Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Tracker

7.1
7.1 score
(Gearweare.net) score (7.1)/10

Our Gearweare.net score is based on 3 different factors: Editor's rating after in-depth testing. User ratings submitted on this page Overall score from the "reviewmeter" based on reviews across the web the weight of each factor is: 40% editor rating 15% user ratings 45% reviewmeter.
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Editor rating: 6.7 / 10
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Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Tracker Review Facts

The Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Activity Tracker is the most recent version of the Charge series of trackers that has several major advancements. This model has an interactive touchscreen with backlit display, a longer battery life, monitors female health, has guided breathing sessions, and is water resistant and swim proof to 50 meters. You can wear it while showering or swimming, which was not possible with other models. Comfortable, lightweight, and stylish, it will inspire a healthy lifestyle as the others do and track and monitor your activity progress. It has more than fifteen modes of exercise that can track giving you the stats for distance, pace, calories, heart rate, steps, foods eaten, and sleep quality. Get text, app, calendar, and call notifications from your smartphone. You can navigate everything directly on the screen for interactive operation. We discuss all of these features and more in our complete review below.

Editor's Pros & Cons
Pros
  • Comfortable, lightweight, and stylish
  • Records your quality of sleep in stages
  • Inspires a healthy and active lifestyle
  • Measures calories and monitors heart rate
  • Gives personalized guidance and healthful insights
  • Provides distance and pace
  • Get text, app, calendar, and call notifications
  • Track weight, foods consumed, and active minutes
  • Monitor calories burned, distance, and steps taken
  • Connect with friends and family
  • Monitor female health
Cons
  • Goals cannot be rearranged in the order that you want them
  • Original face does not show the date
See How
Reviews were analyzed here:
We read, analyze and sort reviews into positive & negative categories to give you the complete picture.
What are buyers saying?

We have spent 4 hours analyzing a total of 5342 reviews.

These reviews are then categoried into "Positive" and "Negative" feedback.

Below you will read a summary of them:

Positive
  • Despite initial problems, Fitbit quickly addressed many complaints with updates that buyers like.
  • There are options for different watch faces.
  • Both digital and analog displays are available.
  • Many buyers say that the Charge 3 has a long battery life.
  • There are a variety of watch bands to suit different styles.
  • The watch bands are easy to change out.
  • The heart rate tracker works throughout the day, not just during set activities.
  • There is a lot of useful and functional data offered through the app.
  • The touch screen is scratch resistant.
  • The GPS is more reliable than earlier generations of Fitbit.
  • It is easy to navigate through menus.
  • Alarms and notifications can be set to vibrate.
  • Many reviewers say the battery charges quickly.
  • Your phone does not need to be in the same room in order to get call and text alerts.
  • Distance can be displayed in kilometers or miles.
  • There are a range of activities to choose from for better tracking.
  • The dashboard is intuitively designed.
  • Most buyers are satisfied with the level of waterproofing.
Negative
  • Some of the first buyers were very disappointed by software bugs and the changes Fitbit made from earlier generations of the Charge.
  • There are complaints about watch face displays.
  • Some buyers report that they have issues with the screen shutting off randomly.
  • Some reviewers claim the step counter is inaccurate.
  • Although rare, some complain that getting a secure connection to the charger can be tricky.
  • Reviewers have had difficulty communicating with Fitbit customer service about issues with the Charge 3.
  • Quality control issues have been a problem for a few buyers. Some say the device that they received would not turn on or stopped functioning within the first week.
  • Syncing can be spotty and slow.
  • The weather feature is not quick to sync.
  • Fans of the Charge 2 have mixed reviews of the Charge 3.
  • There can be a bit of a learning curve in using this model of Fitbit if you are used to other models.
  • There are varied complaints about the touch screen. Some say it is difficult to activate while others claim it is too sensitive.
  • A few reviewers would prefer the display font to be bigger for easier and faster reading.
Reviewmeter
The Reviewmeter shows you an overall score that you can easily refer to. The highest rating is 10 (100% positive feedback)
Of the 5342 reviews we found in total, 26% were negative, and 74% were positive.
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Comfort

Comfortable, lightweight, and stylish, Charge 3 has a large touchscreen with backlit display. You will feel good wearing this device as it goes well with anything you wear. The interactive touchscreen is an enormous improvement from previous models to make the product more suitable for your active lifestyle. It will adjust to lighting conditions automatically, so when you go from light to dark environments or vice versa, you will still be able to see the numbers on the screen well. One aspect that customers noted about this tracker is that it can be worn in a professional work environment because it does not look too sporty. The Charge 3 does not have a large face like most activity trackers do, and the band can be swapped out for a more sophisticated one to look more suitable with business attire. No one at work will even realize that it is not a regular watch. Ladies love it because of its sleek shape and band selections that look very feminine.

Durability

One of the new features of this model that is part of the Fitbit Charge series is the feature of water resistance. Older versions are splash proof, meaning that they will only make it in light rain, but hardly anything more severe. The manufacturer knew that this was a major concern for customers because they want to be able to live, work, and play completely with these trackers on. Having to take it off or cover it in heavy rains, for personal showers, or for swimming is not want the average active person wants or needs. So, they made some drastic changes to this new model. The Charge 3 is water resistant and swim proof to 50 meters, meaning that you can wear it while showering and swimming. This has made plenty of loyal Fitbit fans very happy. They can now keep their tracker on and live their lives. You can even get it to track your swim activities, just like one of the other activities that it monitors such as running, biking, or walking. The Charge 3 is now durable in the ways that matter most.

Flexibility

The flexibility of the Charge 3 is evident in several ways. The many modes of personalizing it for the sports and activities that you want to monitor is just one avenue of flexibility. Some say this watch face is easier to use than previous models because of the touchscreen and the simplicity of the design. These changes do give you the versatility to do what you want and when you want as it fits into your lifestyle. Plenty of different bands fit this tracker and they are simple to swap out. If you do not like the one that comes with the device, then go online to find many more to choose from to make it perfect for you. Some people own several band colors and styles to match their wardrobe and various outfits they wear. The bands feel secure so you will not lose the device, as many customers have done in the past. This incredible tracker comes with the versatility to change with the needs and wants of the user, so make it just what suits you best.

Key Features

-Large touchscreen with backlit display
-Will adjust to lighting conditions automatically
-Water resistant and swim proof to 50 meters
-Offered in five solid colors
-Notifies if you have been idle too long
-Features guided sessions of breathing
-More than fifteen modes of exercise it tracks
-Uses Challenges & Adventures to challenge others
-Tracks period health, fertility, and ovulation windows
-Navigate on the clock face for simple operation
-Battery lasts seven days without a charge

Stability

One of the terrific characteristics of the Charge 3 is not unique to this version, but it is an aspect that is gaining plenty of attraction from users. It is the sleep monitor. Many people do not use this feature of their activity trackers although many models and brands have them. Sleep is an important activity that we do to rejuvenate our mind and body to power up for the next day. These ideal trackers can tell us what kind of sleep we are getting and if it is beneficial for our level of activity that we do during the day. The Charge 3 records your quality of sleep as deep, light, or REM stages. Once you have data from a night of sleep, look at the graphs on your phone for the results. It will help you understand your sleep quality better and gain insight about your nightly rest. What is unique to the Charge 3 is the ability to create a sleep schedule with reminders to aim for a steady routine. You can control to an extent the type, quality, and amount of sleep that you receive each night, so you have the best possible rest for the best health. Don’t waste or do without this incredibly important feature of the Fitbit series of trackers. It is right at your fingertips.

Style

Offered in five solid colors of lavender, white silicone, graphite/black, rose gold/berry, and rose gold/blue-gray, the Fitbit Charge 3 and its whole series of trackers inspire a healthy and active lifestyle. With this tracker on your wrist every day, you will want to do more activities just to watch your stats increase. It is a personal motivator much like a trainer would be. As a matter of fact, it will even guide your progress with updates and encouragement daily. If you count steps, you will be encouraged to do more each day to reach your goals and strive to be better. It is your silent partner in a healthier and more active life. With the choice of colors and the assortment of bands that you can choose, it is a very stylish and modern way to build your confidence and be more active.

Support

You will receive plenty of support from the Charge 3 with any activity you are trying to monitor. It will urge you to stay active and notify you if you have been idle too long. An alert will go off to suggest getting up and walk around to get the blood flowing. It also features guided sessions of breathing using your heart rate data. These sessions take place during the day and just for a few minutes to help you with your breathing. The device tells you when to exhale and inhale during the session to strengthen your breathing. These are not crucial, but they are helpful in being the most active you can, especially if you work long hours at a desk job. Combined with the app and all of its helpful qualities, you will have all of the support you need to be happy and healthy with your new tracker.

Use

There are so many things that the Fitbit Charge 3 can do that we cannot go through them all in this review, but we will mention the most important ones. It measures the burn of calories, monitors heart rate, and sets your goals. Receive stats in real time of how well you do, get distance and pace for outdoor rides and runs, and receive personalized guidance and healthful insights. Not only do you get the data you need, but it is also analyzed for you with advice on how to do better and improve. There are more than fifteen modes of exercise that it can track such as yoga, swimming, walking, biking, and running and all with individualized charts and graphs on their own page. You use your smartphone to look at everything you do and keep track of your progress.

Version

As with everything else that uses modern technology, activity trackers keep getting better with more advanced features and capabilities. The Fitbit Charge 3 has qualities that the previous Fitbit models do not. When compared to the Charge 2, the Charge 3 has a touchscreen and the Charge 2 has an OLED Tap display. The Charge 3 has app notifications and the Charge 2 does not. For water resistance, the Charge 2 is only resistant to splashes of water, and the Charge 3 is resistant to 50 meters of water. The battery life is five days on a single charge for the Charge 2, and the Charge 3 is seven days on one charge. This is also the same for the Fitbit Alta HR in all the mention categories. It has these advancements over the Fitbit Alta too, except that the Alta does not have the 24/7 heart rate monitor that the other models have. this manufacturer is actively listening to its customers and making the necessary changes to their products to keep them coming back for the latest and the best that technology has to offer in activity trackers.

Apps

When the Charge 3 is connected to the Fitbit app via a smartphone, the world of possibilities opens up for you. You can set goals, maintain your progress, and monitor calories used. Keep track of distance, steps taken, foods consumed, weight, and active minutes. There are plenty of apps for everyday things, such as weather, to remain connected to current happenings. Get text, app, calendar, and call notifications from your smartphone to your wrist. Android users can even send replies to messages received. Once you have this device, you will wonder how you ever live without it and all that it can do for you.

Connectivity

Through the Fitbit app, you can connect with friends and family with Challenges & Adventures to be motivated, earn badges, catch up, and challenge others. Monitor female health by tracking symptoms and dates of your periods, as well as fertility and ovulation windows. Navigate everything directly on the clock face for simple operation or use your smartphone for a larger screen of the data. Another feature that people enjoy is the battery life which is another improvement over previous models. The Charge 3 battery lasts seven days without a charge, so you can tend to other things in your busy life.

Bottom Line

The date does not appear on the face of the Fitbit Charge 3 and the order of the goals cannot be changed to suit your preference. With all that this device can do, if these are the only major complaints, then you have one outstanding piece of fitness technology. We think it is a huge success and so do all of the happy customers who have purchased it. With each new version, the Fitbit and the Fitbit Charge series becomes more and more what buyers need and want – the superb innovation to live happier and healthier lives.