Looking for Fitbit charge 4 reviews? Look no further!

I recently lost my Fitbit charge 2 so needed to buy a new fitness tracker. I was without one for a few days and it was pretty painful,  it was a nightmare not knowing how many steps I’d done, how many calories I’d burnt on a dog walk or how well I’d slept! A new one needed to be purchased and fast! So I got straight on it and looked at some Fitbit charge 4 reviews. After researching and reading some Fitbit charge 4 reviews I decided the charge 4 was for me. If you’re looking to lose weight on a vegan diet read this article. Anyway, read on for my review…

Fitbit charge 4 overview

The latest version of the charge is the Fitbit charge 4 which was released in April 2020. It has some additional features compared to the charge 3, with built in GPS and Spotify integration being the top two on the other Fitbit charge 4 reviews I’ve read.

The look of the charge 4 is identical to the charge 3 so if you’re upgrading any extra straps will fit the charge 4 as will the charger. If you have an older version like the charge 2 the straps and charger will not work.

Built in GPS

The addition of the built in GPS tracker means you don’t need to take your phone with you, for example if you’re going for a run, the Fitbit itself will track the route as it would if you were using the app on your smart phone.

Listen to music and pay without your phone

The charge 4 also now has Spotify integration although you still need to have your phone near you as the Fitbit connects through your phone.

Fitbit pay allows you to pay with your watch (once you’ve set up a debit or credit card) as you would with a contactless card or Apple Pay. I have set mine up but haven’t used it yet as I’m used to using my phone for contactless payments.

The features we love still

The charge 4 still has the features we’re used to, including step count, calories burnt and sleep monitoring. If you’ve never had a fitness tracker before prepare to get obsessed with your daily steps and sleep score (how well you’ve slept)! I’m always checking mine in the app throughout the day.

The Fitbit charge 4 also has a stopwatch and a timer, great if you don’t have your phone with you. And it comes with a 2-year warranty.

Fitbit Charge 4 features

• Heart rate tracking
• Monitors your sleep
• Step and distance trackers
• Estimated calories burnt
• Notification pop ups on your watch including texts, calls and app notifications
• Water resistant to 50m
• Up to 7 day battery life

Additional features charge 4 has compared to charge 3

• • Built in GPS
  • Spotify integration
  • Fitbit pay
  • Active zone minutes
  • Workout intensity map

My honest Fitbit charge 4 review…

…unlike other fitbit charge 4 reviews I actually own one.

Set up

Upon opening the box of the Fitbit charge 4 there’s not too much fluff to confuse me which I liked. I already had the app installed on my phone from the previous charge 2 I had so all I had to do was delete the old one off the app and set up the new one. If you’ve never had a Fitbit before the app is easy to install then you follow the instructions on the app to set the Fitbit up, it works with Apple and android phones. It’s all done through the app and as long as you keep the Fitbit near your phone it will do its thing.

Exercise tracking & GPS

The main types of exercises I do are weight lifting, running and walking. You can add these to your fitbit via the app.

There are loads of different exercises to choose from, see picture on right >

Once you’ve set up which exercises you want on your Fitbit you can then track them straight from your Fitbit without needing your phone. When your Fitbit syncs to your phone (you can set this up so it syncs throughout the day) the app will update with whatever exercise you’ve done. I really like this feature because it means I’m not messing around with my phone, one swipe and four clicks of my Fitbit and its tracking. It also means I don’t need my phone with me to track my route if I’m going for a run, the built in GPS will track my route without the need for my phone.

Active zone minutes

The active zone minutes is also a good additional feature as whilst I’m exercising it tells me if I’m in fat burn, cardio or peak heart rate. So I know how hard I’m working and if I can push myself harder or I need to ease off a bit.

If I want to go swimming the Fitbit charge 4 is water resistant up to 50m, or even if I can’t be bothered to take it off when I’m going for a shower! I recently went gorge walking in Wales and I could wear my Fitbit (under my wet suit to protect it), it was great being able to see how high my heart rate got (mainly because it was frickin scary!)

Customise your fitbit charge 4

The Fitbit charge 4 comes with two size straps so will fit most wrists, I have skinny wrists and I’m in the third smallest hole on the small strap. You can buy additional straps which I really like the option of having, you can completely change the look of your Fitbit just by changing the strap. You can make it smarter or change the colour for a new look. I have a navy woven strap which looks really smart. Buy your strap here from Amazon.

I also have a screen cover on mine which protects the face and sides from getting scratched. I find these better than the stick on screen protectors because they go around the sides as well giving more protection. Makes charging slightly tricky but worth it to protect your Fitbit. You can buy them on Amazon here

Just so you know this post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure here. You will not pay more for any items purchased using these links (it just helps to support me a bit)

You can also change the look of the face of the Fitbit with many different clock faces to choose from. There are options on digital, analogue and what you want to see out of the tracker options (steps, heart rate, calories burnt etc)

Fitbit pay

I was a little disappointed with this feature, its a good concept but there are only certain banks it works with, Santander and Sterling being the main two UK banks. For the US there’s a lot more available options.

Spotify integration

If you already have Spotify this will be a good feature as you’ll be able to control your music from your Fitbit, although your phone does need to be nearby so you couldn’t say go for a run without your phone and listen to Spotify on your Fitbit. I use a different music streaming service so I don’t use this feature.

Notifications

This is a great feature that I make use of a lot. Not only will your Fitbit notify you when you receive a call text or email, you can also set it up for specific apps as well. I have mine set up for WhatsApp notifications as well, the apps you want to receive notifications from can be added or changed on the Fitbit app.

Battery life

My experience of the battery on my Fitbit isn’t quite the 7 days stated, but I use mine a lot to track my exercise so the more you use it the faster the battery will go. It doesn’t take long to charge, mine doesn’t take any longer than about an hour to be fully loaded and ready to go. If the GPS is used a lot this does wear down the battery but the Fitbit does have an option to turn the GPS off which preserves the battery. There’s also a “dynamic” option which I love where if you have your phone with you the Fitbit will automatically connect to the phone’s GPS and if you don’t it will use the built in GPS, pretty cool huh?

Models

The Fitbit charge 4 has two models, three if you include the special edition but its just the strap that’s different. There’s a black model and a rosewood (dark purple) model. They both can be purchased on Amazon here. The special edition comes with a grey woven strap and its more expensive than the standard models, not worth the extra in my opinion as you can just buy a woven strap for about £7. But if you fancy splashing out get it from Amazon here

Pro’s

• • Built in GPS so no need to take your phone with you
  • Spotify Integration
  • Use Fitbit pay if you bank with Santander or Sterling plus a few others
  • See how hard you’re working with active zone minutes

Cons

• • More expensive than charge 3 for only a few additional features, plus it looks identical to the charge 3
  • Using the built in GPS uses a lot of battery power
  • No good if you use a different music streaming service

Is the fitbit charge 4 for you?

The Fitbit charge 4 is a very good fitness tracker. If you already have a Fitbit, in particularly an older charge its an easy transition with some great extra features. And if you’ve never owned a Fitbit its easy to use and the app is very user-friendly. Buy the Fitbit charge 4 on Amazon now. What it boils down to though is whether you want to spend the extra money to have the built in GPS, Spotify integration and Fitbit pay as the charge 4 is more expensive compared to the charge 3. If you’re not fussed about those features go for the Fitbit charge 3 instead, it’ll still do an amazing job at tracking your health. Buy the Fitbit charge 3 from Amazon here now. 

If you’re interested in changing to a vegan diet but don’t know where to start read this.

I hope you enjoyed reading this Fitbit charge 4 review. I actually own a Fitbit charge 4 making my review an honest and real one, unlike other Fitbit charge 4 reviews out there.

Do you have a Fitbit charge 3 or 4? What do you think of it? Let me know by commenting below.

Thanks for reading

Katie