I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. However, if that doesn’t appeal, and all you want is for a device to tell you where you’ve been, what your heart rate was and how many steps you’ve taken, then you can get a similar feature set for a lot less money. Female health tracking allows women to keep track of their menstrual cycle in the Fitbit app and on the Charge 4 itself. The quick answer to this question is well enough, but it’s a long way from the best GPS tracking wearable we’ve tested here at Expert Reviews. Working hand-in-hand with your fitness tracking is the built-in 24/7 heart rate monitor, which can track calorie burn and let you know when you're in personalized heart rate zones.

The big news is built-in GPS and this makes it the very first of Fitbit’s fitness bands to have the technology. Plus, I think the Charge is still one of the more attractive wristband trackers out there; it’s certainly much better looking than the Garmin Vivosport.For my run/walk, the map showed that I reached cardio zone shortly after heading out, then alternated between fat burn, cardio, and peak zones for the rest of the time. Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. You get one buzz for entering the fat burn zone, two buzzes for entering the cardio zone, and three for your peak zone. This can be an early sign of heart disease, and while the Charge 5 isn't a medical tool, if it detects something amiss, you can generate a report using the Fitbit app that you can share with your doctor.

The standard edition has a silicone strap with a plastic buckle, and the special edition comes with an additional woven nylon band with reflective threads worked into the material. You get one point per minute of moderate exercise and two points for every minute of vigorous exercise. This was a nice-to-have feature, but until you can actually download tracks to the Charge 4, as you can with the Versa 2, it’s not a feature I’d use regularly. Deputy editor, Natalie Corner, a self-professed Fitbit fan, owns the Charge 4 and had the opportunity to test out the Charge 5.

Seeing how the Charge 4 lacks app compatibility compared to other wearables (that small OLED screen won’t be for everybody), you might also want to consider a smartwatch made for fitness.