Bring back altimeter on Charge 6

[Dee.G]

I'm not going to get all wordy, just bring back the altimeter. that is all.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[gdio53]

@Dee.G 

The Charge 6 does not have the hardware necessary to measure changes in atmospheric pressure, so it can't measure altitude.

The charge 5 also lacked the hardware, so the last Charge device to provide that measurement was the Charge 4.

[alexthecat · Accepted solution]

@Dee.G the best place to make suggestions and get the attention of the developers is the Product Feedback forum.

There is already a suggestion there to bring back the altimeter for future Charge devices. I hope you will consider voting and commenting there. 

[Rich_Laue]

I can't tell you how many threads we've had in the last 10 years about stair counts being wrong. However, all hardware takes up room, and to keep hehe Charge 6 slim, required removing some hardware. The Altimeter drew the short straw 

[mikey_pdx]

This. Also, other device makers (like the other company that starts with "G") have issues with it as well. I had 2 devices from that company, and they were both just terrible at counting floors. Support would insist that I needed to clean the sensor hole, but I did that regularly and it didn't help. Then they'd change the firmware and the behavior of the altimeter would change. Some FW versions it over-counted, some under, sometimes it wouldn't count at all.

The only device I ever had that was any good at counting floors was my Microsoft Band 2. Aside from the bulky clasp, that thing was great.

[Mcav75]

The charge 6 doesn't have an altimeter to bring back. It never had one and was never advertised as having one.

[Mcav75]

The Sense 2 was rather good at it, but I don't mind losing this feature for the gains in all other areas. 

[hikedanceride]

Nah, it worked well enough and there are a lot of complaints that the altimeter was removed. Much of what the charge series measures is inaccurate, but all "good enough". The GPS accuracy is middle of the pack, so is step accuracy.  Having a slim profile and measuring  things with reasonable accuracy is the sell. I'm willing to step up to a Garmin and leave Fitbit, as a number have, due to the altimeter being removed. If the Charge 7 brings back the altimeter, I'll stay with Fitbit.  I use more accurate gps trackers on my phone (Avenza, Gaia, All Trails) for my mountain hikes and fieldwork, but am happy with what the Charge 4 records for daily use.  I do prefer the slim profile, so that has kept me with the Charge 4.