it looks like jewelry at my professional job.The Fitbit has made this the easiest band to change straps. It is no problem at all and feels secure. I can tell when it is clicked into place and I lost a Fitbit before so this is important to me. I bought the black Charge because I can buy off brand, affordable straps and not worry about metals clashing. I do not pay for the "designer" bands from Fitbit... I bought 2 leather slim profile and one rose gold slim band for less than $20 each on Amazon. I have the plastic cheap one it came with for actual sweaty or swimming work outs. I think a man could buy a thicker strap and it would look masculine.Visual/face: I like the face of the Charge 3. I have it set to see time, date, and stat. It is a lot easier to scroll through the other available information than the Alta and it is a lot more readable. I like the choices of watch faces but I don't anticipate changing it now that I found one be that works for me.Function: I like the heart rate, the sleep cycle, the waterproofing. I like everything about what it shows me. I think the sleep cycle is accurate for me. The heart rate is accurate. The heart rate tracks all day without missing a reading. The battery is better than my Alta and lasts 5 days for me. I don't do notifications or use the smart watch features so cannot comment on it and that may be why my battery is lasting longer. I use the 2 minute breathing a couple of times a day. I use the 250 steps an hour challenge now that I can see it on my new watch.Other review comments: I did the Firmware update and have no problems connecting to my work iPhone or my personal Samsung phone and tablet. No issues syncing so far. I wore with my Alta at the same time and steps matched. I have been testing my steps for 4+ years and I find Fitbit accurate for me. I agree My Fitness Pal is best for food tracking vs the Fitbit app.App: I realistically don't want to join a gym and it is too cold for me to make myself swim right now. As you can tell by reading this, I am not a hard core person for exercise. I am trying the Fitbit Coach and I like it. I travel and I like that I can just do the exercises anywhere and there are a lot of choices of activity. I like that there are inside and outside exercises and things in can just do in my living room or hotel room. I like that there are all different lengths of exercises from 10 min to 18 minutes to an hour. It is a small commitment, no equipment needed, as convenient as you can get, and a lot of variety. I am trying for a month and I think this is what I have been looking to add to the my walking 10,000 steps a day.I see the Fitbit as a tool but I don't want it to annoy me. Most of the time I found the badges and challenges tiresome and making something out of nothing. I do like knowing I walked to the Moon but really it is just kind of not relevant. I was only using the Fitbit for steps and checking the app once a week or maybe less. Now I feel like I am going to take advantage of the more sophisticated offerings. I like seeing the graphs that show REM sleep and resting heart rate and cardio insights. This is the first time where I feel the app is offering me more than just glib surface information.Other bands I have used: I had the One, which I liked because it was hidden but didn't do much. I had to dig down my shirt or look at my phone to see my steps. I bought the little tiny Fitbit Flex 2 and the metal holder was ridiculously hard to get the Fitbit in and out of and didn't show anything - you had to look on your phone. The Alta had a slim profile but was hard to see and super hard to change bands. Ultimately I lost the Flex2 due to a necklace malfunction and abandoned the Alta for not being useful enough to justify wearing something I thought was ugly. I briefly had delusions of fitness grandeur and have a Garmin Vivoactive HR. It was too hard core for me and too big and plastic. Alas, Garmin made me realize I am just not into fitness as a "lifestyle."

I look for the good in products, but the Fitbit Charge 3 disappointed me.Purchased the Charge 3 SPECIAL EDITION in 2018 so I could pay with it, but none of the 3 banks I use were listed, so NO GOOD, can't pay with the Fitbit.Performance-wise, there were quirks from the beginning with limited watch faces, more were added MONTHS later. The stair climbing didn't count correctly. About 6 months from buying, things appeared to work better, I was almost happy.However, a few days after 1 year from purchase, it was no longer staying charged, used to last 5-6 days, then battery died within 2 days, and when I placed to charge it would indicate that it had 80% charge, wt heck? I disabled all notifications to conserve battery, still, battery life didn't improve.When I contacted Fitbit support to find our how to repair the problem, they said "oh yes, I see that you purchased it over 12 months ago and your warranty expired. There's nothing we can do for the existing device." I asked how I could pay to have it repaired, but the response was the same, "Although your tracker is outside the scope of Fitbit's warranty terms, we want to offer you the following: 25% discount on a new Fitbit. Use the link below at any time in the next 30 days and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout." What?? To experience these same problems later? No way.At this point I'm frustrated and upset that neither the Fitbit Charge 3, nor its customer support, is better.After a few more weeks, the Firbit Charge 3 stopped holding a charge altogether. Useless.I'm done. Won't buy another one of these Fitbit devices. I've seen too many reviews with similar bad experiences. Buyer beware.