The best Fitbits for your fitness and health

In 2024, you mightiness wonderment if Fitbit is inactive relevant. Despite getting acquired by Google, Fitbit remains 1 of the astir recognizable names successful the industry. Fitbit trackers aren’t meant for the astir hardcore of athletes, but they’re inactive fantabulous devices for tracking wide enactment arsenic good arsenic monitoring definite wellness and wellness metrics similar EKGs and humor oxygen levels. 

That said, this is simply a transitional play from the Fitbit of aged to immoderate Fitbit volition beryllium successful the future. 2023, successful particular, was a messy year. There were aggregate Fitbit server outages. I wasn’t impressed with the determination to sunset bequest assemblage features similar challenges oregon the information that each Fitbit accounts volition necessitate you to log successful via Google by 2025. Speaking of which, the Fitbit-to-Google relationship migration started past summer and is required if you bargain caller products similar the Fitbit Charge 6 oregon Google Pixel Watch 3. The Fitbit app besides got a new, much Google-like makeover, which didn’t spell implicit good with galore users. (Google has since made adjustments based connected feedback.) And successful January 2024, overmuch of Fitbit’s leadership, including co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman, near the company arsenic astir a 1000 Google employees were laid off.

You tin look astatine however Google has handled the Nest acquisition arsenic a roadworthy representation to however things are going. The Googlefication of Fitbit volition continue, but determination are reasons to instrumentality with its trackers successful the meantime. Fitbit trackers are comparatively affordable, particularly since they often spell connected sale. All the devices travel with a escaped proceedings to Fitbit Premium, the company’s subscription work that adds guided workouts, meditations, and entree to much in-depth metrics. So far, it appears Google takes its Pixel Watch lineup seriously, too. With the Pixel Watch 2, the institution has expanded extended warranty entree and improved replacement options. You conscionable person to spell successful with eyes wide open.

Best Fitbit smartwatch

The beingness of the Pixel Watch, present successful its 3rd generation, has thrown a wrench into Fitbit’s smartwatch lineup. Technically, it’s a Google product, but Google owns Fitbit, truthful they’re all Google products now. Fitbit powers each of the Pixel Watch’s wellness and fittingness features. But really, this is the smartwatch that Fitbit ne'er could negociate to physique connected its own.

The Pixel Watch 3 is simply a important update implicit its predecessors. It yet feels similar Google’s nary longer playing drawback up to its rivals. This year, the screens are brighter, the bezels are smaller, and there’s present a 45mm size for larger wrists. The larger size doesn’t look chunky, either. Internally, the processor and wellness sensors are the aforesaid arsenic past year, though the third-gen instrumentality has an ultra wideband spot that allows you to unlock Pixel phones and immoderate BMW car models.

It’s got the aforesaid beauteous plan with a circular domed show that looks mode much elegant than the squircle Versa oregon Sense smartwatches ever did. On your wrist, it looks similar a watch, not a tracker dressed up arsenic one. The show is simply a spot fragile for our tastes, but arsenic of past year, you tin present get a Preferred Care extended warranty successful the US and Canada. This is 1 crushed we urge the Pixel Watch 3 implicit the archetypal since astatine slightest you person a much affordable fallback should thing hap to your display. Google besides announced an enactment wherever you tin skip lawsuit enactment and mail successful broken, out-of-warranty Pixel Watch devices for a discounted replacement.

As for fittingness features, the Pixel Watch 3 is overmuch amended for runners than it utilized to be. It includes a caller moving dashboard, precocious signifier analytics, customized moving workouts, and adjacent AI-generated workout suggestions. It’s besides introduced a caller metric called Cardio Load, which measures the strength of your workouts and suggests a people based connected your fittingness goals. It’s conceptually akin to Garmin’s Training Load. The Daily Readiness Score has besides gotten revamped, and is nary longer locked down the Fitbit Premium paywall. On the wellness front, European users present person Loss of Pulse. If the ticker detects you’ve mislaid your pulse, it’ll telephone exigency services connected your behalf. The diagnostic isn’t disposable yet successful the US, though, arsenic it’s inactive pending FDA clearance.

Additionally, Google has strengthened the watch’s integrations with its ain services arsenic good arsenic different Pixel devices. For instance, you person offline Google Maps and a Google Home Tile. You tin present presumption your Nest Doorbell camera provender and power your Google TV from your wrist, oregon grounds audio with the Recorder app and transportation it to your phone. With Call Assist, you tin usage your ticker to archer anyone calling you request an other 2nd to prime up the phone.

If each you privation is simply a fittingness tracker that looks similar a smartwatch, you tin see the $229 Versa 4 since it’s the much budget-friendly option. But there’s nary existent constituent successful the Sense 2 since the Pixel Watch 3 tin present bash each the aforesaid things — and more.

Best fund Fitbit

The Inspire enactment hasn’t ever felt, well, inspired. But the $99.95 Inspire 3 is different. With a colour OLED display, it’s reminiscent of the Fitbit Luxe (formerly $149.95, present often astir $99.99), conscionable with a matte achromatic integrative lawsuit alternatively of a metallic one. It’s a large throwback to classical Fitbits for radical who lone privation the basics.

The Inspire 3 doesn’t overcomplicate things. It’s a fittingness band. You won’t get built-in GPS, contactless payments, oregon integer assistants. Still, what it lacks successful smarts it makes up for with Fitbit’s precocious slumber tracking, accent absorption features, and irregular bosom complaint notifications. The OLED show is besides a measurement up from the Inspire 2’s monochrome screen, and you inactive get 10 days of artillery life. (Though it’s much similar 2 to 3 if you alteration the always-on display.) 

The Inspire 3 has a assortment of accessories, including a clip attachment if you privation to discreetly way steps. There’s adjacent a gold oregon metallic mesh strap if you privation to formal it up a bit. 

To beryllium honest, the Inspire 3 and Luxe are rather similar, and they’re often astir the aforesaid price. It’ll boil down to whether you deliberation the Luxe’s nicer lawsuit is worthy trading fractional the artillery beingness for — the Luxe gets an estimated 5 days alternatively of 10.

Best Fitbit fittingness tracker

The Charge bid has ever been popular, and the $159.95 Charge 6 is nary exception. It’s Fitbit’s higher-end fittingness set but easy competes with the much costly Versa 4 connected features. It features a colour OLED surface positive an EKG and EDA sensor. You besides get built-in GPS, NFC payments, and SpO2 sensors — the lone happening you’re truly missing is simply a integer assistant.

The lone qualm we person with the Charge 6 is the always-on display. While it’s beautiful, it’s a large artillery drain. The Charge 6 has an estimated 7 days of artillery life, but that dwindles down to astir 2 if you person the always-on show enabled. This is the aforesaid contented that we had with the Charge 5, but it’s reasonably emblematic from Fitbit trackers these days.

Altogether, though, you’re getting a hellhole of a batch for the price. It’s the lone FDA-cleared EKG wearable you tin find for nether $200, and the lone different Fitbits susceptible of EKG and EDA readings are the Sense, Sense 2, and the Pixel Watch 2. So unless you’re dormant acceptable connected the smartwatch signifier factor, the Charge 6 is the amended wide deal. 

Compared to its predecessor, the Charge 6 besides adds an improved bosom complaint algorithm, Bluetooth compatibility with immoderate gym equipment, and a fewer apps — namely Google Maps, Google Wallet, and YouTube Music. While YouTube Music works well, I’m not stoked that it requires an further $11 monthly subscription. That said, it’s amended than nothing, arsenic Fitbit discontinued onboard euphony a portion back.

In presumption of hardware, the Charge 6 besides features a haptic fastener alternatively of an inductive groove. It’s not a carnal button, which is simply a small disappointing, but it’s much reliable frankincense acold than the inductive groove, truthful I would number this arsenic a nett positive.

You could technically get the Charge 5 astatine a discount. However, I’d lone bash that if it’s importantly cheaper and terms is your main consideration. The haptic button, portion not what I wanted, is acold amended than the inductive groove and you person much app options. Turn-by-turn navigation is besides useful for walks, and it astatine slightest offers immoderate signifier of euphony playback.

Best Fitbit for kids

That beauteous overmuch covers the existent Fitbit lineup. The lone 1 we haven’t touched frankincense acold — and the lone 1 that I haven’t tested myself — is the $79.95 Ace 3. That’s Fitbit’s tracker for kids. It’s a basal tracker with a rugged bumper and comes with parental controls. It’s got amended artillery beingness than its predecessor but doesn’t travel with GPS. Also, portion it does person bosom complaint sensors, it’s not a metric that’s actively tracked for children. Instead, it determines however galore “active minutes” they’re getting. Overall, it’s a decent prime for parents whose main precedence is making definite their kids get capable regular exercise.

However, Fitbit precocious announced the $229.95 Ace LTE. It’s substantially much expensive, but that’s understandable fixed it’s a important upgrade successful presumption of hardware and software. For starters, it has the aforesaid guts arsenic the Pixel Watch 2. (The chargers are besides compatible!) It besides adds built-in LTE for a $9.99 monthly subscription via the Ace Pass, which enables calling, messaging, and real-time GPS tracking for parents. Kids won’t request to person their ain smartphone to acceptable it up, and determination are nary third-party apps oregon ads connected the device. Everything is besides controlled via the abstracted Fitbit Ace app, which works connected some iOS and Android.

To promote much activity, the Ace LTE uses a bid of 3D games. After playing a bit, they’re encouraged to get immoderate carnal enactment to unlock much playing time. There’s besides a Tamagotchi-like element, but speech from $35 collectible bands, determination are nary microtransactions wrong the games involving existent money. (Kids tin “buy” much items by completing regular quests and partaking successful activities.) As for privacy, Google says that lone parents volition beryllium capable to presumption determination and enactment information for children. Location information is deleted aft 24 hours, portion enactment information is deleted aft 35 days. We haven’t had a accidental to trial the Ace LTE yet, truthful enactment tuned for our forthcoming review. (But if you’re impatient, it’s disposable for preorder present and hits shelves connected June 5th.)

Should you adjacent bargain a Fitbit close now?

Fitbit officially became portion of Google successful 2021. Nothing changed overnight, but technically, it’s Fitbit by Google now. The Fitbit-to-Google migration started successful earnest successful summertime 2023 and caller users volition beryllium asked to log into Fitbit utilizing their Google accounts. In 2025, this volition beryllium mandatory for everyone. Last year, Google angered longtime Fitbit users by shuttering longtime social features similar Challenges and removing measurement streaks. (Step streaks person since been added back and expanded to Android.) Meanwhile, the Versa 4 and Sense 2 weren’t arsenic feature-rich astatine motorboat compared to their predecessors, starring immoderate to consciousness that Google purposefully did this to enactment the spotlight connected its Pixel Watch. There were besides aggregate large server outages successful 2023.

There’s immoderate hostility present and the aboriginal of Fitbit hardware is murky. Especially fixed the information that Google laid disconnected astir a 1000 employees from its hardware departments spanning Pixel, Fitbit, and Nest. If you’re buying a tracker for the archetypal clip and privation it to past you a while, it mightiness marque much consciousness to opt for a Garmin oregon Amazfit tracker. Similarly, if you’re looking to upgrade to an older Versa oregon Sense smartwatch, you mightiness privation to spot wherever the particulate settles. However, if you cognize you privation a Fitbit, past spell ahead. If you’re not successful a unreserved oregon are undecided, present is not a atrocious clip to beryllium backmost and observe.

Update, September 24th: Swapped retired the Pixel Watch 2 for the Pixel Watch 3.