Fitbit announces Charge 4

Fitbit has announced the Fitbit Charge 4, the latest addition to its most popular line of wearables. The device features built-in GPS, Fitbit Pay, and Spotify Connect & Control. Charge 4 includes Fitbit’s latest innovation, Active Zone Minutes, a new personalised standard based on one’s resting heart rate and age that tracks any workout that gets one’s heart pumping. This measures the time one spends in each heart rate zone toward a weekly goal of 150 minutes. 

This confirms the all rumours speculated from its FCC filing, except for integrated GPS – which is a very welcome addition.  

“Our mission has always been to help people around the world get healthier,” says James Park, CEO and co-founder. “In today’s extraordinary times, that mission is more important than ever, but we realize how hard it is to focus on your health and wellness. However, staying active, eating well and getting enough sleep can help reduce stress and boost immunity.  

“To help support our users, we’re offering a free trial of Fitbit Premium and added content so our users have the right tools at home to help them stay healthy; and, with Active Zone Minutes, we are giving users a new personalised standard for health and fitness so they can get the most out of any activity that works for them and help to keep them motivated.” 

Active Zone Minutes will launch first with Charge 4, with an innovative design made to optimise GPS performance plus house other advanced sensors and capabilities while maintaining a slim, lightweight tracker form at the same approachable price and battery life. Its premium, lightweight, swimproof design is comfortable for all-day (and night) wear, featuring an inductive button, a scratch-resistant screen and a bright, crisp touchscreen display that is easy to view in natural light. 

As the first Fitbit tracker with built-in GPS, users can leave their phones at home and get optimal performance for activities like running, walking and other outdoor excursions. Now with the ability to track pace and distance in real-time, in addition to the 20+ goal-based exercise modes, users can access seven GPS-enabled exercise modes, including a new outdoor workout mode for outdoor activities like hiking, running, or a brisk walk.  

With Fitbit’s PurePulse 24/7 heart rate tracking, Active Zone Minutes uses one’s personalised heart rate zones to track their effort for energising activities, whether doing power yoga or taking a vigorous walk outside. One earns credit for each minute of moderate activity in fat burn zone and double the credit for vigorous activity in cardio and peak zones – Active Zone Minutes does the math for users so they can quickly understand how many they need to reach their daily and weekly goals.  

Active Zone Minutes is based on recommendations from leading health organisations, including the World Health Organisation, which recommends getting 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week, which has been linked to better overall health and well-being, disease prevention, improved cognitive function, less anxiety and better sleep. 

Previously only available on Fitbit smartwatches, smart wake (coming soon) uses machine learning to wake you at the optimal time. Sleep Score provides deeper insights into your sleep with a daily look at the quality of your sleep, now available on-wrist for the wearable. Other sleep features on the Charge 4 make it easy to improve your sleep, from your wrist: quickly set alarms and activate Sleep Mode to maintain routines and sleep schedules. 

It comes standard with health and fitness essentials like SmartTrack automatic exercise tracking, Cardio Fitness Level and Score, floors climbed, Reminders to Move every hour, female health tracking, food, and water and weight logging. It offers motivation from a global social fitness network of nearly 30 million like-minded individuals around the world, and free educational insights about activity and sleep in the Fitbit app help one better understand how health and wellness tie together. 

Now standard on all Charge 4 devices, users can make secure payments from the wrist with Fitbit Pay with nearly 500 issuers at retailers in 44 countries and 10 transit systems worldwide, including Discovery Bank, FNB and RMB Private Bank, Investec and Nedbank. 

With all these new features, the Charge 4 is still powered by up to seven days of battery, as with its predecessor. 

Charge and Charge 4 Special Editions will be available in stores once they reopen and online through Takealot, Sportsmans Warehouse, Cape Union Mart, Total sports, Dis-Chem, Incredible Connection, Makro, E-Bucks, FNB and other retailers. Charge 4 will be available for R2,999 in black, rosewood and storm blue/black. Charge 4 Special Edition will be available for R3,399 in a granite reflective/black woven band plus a classic black band to swap out for workouts or a sportier look.