READ NEXT: Our guide to the best fitness trackers money can buy Fitbit Charge 5 review: Missing features Incidentally, having to sit still while gripping a wearable for three minutes gets surprisingly uncomfortable and may just create more stress than it alleviates. Call me old-fashioned but I prefer that low-tech solution to reducing stress, rather than something that measures how stressed I am without remedy. What’s curious is that this seems to have replaced the guided breathing exercises on the wearable itself, and I couldn’t find any way to bring them back. Three metrics are shown on the screen at a time two of them – distance and time – are fixed, while the larger one in the middle changes with each tap, cycling through pace, average pace, heart rate, calories, steps, time, distance (again), time (again) and Zone Minutes. It’s not the best running interface I’ve ever used, but nor is it the worst. In particular, I found it very easy to accidentally double tap and skip over the screen I wanted, forcing me to cycle through the lot again with. When running, I’d much rather be able to press a button, as manual dexterity isn’t my strongest suit when going at speed. READ NEXT: Our guide to the best fitness trackers money can buy Fitbit Charge 5 review: Performance That’s a bold move for a device with such a small screen, and operations frequently verge on the fiddly, especially if you intend to run with your Charge 5 in the rain. The Fitbit Versa 3 had an infuriatingly inconsistent capacitive button and the Charge 5 goes one step further: it’s now touchscreen only. The second issue is harder to let slide: the continuation of Fitbit’s war on buttons. While earlier Charge bands aren’t compatible thanks to the smaller size, Fitbit sells its own, and I’m sure it will only a be matter of time before a cottage industry of Charge 5 accessory sellers emerges on Amazon. The good news is that this can be easily removed and replaced with something better. But the band is one of those that loops up inside itself, and I’ve never met anyone who wouldn’t prefer a simple buckle mechanism. It’s comfortable enough, and Fitbit is to be applauded for including two sizes in the box to get the perfect fit. The first is the strap that comes with it. A couple of our favourites are the Fitbit Versa 3, which has a list price of £200 but more commonly goes for around £160, and the Garmin Venu Sq, which is even cheaper, with a list price of £160 but a more common price of £140. That being said, the hard truth is that the £170 price pushes the Fitbit Charge 5 beyond the usual fitness tracker price bracket and firmly into smartwatch territory, and here the competition is fierce. With the usual free trial lasting only 90 days, you’re effectively getting £36 worth of subscription for free, which softens the blow of that price increase somewhat. In Fitbit’s defence, the Charge 5 comes with six months of free access to Fitbit Premium, which normally costs £8 a month. The Fitbit Charge 5 now costs £170, which is £40 more than the Fitbit Charge 4 at launch, and considerably more than the £115 you can buy it for in 2021. That’s a great set of updates on paper, but they come at a premium. READ NEXT: Our guide to the best fitness trackers money can buy Fitbit Charge 5 review: Price and competition The one thing this device no longer has is an altimeter, so if you like your tracker to keep track of the number of stairs you've climbed in a day, it won't be for you. This will advise you on what kind of exercise your body is ready for each day, to theoretically ensure you don’t overdo it. You also get six months of Fitbit Premium in the box, which is handy as it enables something called a “Readiness Score” (again, this is “coming soon” – and to the more recent Sense, Versa, Luxe and Inspire devices, too). The latter isn’t available at launch, however, with Fitbit set to enable the functionality later this year. As with the previous model, the Charge 5 comes with built-in GPS and there are some additional sensors this time around, giving the Charge 5 the ability to measure electrodermal activity (EDA) and perform electrocardiogram (ECG) tests.
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