Fitbit Charge 4 Watch Picks the Weirdest Time for A Launch

As millions around the world are in self-isolation or full quarantine, Fitbit somehow managed to pick the weirdest time to launch a new fitness watch.

The Fitbit Charge 4 is available starting today.

While it’s a smartwatch that seems impressive in its sports tracking capabilities, not that many of us can go out for a run nowadays, so the timing seems a bit off.

The new model is slimmer than the Fitbit Charge 3 but manages to debut a built-in GPS for mapping your outdoor activities. 

Considering that Fitbit last released a device with GPS a few years back, the Ionic, it’s nice to see the company including the feature again.

You also get the regular lineup of activity tracking, from yoga to running or sleep and oxygen levels tracking, including the option to program up to five exercise shortcuts from the app.

Another novelty is a new metric called Active Zone Minutes, which tracks your workouts based on the intensity of your heart rate and challenges you to get 150 minutes weekly.

The physical buttons were replaced by a combination of touchscreen and the left side of it to navigate settings.

Because it’s slimmer and has GPS, the Fitbit Charge 4 has a smaller battery life than its predecessor, going down to 7 days on a charge.

Fortunately, it comes with built-in NFC and Fitbit Pay, so you can leave your wallet at home. That is, when it’s safe to leave home.