One year ago I posted that I replaced my AW5 with a Fitbit Charge 5 (see the post at https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/goodbye-apple-watch-5-hello-fitbit-charge-5.2356911/) and I wanted to update. The MacRumor Forum regulars mostly disagreed with my decision and logic, but now that a year has passed I’m glad I did it. The Apple Watch was a much, much better smartwatch than the Charge 5; I would say the Charge 5 is really just a pretender when their marketing calls it a “smartwatch”; but as far as fitness/exercise/diet tracking I’ve found the Fitbit to be quite a bit better, at least for me, and especially in concert with its app on my iPhone 13.
My particular Charge 5 seems to be more accurate tracking heart rate than the AW5, especially on “smoother” applications like cycling. At Planet Fitness, the recumbent bike has its own HR tracker, and they always match. The AW5 seemed to count faster beats. On aerobic walks, the Apple would always count about 20 bpm slower than my actual HR, but the Charge 5 is more accurate.
Battery life on the Fitbit is 4 to 5 days (advertised to be 7), so it’s def a winner over the AW5 in that respect.
Information available on the Fitbit and its app seem to me to be more thorough than the AW5, too. For me, the watch face is much easier to navigate during exercise than the AW. On aerobic walks, I can go quickly with single taps from HR to Pace per Mile, average pace per mile, calories burned, steps, actual mileage, and time spent in exercise zones. The information updates immediately to the app, which shows pretty detailed exercise info in addition to a map of the walk.
Anyway, YMMV as they say - I’m not saying that y’all should go out and trade in your watches, but in my circumstance and lifestyle, after a year of use, the Charge 5 is my preferred watch. Someone in the old thread asked what I would think about it in a year - so here I am!
My particular Charge 5 seems to be more accurate tracking heart rate than the AW5, especially on “smoother” applications like cycling. At Planet Fitness, the recumbent bike has its own HR tracker, and they always match. The AW5 seemed to count faster beats. On aerobic walks, the Apple would always count about 20 bpm slower than my actual HR, but the Charge 5 is more accurate.
Battery life on the Fitbit is 4 to 5 days (advertised to be 7), so it’s def a winner over the AW5 in that respect.
Information available on the Fitbit and its app seem to me to be more thorough than the AW5, too. For me, the watch face is much easier to navigate during exercise than the AW. On aerobic walks, I can go quickly with single taps from HR to Pace per Mile, average pace per mile, calories burned, steps, actual mileage, and time spent in exercise zones. The information updates immediately to the app, which shows pretty detailed exercise info in addition to a map of the walk.
Anyway, YMMV as they say - I’m not saying that y’all should go out and trade in your watches, but in my circumstance and lifestyle, after a year of use, the Charge 5 is my preferred watch. Someone in the old thread asked what I would think about it in a year - so here I am!
