FitBit Charge HR 2
Rising to the raising of the bar by competitors, FitBit have continued their push of new products in the fitness tracker market. As a sector, fitness trackers have been becoming increasingly popular in recent times. FitBit, were perhaps the first company to create this niche in the market, and have created some sector leading products in it’s time. However, many of these were in dire need of a refresh given the speed at which the market is developing.
In answer to this need for further innovation and development, FitBit has released the second edition of it’s ever-popular Charge HR band. So what’s new? And is it worth the upgrade?
Bigger Screen, Better Display
The first notable difference between the Charge HR and the Charge HR 2 is the display. On the Charge HR, the screen is a small horizontal rectangle, which displays minimal information – the number of steps, your heart rate – everything you’d need to know, just not very large.
All of this changes with the Charge HR 2. The small rectangular display is replaced with a large and vibrant vertical screen. In design, it seems as though the Alta has been combined with the Charge HR. It’s similar for features too, with the Charge HR 2 now offering full caller, text and calendar alerts – where it previously offered caller ID only.
Connected GPS
GPS is essential in any fitness tracker, particularly for the runners out there. Where native GPS is only included in the top of the range Blaze FitBit models, the Charge HR 2 offers a good middle ground with connected GPS.
Connected GPS, means that the Charge HR 2 will use the GPS that is built into your smart phone to track your distance. This does mean running with your phone, but due to the lack on internal storage and bluetooth audio on the FitBit, you’d have to run with your phone for music anyway, so not a great loss.
Move Reminders & Guided Breathing
The theory goes, that standing up for a minute each hour is good for you. Well, FitBit believes this and as such enforces this behaviour by giving you a gentle reminder to get active if you’ve been idle for a long period of time. Progressing further into the ‘good for you’ sector, is guided breathing, where your FitBit takes you into deep mediation, by giving you breathing patterns to follow. The effectiveness of this remains to be seen, it’s personally not for me. But if you’re interested the features are there!
All in all, the Charge HR 2 is a solid upgrade on the first edition. It’s enough to sway new buyers into the market, but also to get existing owners to upgrade. Great job FitBit, keep it up.
