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. 

[TLaughs]

I had and old Fitbit.  It wasn't intuitive and never synched correctly but it did what I needed.  I got new Charge 3 awhile back but just set it up today. I hate it. I mean really hate it.  They took everything I disliked about the first version and made it worse.

I hate the menus, I hate the swiping. I can never find what I need.  It's still ugly.  Oh--and still hates to sync.   The god awful swipe/touch screen is both overly sensitive and doesn't respond when I need it to.  The button is too shallow on the left and I can't always get it to click.

Honestly, if I could glue the band back on my old again ---I'd go back to it.  This sucks.

Lou

[BenDover68]

Charge 3 is a horrible product that should not have been on the market. Just put it in the drawer and forget about it. 

[TN-WWPM]

I purchased the Charge 3 and it was to dim to see the display for the first 3 months and then no display for the last 6-9 months. I've performed all the reboots and clock face changes and there is nothing. Fitbit says it is not under warranty. Totally a unsatisfactory customer service and not standing behind a defective product. TN-WWPM

[Albert8296]

WELCOME - to the world of fitbit 3 - there are thousands of us....

[Bobbylove]

I 150% agree with this whole post. 

I purchased a charge 3 in late 2019 expecting a stylish, easy to track workout Fitbit with soooo much marketing. All I got was a worthless piece of junk. Within 2 months the FIRST screen had dead pixels which took another 2 months to get via customer support for a replacement. After this SECOND screen arrived it took only a matter of days before the lines appeared again. Disgusting. 
I have replaced the rubber strap on this thing over 6 times and I am just done. 

I can’t see the information out in the daylight, I just mash buttons till I can see the time and have totally given up on any real recording of my stats/workouts/sleep as the battery dies all the time and it’s so hard to use. 

13/10 throw it in the garbage and do not Easter your money. If the developers spent more time on their products and less time making the forum selections look flawless they would have better results. 

never buying another Fitbit again and will not be recommending for anyone. 

[scott2133]

I am one of the many Charge 3 users who experienced black screen issues that could not be resolved.  Given number of posts Fitbit clearly knows there is a problem but rather than fix it offer a discount to buy a newer model.  That does not meet my standard for product support.  Thus this will be my first and last Fitbit post.

[415Ribera]

Geez, that’s so not helpful.

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello everyone. @scott2133 Welcome to the community forums. 

I'm very sorry for the inconveniences and thank you for the detailed information and for taking the time to provide your feedback. Please note that our team is always working to enhance your experience and your feedback is a big part of that process.

On a side note, this feedback is very important since it helps to continue working on improvements to our services and products. I'd like to let you know that this thread is now closed and if you have different questions about a different topic, note that you can post it in a new thread. 

See you around.