Honest Review of a FitBit Charge 3

[Fuksi85]

I have had the Charge 3 for a few weeks now and I have been a FitBit customer for a few years.

The short version: Yet another unimpressive piece of kit. It doesn't feel innovative, it doesn't feel premium, it surely is not a stylish item, rather something I need to hide under a shirt sleeve.

The long version: I purchased the FitBit Charge 3 after all the noise and marketing campaigns that announced its release. Once I unboxed it the first impression was very underwhelming. Regardless the technicalities around the materials, the rubber band feels just like that: rubber. The screen also feels very rushed and, if you look carefully, it have a massive bezel all around.

This is just the beginning, after charging the device and waiting, out of the box, for 30 minutes or more to complete the first upgrade I was left with a device that displays all but what I need. Shure, you can change the clock face but either nobody at FitBit feels like listening to feedback, or they have never went out and compared other products with their own. There is a third option: people just got used to subsequent releases of underwhelming products that by now anything looks like innovation.

The software on this device is so poor that I would not even know from where to start the description.

The gestures are not intuitive and the menus are so layered that it is virtually impossible to navigate them. It does not help that the haptic button is difficult to reach and not very sensitive and needs to be pressed multiple times just to get back to the beginning.

To log an exercise I need to tap/double tap (so many gestures), slide right, (clear notifications that might pop up in the meanwhile), tap on "Exercise", select the exercise *treadmill", click start, click start again. We're logging! Now let's stop it. Twisting the wrist does not always wake the screen (which is a problem also when simply wanting to check the time). So.. double tap. Press the haptic button on the left (with my thumb as I wear a watch on the left wrist). The exercise is paused. Let's stop it. Haptic button again. Click on "Finish". Oh.. not on the clock face yet. Haptic button again. And again. Oh here it is. I'm back after tens of click. How was this UI/UX designed? Last minute much?

Some might say that it is just a matter of getting used to it.. it is not. A carefully thought out and researched UI should be intuitive. Unfortunately we are getting used to many UIs being utterly terrible. 

The clock faces themselves look dated. What I want to see is a big set of digits telling me the time and underneath it the date. I don't need to be constantly reminded of the number of steps or my heartbeat. This is just so stressful!

To conclude... just another inexpressive piece of kit that feels cheap, looks cheap, and it is difficult to operate. This will be the last device I buy from FitBit. I won't even begin to comment on the Social side of FitBit that also seems rushed with a complex UI, nonexistent UX, and messaging system form the last century. 

[Ana-8]

I can not get this charge3 to set-up on my computer at all you need to have a call number to call

[WendyB]

Moved to the charge 3 forum as it was posted under Charge forum.

[Giampi71]

I have a completely different opinion of the Charger 3. I never owned any Charge or Charge 2 as I passed directly from Zip to Blaze (and now Ionic).

I instead got a Charge 3 to swap with my Ionic for more fitness environments (gym mainly) and I was very impressed.

Materials are in my opinion very premium and the display, once you accept it's black and white, very bright and with nice resolution. The navigation is a matter of adaptation, I'm still learning as I am used with the Ionic but I don't find it unintuitive. 

The clockfaces are always very subjective, being a fitness tracker for me it is a must to have steps and heart rate but I agree about the need to have an option featuring the date. I'm confident more clockfaces will be soon released covering the wishes of the greatest part of the users.

Is it perfect? Definitely not (I'm affected by the serious silent alarm bug) but it goes far beyond my expectations, it definitely bridges the gap between a smartwatch (like the Versa) and a more simple tracker (like the Alta for example).

If Fitbit opens up the possibility to implement independent developers application then it would really be a market changer.

[Fuksi85]

I agree to disagree. I am returning mine today.

[SarahRhea]

 I do agree after all the hype I was underwhelmed with how rushed the product felt. The interface is not intuitive and cumbersome to navigate. The band its self doesn't sit flush with the tracker either, which makes it feel unfinished.

That said this fitness band is an upgrade from the alta and another brand fitness tracker I had. For me it tracks what I need, I get notifications of my choosing, its water proof and fits comfortably.  I plan on keeping it because the alternatives in this price point dont fit my needs. I hope they work out the major bugs and add more watch faces that will meet my needs. If I ever upgrade again though, it wont be to a product that has just been just released.

[cmdonahue]

I agree with a lot of what was stated, but what I would like to add is: please, put back what I had with the Charge 2.  With the Charge 2, I could quickly review what I have accomplished for the day, in the order of my priorities and remove anything I don't want to see when scrolling through the list, like my sleep stats.  Who cares once it was reviewed first thing in the morning?  The big pictures are annoying, you could list 3 or 4 items if you put a signature icon to the left and the info on the right.  This would eliminate an enormous amount of scrolling.  Try to look at this device as a quick view of your goals not an email from your grandmother that requires studying for 3 days to determine if she needs a visit or to go to a long term care facility.  Also, the updates could be a little quicker when you connect, it does require a lot of patience.

[ScottFBC3]

There seems to be no thought put into real world use.  It’s as if the developers and QA had no real world experience using a fitness watch.

[Fuksi85]

I totally agree. It's not acceptable to buy something hoping that at some point in the future it will be fixed. I buy a device because of the overall experience it provides. I don't want to wait for a solution in the future that may or may not suit my needs.  

[Ana-8]

I am totally disappointed with my FitBit Charge 3. I am sorry I took my FibBit 2 to replace because it had a broken glass. I would like to have it back (even with the broken glass) because I DON’T LIKE the FitBit 3. It is not easy to read and it does not give me the information I had on the FibBit 2. I would not recommend it to anyone!!!

[Mosthafa]

Agree to most of it. I would say that I did not really expect a "premium" watch, but did expecr an upgrade from Charge 2 and overall Charge 3 is physically better.

The software is horrible. Starting an excercise makes my blood boil is possibly the worst thing, but plenty of other issues.

My biggest worry is that if this was rushed... it should still have been better. If i was rushing creating this I would not add a maze to navigate to start an excercise. I would skip all the fancy stuff and copy and paste from the Charge 2.  I feel like a lot of this was deliberate, just whoever created this monstrosity did not think to try it.

[Jmayoung]

I wish I would have bought another charge 2! I’m very unhappy with my purchase. The amount of time it takes to stop an exercise is crazy & I have yet to figure it out. Every time I successfully stop an exercise, it’s luck. It’s so frustrating. Next fitness watch will NOT be from FITBIT 

[Zonker845]

I've already exchanged 1 and the second one also has issues  A real lemon of a prod 

[fbdan]

I have to say as well that I'm puzzled how this Charge 3 is considered such an advancement.  

- The band feels like plastic.  The charge 2 had more flexibility to it, and a nicer texture.

- And the band doesn't fit flush against the unit.  Thought I was the only one with that "feature", but it feels cheap.  $150, nothing should really feel "cheap".  I think they got their eyes caught on the 3rd party after market for bands that they made an attachment mechanism made to fit all.  

- The display brightness is unacceptable.  Impossible to read in daylight.  And font sizes that are so small I have to really pore over the display to see what they say.

- And l seem to be tracking 10 flights of stairs today at 2pm.  I've gone up 1.  My charge 2 wasn't this inaccurate.  And should we really be having problems like this considering this is like the 8th fitbit model sold?

I actually think I am going back to my Charge 2.  Or maybe spend the big bucks and go for an Apple Watch.

[Ana-8]

I am sorry I got a FitBit Charge 3. You are correct, it is not accurate at all. I am at the gym 2-3 hours a day, and it records something like 25 minutes. Same with steps, not accurate. I also agree that it is hard to read.

I saw several comments on the internet and nobody said anything good about it.

AA

[Svensin]

I agree with your comments but also understand not everyone will be happy. 

The band? I've got a $2 off ebay that is so much better/comfortable. I didn't really have an issue with the original, just wanted a different style. I'm confident the original will last a lot longer thou... The softer the band is the quicker it will break IMO. the original is rigid and seems more enduring to weather/conditions but time will tell on that one.

You are right about logging exercises, I've relied on it just working out that i'm doing something over setting it up. That being said, i've read peoples complaints that there isn't enough exercise options on there! "where the yoga setting?" etc... really? wow. *I'd just like to add, dont need a "PAUSE" when doing exercise... GO HARD OR NOT AT ALL! (lol) 

Home screen, personally i don't mind that much just spamming it when i'm done as sometimes i do just want to go backwards. What is the solution? add another button maybe? not sure.

This does what i want, Im not happy it was rushed and needs further updates to fix the issues i have (auto brightness not working etc...) but I feel the problem isn't just that this is bad, its just there isn't any

competition against it in the similar price bracket. I looked at this and the garmin equivalent and that didn't blow my skirt up and more. If you want a this type of device... what else is there?

We are limited to this as there isnt much else. I dont love it to bits but dont have the desire to return it either. I wanted water proof, heart/sleep/exercise tracking... this does the job. If you find a better product at a similar cost, let me know. 🙂

[makragic]

Yes, I'm also disappointed. I had Charge 3 for two days now and I found following bugs:

- Step tracker counts steps when I don't move, even when I sleep!

- Tonight it didn't track my sleep.

- When you turn your wrist, 50% of time screen doesn't turn on.

- If I tie band regularly, so it doesn't stop my blood flow, when I walk I get some crazy heart rate (170 bpm), when I tie it like crazy I get real stats (about 120 bpm), but then my hand gets numb. 

- There are so few clock faces, how hard is to create more of them, seriously?

Unfortunately I bought it in different EU country so I can't return it. This is the worst investment ever. If I could go back in time I would scream at myself to buy Samsung Go Pro 2 or some Garmin device.

What pisses me the most is that no one from the staff admit they have issues and tells: "This will be fixed in next update". Because all of those things from above are software errors. Fitbit should fire the team who was working on Charge 3. I HOPE they will fix this in next update because this is seriously awful. 

[mis2019]

Don't waste your money, I've never reviewed a product before but this is the worst tracker ever.  You can't tell what time it is, doesn't stay on long enough to read which by the way with the sun out you can't read it.  No GPS  But yea it counts steps you are not walking and is water proof. 😞   

BTW this is not my first Fitbit I've had several but it maybe my last.

[wokingviking]

Just quite simply the worst Fitbit product ever. I have had the Charge HR, Charge 2. This new charge 3 is full of bugs, it has no innovation. The only benefit over my old charge 2 is it’s waterproof. This is my third and last Fitbit product. Every day I look at it, every day it annoys me. Bye bye Fitbit

[JudyCr69]

I LOVE my charge 3.  It does everything I want, and it was very easy to understand right out of the box.  I have sent back several trackers over the years, never liking the look and technology enough to keep.  Not so with the 3.  It works perfectly, actually bright enough for me unless I’m in direct sun.  If I’m outside, I’m gardening anyway so no need to see very much then.  The clock is bright enough outside.  I REALLY love the sleep tracking part.  I don’t sleep all that great, senior citizen with ailing husband, always worrying, but I was so relieved to see more hrs and deeper then I thought it would be.  That’s very exciting to me, and I believe having the 3 on made me stay in bed longer and try to go back to sleep, AND I DID,  very cool stuff👍