Fitbit Charge HR review: This is the one you want

The $150 (Rs 9,000 approx) Fitbit Charge HR doesn’t look like much. That’s generally a good thing because it’s subtle enough that it’ll go with pretty much anything. Heart rate data gives you a much better idea of how hard your heart has been working, which gives you a much clearer picture of your real caloric burn. It’s about as good an estimate as you can get in your day-to-day life. The good news is that Charge HR is very accurate. In nearly every test the Charge HR was within two to four beats per minute, which is a very small margin of error.

The Charge HR is also easy to use. You basically just pair it with your iPhone or Android phone, enter some basic data about yourself into the Fitbit app, and then you just wear the thing. Fitbit claims the Charge HR will last “up to five days” on a fully charged battery. For a small device that’s constantly monitoring your pulse, that’s really good.

Want to see your data? Just press the button on the band to cycle through. Holding down the button starts a stopwatch, if you like. Sleep tracking is now automatic, so you never have to remember to turn sleep mode on or turn it off.

The Fitbit’s app is now handsdown the cleanest, easiest fitness tracker app out there. It gives you all the day’s most important info on a single page. If you want more info on any of those things, you just tap it, and it’ll dive deeper.

It even has handy little explainers in each category to help you understand what your metrics mean. Potential dealbreaker: The Fitbit Charge HR is not waterproof. It’s “sweat, rain, and splashproof,” but it is not swim-proof/shower proof, which is a missed opportunity.

If you want a standalone fitness tracker, then this is a really good option and it’s reasonably priced for what it can do. Not only that, it’s very accurate, super easy to use, and not bad looking.