Will the Charge 6 track floors?

[ChrisFrohlich]

Can someone confirm whether or not the Charge 6 will contain an altimeter?  i.e. Will the Charge 6 track Floors?

I've been reading specs but see no mention of it.  That, along with the responses in this forum around the launch of Charge 5 would indicate to me that the answer is "No".

That said, this would be such a (repeated) disappointment that I figured I'd give the brand and product representatives the courtesy of a chance to respond (preferably with some rationale/explanation) before determining my opinion.

Anyone else out there feeling the same?

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Triletics]

It seems that the altimeter is gone from the Charge line for good.

[bons12]

Poor decision to leave out altimeter. I won’t be buying it now. Gutted as I thought it would be added and looked forward to upgrading my Charge 4. Very telling when the decision makers do not listen to feedback. I know they are not bothered if one person (me) does not buy it though! 

[N8teGee · Accepted solution]

Hi @ChrisFrohlich.

The Charge 6 doesn't feature an altimeter, so unfortunately will not be able to track floors. 

[marcusdeshaun]

It's very disappointing. There was an entire thread I started on how backwards it was not to include an altimeter on Charge 5. Sounds like all that feedback was callously not considered. 

[BriPelt]

@ChrisFrohlich 

Same! I live in Colorado and the altimeter was my favorite pert of the Charge 4, because I could calculate elevation gain in real time, which helped me to set paces better. There were so many articles that hinted at the altimeter returning—even one that confirmed it from a “Google Insider” a week before this release and now I can’t find the article—and now I’m super disappointed! I was trying to hold out on the Charge 6, because I’ve loved the Charge line, but they’ve really messed up this time.

This all comes after my 2nd Charge 5 (first one died at about 8-9 months) stopped holding a charge about 2 months ago, and I did all the hacks to try and fix it. I’m an experienced tech user and researched and implemented all the fixes that were suggested, but no luck. I then reached out to FitBit support, and they basically said there was no hope to save my Charge 5, so offered me a 35% discount. There was an awesome “Back to School” sale at the time, so I used that and my 35% discount to order a new Charge 5. 

I immediately got an email that said it was on backorder until mid-September. Then got another email a few days later that said it was going to ship 9/29. Two weeks later I got an email that said the time was indeterminate as to when I would get my new Charge 5. 

That got me thinking that maybe the Charge 6 might be on the way. So I did a little research, and sure enough, there was some buzz about a possible release soon. So I contacted FitBit support again to try and confirm whether or not I would ever get the Charge 5 I ordered, or if they had already stopped production to start making the Charge 6. My husband’s a firmware engineer, I know how these things work. Well, that conversation was pretty fruitless, and I asked the guy for a transcript for my records, because this whole situation seemed pretty fishy to me about then, and he said he would send me an email, and sure enough, he that never came. Good thing I took screen shots, because I really feel like something has to be done about this, now that all the Charge 5 Community Forums are blowing up with the same issue I’m having.

I’ve been a loyal FitBit customer because I like the longevity of their tracker Charges, 1x a week, and that they aren’t quite a Smartwatch? But have some Smartwatch features. I really don’t want to go to a Smartwatch, but many family members and friends are moving to Apple and seem to love it. I’m very hesitant, because I really don’t want to have something I charge everyday, anything I am encouraged to attach my credit cards to pay with just my device (identity risk much?) or that answers phone calls for me, but Google’s management of FitBit products recently has made me question whether I want to stay with the brand. The feature to pair with my Peloton is tempting, but I don’t use YouTube Music—and don’t want to—but I use Spotify heavily and that would have been a much better feature. I’m super bummed about the altimeter too, especially since every article I read was hopeful it would return after the huge backlash from it being removed from the Charge 5. I know it probably ruins the frame that the Charge 5 has, but I would sacrifice a little more bulk in the Charge 6 for the ability to read elevation on my hikes again. So, FitBit, the ball is in your court. What possible reason do I have to stay with your brand? How are your products better than the competition when you keep ignoring customers and removing/not adding features that your competitors are including in their products?

[thesmallerhalf]

Charge 6 is just a tarted up Charge 5. Offering it as a 'new' device is like putting lipstick on a pig. No altimeter despite the feedback they got on its disappearance from the Charge 5. I expected the offerings from Fitbit to take a dive down the toilet when Google gobbled it up, they have met this expectation admirably. All Google wanted from the Fitbit acquisition was data and an opportunity to promote themselves as integral to users' virtual life. If Charge 6 had been a genuinely new device, with a restored altimeter, I would be ordering one. This pathetic offering confirms my intention to use my Charge 5 until it dies, and move on to another, more reputable brand. That could be sooner than later, my first 5 lasted 6 weeks before expiring, and getting a warranty claim processed resembled elephants mating. Nightmare getting a result.

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You are not alone.

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I agree, and yes the 'updated' app is just disappointing and pointless.

[bons12]

Thanks people. It’s nice to feel that I am not alone in feeling so strongly about the deliberate omission of the altimeter.

It seems Google are using the Charge 6 as a pilot to test the take up of, not just the tracker itself (from their current fan base- more like how many current users can Google lose ), but also, which of the new apps users are selecting and any longevity after any initial free periods that they offer. Increasing their market share of Google Pay and interesting partnerships with Peloton and YouTube is much more important.

It’s a win-win for Google. The price point of the Charge probably means it’s the least profitable of all the range so willing to test the above and lose customers. The successes of any from this pilot can then be rolled out to the other watches, Versa and Sense etc which are more profitable.

Google have the ability to track all of these and hopefully if the new apps have a low take up, the decision makers could think about returning the altimeter to a charge 7 ( as ever the optimist that I am)!!  As you all can point out that Google can see this community and chose to ignore the return of the altimeter so my optimism is wasted.

Plus the Charge 6 is now saying the heart rate is now 60% more accurate in measurement. So in other words all previous Fitbits watches currently have an error rate of 60%! Ouch! 60%!! Would it then be more accurate for me to stick my fingers on my pulse points and manually count then!! Yes there is always an improvement on previous models but 60% is a lot!

The Fitbit charge was a perfect little watch. For something so physically small, it had everything it needed (including the altimeter). The other watches seem so big. I wander in 20 years time, if medical conditions like wrist arthritis and thumb arthritis (from texting) will appear but I am seriously digressing now….. sorry.

As you all say, I hope my current Charge 4 lasts a while and in that time something small and as perfectly formed will appear in the market.

Google - thanks for NOT listening NOR caring. 

This is the first time I have been on social media on this type of community thing and it has been lovely sharing my thoughts with you all. And it goes to show how much I love my Fitbit charge 4. I know you all have been on the community for much longer and know Fitbit products much better than I and will also already have come to the same conclusion to what I have written.

Thanks for reading. I will stop ranting now and leave you all to have a lovely Sunday whatever you spend it doing wherever you are in the world with your Fitbits. 😀

[ChrisFrohlich]

Has anyone from Google or Fitbit acknowledged this thread yet?

I'd offer that if you're reading this and feeling the same, it may be good to reply and get your opinion registered.  It won't change the feature lineup for the Charge 6, but perhaps it will leave an impression?  Maybe we could hope for a "fast follow" "Charge 6 Advanced"?

Hard to hold much hope after the Charge 5 & 6 announcements, but given the track record I know what I expect to happen if Charge users say nothing...

[RM-Moucheron]

Commentaires ou non, j'ai peur qu'il n'en prenne pas compte des remarques. 
Je continue avec la  fitbit charge 4.
Quand je devrais changer, j'irai voir ailleurs ...

[BobCrout]

I still use my Charge 4 I did not upgrade to the Charge 5 due to no altimeter and was expecting this to be sorted with the new 6, seems not. Very disappointed because I like the brand,  however there are other options out there and my next product purchase will sadly not be with Fitbit and as far removed from the "Google" empire as possible.

[Bebopkorsakoff]

I wanted to buy the Charge 6, then I realised that it didn't had an altimeter... Hard pass!

How can you evaluate a run or an hike without it?

[Triletics]

@Bebopkorsakoff this was I asked when Charge 5 was stripped of altimeter. Floors is one thing but for me it's more important to know elevation gain/loss during runs. Lots of runners run hills and mountains and want this data. I have my weekly and monthly elevation goal and some of my hill repeat runs have elevation gain as a target goal. I think, Fitbit hasn't ever considered that altimeter is a much more than floor (floors for me are not a metric of anything). Fitbit isn't a great platform for runners but with Charge 5 and 6 it got even worse. It's hard to understand what drives those decisions.

[Bebopkorsakoff]

I totally agree.

At least when sync with Strava, you can see the elevation data deduced by the GPS track. Fitbit could AT LEAST do this.

[marcusdeshaun]

Although this thread is labeled "Answered", the question still remains of why Fitbit hasn't responded to the omission of the altimeter for Charge 5 or 6 despite all the feedback. 

If the answer is that you want to push folks toward the Pixel watch, please understand that some people don't want to wear a huge oval on their wrist.

If the answer is that you can't fit an altimeter in the Charge, at least use GPS and some basic AI to determine the change in altitude. I wouldn't even be mad if you made that a Fitbit Premium feature. 

[Triletics]

@marcusdeshaun you don't need AI for it. All you need are DEM (Digital Elevation Model) maps. This is how elevation correction works on the Strava or Garmin platform. They use very hi-res elevation maps. The only caveat of such a solution is that it has to be done offline (server-side) but considering the fact that Fitbit was never showing live elevation gain that wouldn't matter for users. GPS provides elevation but the margin of error is much higher vertically (±25m) which makes GPS alone too inaccurate for such a task.

[Bebopkorsakoff]

Strava already calculate elevation with Fitbit when GPS is enabled. I don't know how accurate is, but looks accurate enough in my experience. It would be nice having those stats right in the Fitbit app instead having to rely on Strava

[trecile]

I have found some reasonable priced new and refurbished Charge 4s and Charge 3s on ebay.  I will buy one of those when my Charge 3 dies, or maybe buy one proactively.

[RheinD]

I have just purchased the Charge 6 and I'm a little disappointed that there is no altimeter I'm sure I'll get to used to it. Lets face it the "floor count" wasn't very accurate to say the least. Walking along our windswept beach made the total quite unrealistic. I'll still miss it though. The charge 6 seems to be a good buy, time will tell.

[BobCrout]

Well I decided to leave the Charge 5 and stick with my 4 due to the lack of an altimeter,  I was confident that this would be added on the Charge 6, Wrong! Today my faithfull 4 has given up went to order the 6 and am very disapointed that this option is still not offered.  No new Fitbit for me and interestingly now that I've taken time to look at the competition there appear to be numerous other options for me. So goodbye Fitbit I know I'm nothing in the big spenders league and you won't in reality give a toss that I've gone, but thanks to your decision I've discovered so much more. Bye.