Fitness trackers were one of the first products behind the popularity of wearable devices. While smartwatches are now taking over, fitness trackers still have the majority of the portion in the market share and Fitbit remains its leader.

After launching the Fitbit Charge 4 last year in March, the company is now gearing up to launch its successor in the market, dubbed Fitbit Charge 5. Ahead of the launch, some details about the upcoming wearable product have leaked online.

Fitbit Charge 5
179 USDhttps://t.co/6bhJFPBI6x

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From the leaked renders, it looks like Fitbit will be overhauling the design of the Charge 5 fitness tracker. The company is moving away from the rugged look and the upcoming product has adopted curved edges with soft angles and a smoother-looking strap.

Also, instead of the monochrome screen in the past models, the upcoming model will be featuring a color display. Currently, not much is known about the hardware specifications of the Fitbit Charge 5 but it’s revealed to have an optical heart rate sensor and a SpO2 sensor for blood oxygen content.

It could also come with support for GPS to enable location tracking and Fitbit’s favorite EDA for stress measurement. There’s also a possibility of an ECG sensor for monitoring heart rhythm and warn users of potential arrhythmia problems.

The device will also include a premium subscription that offers personalized exercise recommendations and suggests times for resting and recovering with guided meditations and sleep tracking.

The leak also claims that the device will be available for purchase for the price of $179. The launch date is not yet known but going by the leaked images, which show the “23 Oct” date, it’s likely that the Fitbit Charge 5 will be made official on 23rd October.

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Google last month announced the acquisition of fitness wearable manufacturer Fitbit after several months of speculations. As an aftermath of the acquisition, some of the brand’s wearable devices are now on sale on the Google Store.

The Fitbit watches and trackers are listed alongside Google Pixels and Nest gear and can be purchased right from the Google Store. There are presently four Fitbit products on sale in the Google Store and they include the Fitbit Sense, Versa 3, Inspire 2, and Fitbit Charge 4. The smartwatches are on sale exclusively in the United States.

Regardless of the listing on Google Store, the smartwatches are still on sale on Fitbit’s on the store as well a by other retailers. The prices still range from $329 and below which is consistent with the prices on other channels. The good thing about the Google Store listing is that the consumers now have the option to buy these products while also buying unlocked Pixel smartphones and even fund the purchase with the same financing option.

The Fitbit Versa 3 is even listed on the Google Store homepage, right next to the new Nest Thermostat and Google Pixel Buds. The Store has even gotten an exclusive Fitbit products tab at the top row which takes users directly to the product page. The store’s redesign includes a banner about Google’s acquisition of Fitbit and it leads to the Fitbit landing page.

Google also included some outbound links to the Fitbit store for other products not listed on the Google Store such as watchbands and chargers, the Aria Air smart scale, as well as the monthly Fitbit Premium subscription service.

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Recently, a few owners of the Fitbit Charge 4 that had been complaining about an issue regarding their wearables. Reports have surfaced that the fitness tracker has a crucial flaw, where the device sometimes does not sit well on the wrist as it is supposed to.

According to an AndroidCentral report, One user said on the Fitbit community forums that “the band does not fit snuggly, as with all other Fitbits I have owned. Is this normal? There is a noticeable gap between the band and the device.” Following this, the number of Charge 4 users that have faced the same issue has grown. Others also said that the gap caused dust or other small particles to get in the way, with a few saying that the gap sometimes has the device get yanked off it gets caught in something.

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A Fitbit representative has since confirmed the issue and stated that “We are aware that a band-connection issue is affecting a small number of Charge 4 users. We take customer satisfaction very seriously and the quality of our products is one of our top priorities. We encourage any customers experiencing difficulties with their device to contact Customer Support for assistance.”

The company has recently unveiled a few new products, which include the Inspire 2 the Versa 3, and even the Sense Health Watch. So, let’s hope that those devices do not face the same issues that affect the Charge 4 and that the company does take notes of the issues so that it does not extend to its newer product launches as well.

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Earlier in November 2019, Google announced to buy Fitbit for $2.1 billion. Since then the popular fitness tracker company did not announce any new product. But now, it has, after five months since the buyout was announced. Unfortunately, the new wearable from the company is Fitbit Charge 4, which is nothing but a successor to Fitbit Charge 3 from 2018.

The Fitbit Charge 4 features the same design as its predecessor but comes with a built-in GPS, which is absent on the previous model. The tracker is made of aerospace-grade aluminum and is available in four options including a special edition.

The tracker sports an OLED greyscale display with support for touch inputs. The sensors present in it include  3-axis accelerometer, optical heart rate monitor, SpO2 blood oxygen level monitor and altimeter. For connectivity, it features Bluetooth 4.0 to connect with smartphones running both Android and iOS. It also has NFC to make contactless payments via Fitbit Pay.

As a fitness tracker, it does monitoring all-day including workouts like swimming as it is water-resistant up to 50m. Also, it has support for sleep monitoring, call and message alerts, app notifications, music playback controls, and more.

As far as price is concerned, the Fitbit Charge 4 standard variant in mauve, blue, and black colored staps will retail for $149.95. Whereas, the special edition with classic black woven and reflective bands is priced at $169.95. However, in India, the fitness tracker costs more as they have been priced at INR 14,999 and INR 16,999 respectively. Lastly, buyers in all regions will get 90 days free trial of Fitbit Premium subscription service.

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