It finally arrived, my new and shiny fitbit charge 2, three days after getting the notification that it was shipped.
(yes, I am kind of late doing the post 😅)
Get a look at my last post, to check the difference when comparing it with the old model.
I mean, this one now makes more sense in a TON of things. I will get back to those in a minute. But before that, just take a look at the packaging!
It now does have a decent and more smooth case. You can definitely infer they decided to improve. After all, any product maker should be after any means of increasing the value of their products, even if that is not directly related to the usable product. Marketing also counts right? As well the entire experience through it when you purchase a product.
When you slip off the cover, you find a blue-ish box with fitbit logo imprinted on it...
It is not the super high-quality case, but hey, it now has a "magnetic opening". Neat ha!? I guess everyone is adopting this style, and mainly because you wanna keep it to still store some of the things that come with the product, like warranty or any accessories that you might not be using.
I also got surprised by the product display, after opening the magnetic case. A compartment for the charger and the user guide (on the left), and another separate location for the fitbit (on the right).
I messed up while trying to bring the original placement in the next photo if you notice the fitbit is not correct, it should be 180º rotated, facing towards the camera.
The charger is quite different too...
I believe now it is really impossible to charge the fitbit and force the pinout in the wrong way, damaging the product. Not that it was easy in the OLD model, but there's always someone with enough brutality to make it happen.
The bracelet is more or less the same type material (this black simple one). But there are others on the market, and the nice thing about it now, is that you can exchange the bracelet for different ones available on the market (from fitbit). Which also makes a lot of sense, because, in the old model, the entire body is covered with some sort of different version of this plastic that over time, starts to peel off.
You can detach the bracelet, by pushing them upwards when the screen is facing up. The body itself is heavier and bulkier (thicker) compared with the charge HR model, so if you are after lightness, this model will likely disappoint you in this regards. It is not a ton heavier, but you will notice the difference.
On the other hand, this one has a much bigger screen (unicolour) and as a consequence of having a hard shell, much easier to clean up. The pressure button also looks more resistant but a little less precise (having something smaller would save on weight and make little to no difference).
I have also noticed that the accelerometer is now much precise and can detect if I hold or move the fitbit very easily. And if you put it still or down the heartbeat sensor shuts down quite fast (the old model, would be blinking for much longer).
"It was quite hard to get it ON in the picture above..."
There is a HUGE change in respects to this, all for good (in my view). Let me start with one thing that really made me say (FINALLY). In the old model, every time you wanted to check something, you would either have to button click until you get there or tap the device the respective times. Then it all goes back to the clock face, and if you wish to check it again, there you go... you got the idea.
On the new model (this one), you tap or click until you get there, and then it will stay there for some time, enough to actually make a difference. The exception is only when you are on active menus, like when you are running, using the stopwatch or in the relax mode. In this occasion, the menu will persist until you stop the activity. Doing tapping inside a menu will also swap between other modes of that same menu (running mode, will swap between calories, distance, etc). This was absolutely thumbs up for me.
In the OLD model (charge HR), it was painful and distracted me on my run, when trying to check details while running. Tapping was very non-responsive and to grab the button would restrain my movements and get me away of my concentration.
On this model there are FIVE Menus:
The "Clock Face" is the main one (first picture of this post). There are a lot more versions to choose from (in your phone) and tapping while in it, will cycle you between steps, heartbeat rate, calories, distance, floors climbed, minutes of exercise and minimum steps to keep you active. If you press and hold the button while on this menu, it will swap between notifications being ON or OFF.
The next mode is the "Heartbeat" mode. Besides displaying the current heart rate in BPM (beats per minute), it has one tapping submenu, which tells you the day "resting heart rate".
Then the "Run" mode. Press and hold to activate it, and off you go. This one can now connect to your phone GPS and better track your distance, as well include your route trip in a google map style on your phone. Tapping while in active mode, will cycle and hold (for a few moments) between the same type of options available in the "Clock Face" menu.
You also have a "Stopwatch". Very handy to me, when grilling my meat!
And finally, the "Relax" menu, intended to guide you through a breading exercise of two length options (switch by tapping), 2 minutes (default) and 5 minutes.
I am not sure if due to being bigger (more contact surface with your arm) or if in fact is less powerful, but the vibration looks less strong, near the limit of the noticeable. You can still disable vibrations, but I am not sure why someone would actually do that. It does warn you in quite a few scenarios:
The screen is much bigger but the light looks the same. I have the illusion (possibly) that it might look a bit brighter, but I am not really sure. The battery life, on the other hand, is a major improvement, although on the website they say it will last for about the same time as the OLD model. But in my experience, I think it lasts longer, especially while using it in "Run" mode.
Charging looks like to take the same time, from 1 to 2 hours in a full charge (depending on your USB charger). If you keep charging it when you are for example in a desk writing a post (like now for example), it's quite nice and easy to kind of always have the fitbit charged.
The "fitbit charge 2", when compared with the "fitbit charge HR":
Hope you find useful information with this extensive review of a product that I daily use and feel great about it. For me, it adds some motivation factor to being active. Feel free to ask any question.
That's all folks! 👅
I am one of them, forykw!
