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The Charge 2 doesn’t have the Blaze’s colorful screen and doesn’t look like a watch, but that’s a good thing-and you can still see call, text, and calendar alerts on the large new display. You can swap out the Charge 2’s plastic band for a classier leather option.īlaze, Fitbit’s answer to the Apple Watch.
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That’s more effective than being nudged to stand up, which at this point I just ignore. Like the Fitbit Alta, which launched earlier this year, Fitbit’s latest tracker prompts you to talk a walk around and aim for a manageable number of steps to reach your daily goal. I prefer the Charge 2’s movement motivators to the Apple Watch’s hourly Stand reminders. But Relax’s undulating circles are mesmerizing all the same and get the job done-after a 2-minute breathing session, I do feel more calm.
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Relax isn’t as slickly designed as the Apple Watch app, and doesn’t make use of its vibration motor to guide your breaths like Breathe does. It encourages mindfulness and more focused breathing, which is useful on stressful days. There’s also a side button for accessing other options, like starting a run or launching the new Relax feature. Now you can tap the screen to view stats like step count, calories burned, and daily mileage. The most noticeable difference is its OLED touchscreen display, which is four times the size of the Charge HR’s tiny screen. The 5-day battery life isn’t too shabby, either.
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If you already own a Charge HR, you’re familiar with all the reasons why it’s the best-selling fitness band around: continuous heart rate-monitoring, automatic exercise-tracking, sleep-tracking, and silent alarms, plus a solid dashboard in the Fitbit app and social challenges that motivate you to work out. The Fitbit Charge 2, left, is a larger version of the Fitbit Alta, right, but adds a heart rate monitor.
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