Make a larger font size available for all stats on Charge 5

[RogerAuwers]

The font size of the steps, heart rate, miles, calories, etc. needs to be bigger, or have the ability to customize on the Charge 5. Currently these figures are just too darn small to read without reading glasses.

Moderator edit: Clarified subject

[DavideFitbit]

Hi @RogerAuwers, and thanks for taking the time to share this suggestion about the option to increase the font size for Charge 5 stats. We rely on feedback like yours to help us develop products and features that we know our community wants to see. If this suggestion receives votes from other customers and gains popularity, it will be shared internally with various teams at Fitbit. To learn more about how Fitbit decides which suggestions get developed, visit our FAQs.

Watch this space for status updates. In the meantime, try visiting Health & Wellness to talk with other members about all things health and fitness.

Thank you again for your participation in the Community. 

[toninator]

Bought one for my mother who was interested in the heart-monitoring features but can't read it. I really wish accessibility was taken into consideration more when designing these.

[SunsetRunner]

It amazes me that Fitbit doesn't have somebody to oversee this. I'm on day two of owning the charge 5 and I'll probably be returning it because I can't read my heart rate on the screen. 

You guys are turning your back on a large segment of the population that will take one look at how small that font is and send the product back.. very much like I'll be doing probably.

[SunsetRunner]

Actually on the clock face that I'm using there are three dark gray stripes that take up the entire center of the display.. why? 

Maybe lose those stripes and it's wasted space and put a nice large heart rate field there. 

Just my honest opinion

[DeepTrack]

I am surprised that despite similar feedback on many other trackers, Fitbit charge 5 still doesn't have large or selectable fonts!

Where have all the usability experts gone?

As it is evident that a large community of users are 40+ and need spectacles to readout stats. This is not possible while exercising. 

I have a Surge and have difficulty in reading the heart rate. I was planning to upgrade to Charge 5 and this feature is stopping me and look for something else unless it is being addressed by Fitbit.

[Maymetal]

Totally agree. It's extremely dissapointing.

It's also so strange not to have basic screen adjustment from the start, but having to request them.

On top of the silly designer watch faces and lack of stats at a glance, the font size is sooooo small that I need to use my reading glasses, or squint to read them. Or Iook the stats up on my phone. But that defeats the advertised feature of Fitbit - to leave your phone at home.

The only thing readable is the time. Which is ok if you just want a watch, albeit a very expensive one.

But hey, the sign on the times - its design over function.

The developers are also missing a huge market of elderly people who might have a failing eyesight or other condition, but have learned how to use modern technology (example - my parents in their 80s, avid users of android devices with big screens).

What worries me is the non-existent response from the developers regarding these very, very basic but necessary features, while at the same time adding more and more complicated features which are useless to us if we can't read our screens.

[SunsetRunner]

to: @DavideFitbit 

cc: @RogerAuwers @toninator @SunsetRunner @DeepTrack @Maymetal 

is there a development kit so i can create/edit a existing Charge 5 gallery/my active clock, etc

the goal would be to download and/or create a existing/new 'watch face' source files/images and edit it to make fonts larger/images smaller.

for example when the alert comes up that i hit 1000 steps, the animation is huge but the text is small.  i want to reverse that.

Thanks.

[Roscoemom]

My other fitbits have worn out and I need/want one really bad. I am holding off because I know I can’t see the fonts. Charge 4 was too small and I could not see it in the sunlight. I want fitbit brand but I am looking at others now in hopes that  I can find one with fonts big enough to see. 

[Allinthemind]

I have recently purchased a charge-5. I want to be able to easily see my heart rate when out. The brightness is fine, the heart rate numbers are tiny. Anyone with perfect eyesight over 43 would struggle in still conditions. 'At a glance', is surely the concept behind the display. You shouldn't have to study a watch face to work out the time. The same goes here. I'd happily turn off the time in exchange for seeing the heart rate.

[Roscoemom]

YES. YES. That’s why I really debated about getting another Fitbit.

Sent from my iPhone

[engineerChris]

Sorry my first post is negative, but to say I'm unimpressed by my new Charge 5 (a gift) would be an understatement. I can't read ANY of the stats while running, just like on my wife's hand-me-down Charge 2 it replaced. How has such a fundamental design flaw not been fixed in five years? The screen appears to be large enough and to have adequate resolution, but someone decided that giant, useless icons and tiny text on a sea of empty screen would be a better idea than making the product useful for anyone over 40. I've written embedded firmware for products with displays, and some terrible decisions were made in this UI design.

[Sueritch]

I'm a senior and I too would like to see a clock face with a bigger heart rate font and the time not as big as most now available on Charge 5.  I'm in AFIB and also have macular in one eye which makes it very difficult to read the clock face.  Of the 23 clockfaces for Charge 5 only 2 have the heartrate on the clock face.

Thank you

[SunsetRunner]

I just bought this and am seriously considering immediately returning it.

I bought the Charge 5 because I wanted a health tracker more than I wanted a smart watch. So it's kind of astonishing to me that the font to show a single(!) stat is microscopic. Not a single face design prioritizes a display of health tracking info over date and time and in some cases graphics that serve no purpose on such a small display. Even more ironic that Fitbit's smart watch line has faces that actually DO prioritize the display of ALL stats at once.

It's as if the designers think of it as an accessory (and a watch!) more than they do a utility that people paid for to track their health stats.

I found one face that has a SLIGHTLY bigger font for ONE stat, called Target. I guess that's the only watch face I can actually use.

--------------

Dear lord! Even on the actual heart rate screen, which ONLY shows heart rate, the font is tiny. But hey, the giant graphic of a heart in a circle looks great! 

I can tell this thing will only frustrate me with how badly the screens are designed for usability. I'm planning to return it.

Wake me up when Fitbit decides to hire a usability expert.

[Roscoemom]

And the battery level is hard to find. It when you find. It you can’t see it. I’m not happy with mine either.

Sent from my iPhone

[johnniemac]

Looking into the Charge 5 as a replacement for my Inspire 2 because the HR font is too small. Sounds like same problem with this model as well. I guess I will keep looking...

[Roscoemom]

Keep looking!

Sent from my iPhone

[JohnGalt99]

I'll be returning mine.

Completely useless to monitor heart rate when you are in motion because the font is so small!

What good is a fitness tracker that fails at what should be one if it's most basic functions?

[Joyseeker]

I also need my reading glasses to read most of the stats on my Charge 5.  I think the font could be increased on many of the screens if so much space is not wasted on graphics.  This is very frustrating when I am working out.

[GetnWyzr]

ACCESSIBILITY (A11y) ! Those who need a larger font to read the screen are being denied.

Pages (100s) of requests here in the community are being ignored. Why?? 

Font size is a basic need for all users. 

Fitbit was once a company that listened. Now Google owns it.

W3C - Rights of Persons with Disabilities for web - Come on, Google! You know this stuff. 

[dkmsjob]

Increase the size of the heart rate number on the Fitbit Charge 5

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @dkmsjob, thanks for taking the time to share this suggestion about using a larger font size for heart rate on Charge 5. I've moved it into a similar request. You can learn more about how Fitbit decides what suggestions get released in our FAQs. Click on the thumbs-up to show your support.

Thank you again for your participation in the Feature Suggestions Forums.

[Radatap]

Yes many of the metrics are insanely small and I can’t believe there isn’t more consideration of readability in the design screens and font sizes. Come on guys, this is fundamental for the usability of the device.

[Wildreyna]

A larger font size is what I'll be looking for. I guess I have to keep shopping 😞 

[B9CSVQ]

I'd like to see a new clock face for the charge 5 with both larger text (for those that would normally be wearing reading glasses, but are currently exercising) and a focus on more a 2 to 3 stats visible at the same time in a larger format.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @B9CSVQ, thanks for taking the time to share this suggestion about making a larger font size available for all stats on Charge 5. I've moved it into a similar request. You can learn more about how Fitbit decides what suggestions get released in our FAQs. Click on the thumbs-up to show your support.

Thank you again for your participation in the Feature Suggestions Forums.