Fitbit Charge 6 specs and features: Everything you need to know

The Fitbit Charge 6 has arrived just in time. We've barely seen any fitness trackers worth mentioning since the Charge 5 launched in 2021, as many brands transition to focus solely on fitness watches. Now's the time to see whether the Charge 6 can live up to the high standards of its predecessors. 

Announced on September 28, the Fitbit Charge 6 will look familiar to Charge 5 fans with its aluminum case, round-edged rectangular AMOLED display, and built-in ECG and EDA sensors. Aside from some new Google-esque colors like Coral, the Charge 6 differences mostly rest beneath the surface.

First and foremost, just like the Versa 4 and Sense 2, the Fitbit Charge 6 will add several new Google apps, taking advantage of Fitbit's new parent company. But beyond that, what other Charge 6 vs. Charge 5 differences make it worth upgrading, you may ask?

Here's everything we know about the Fitbit Charge 6 in terms of specs, design, new features, price, release date, and more. 

Fitbit Charge 6: Release date, price, and bands

Announced on September 28, the Fitbit Charge 6 officially launches on October 12 in 30 countries. It's available in three colors — Black Aluminum case / Obsidian band, Silver Aluminum / Porcelain, and Champagne Gold / Coral — and costs $159.95 at launch.

For comparison, the Charge 5 originally cost $179 but eventually dipped to $149. 

Your Charge 6 will come with a standard silicone band out of the box. You can use your current Charge 5 bands if you have them, or one of the new Charge 6 bands offered at launch. Here's the current list, with pricing and colors:

• Infinity bands ($30): Coral, Obsidian, Porcelain
• Sport bands ($30): Hazel, Frost White, Deep Sea, Black Cherry, Black, Golden Sunrise
• Premium Horween Leather ($50): Black, Plum
• Woven bands ($35): Ocean, Prism Pride
• Hook & Loop bands ($35): Charcoal, Coastal Blue
• Vegan Leather bands ($50): Indigo, Ash

Fitbit Charge 6: Design

The Fitbit Charge 6 weighs 15g without the band or up to 66g with the default band, according to Fitbit. That's surprisingly heavy for a fitness tracker, and we're curious if some of the alternate official bands would reduce that weight a bit. 

In terms of size, it measures 1.45 x 0.91 x 0.44 inches and has a 1.04-inch AMOLED display, virtually identical to the Charge 5. 

One key design difference is a new side navigation button, which Fitbit says "takes a quick tap to jump to your home screen or see your stats." Touch-only controls can be frustrating, so the addition of a button is a welcome change. 

One potential worry, though, is that the Fitbit Charge 6 button is a haptic button rather than a physical one. The original Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 had capacitive buttons, which gave us difficulty because they didn't always sense when you squeezed them. We can only hope that Fitbit has made progress on haptics in the last couple of years, since the newer Sense and Versa used a physical button. 

Otherwise, the Fitbit Charge 6 has a 5ATM water resistance rating, works at up to 28,000 feet, has an operating temperature of 14ºF to 113ºF, and can fit wrists between 5.1 and 8.3 inches depending on whether you choose the small or large default band. 

Fitbit Charge 6: Sensors

Like the Fitbit Charge 5, the Charge 6 has continuous heart rate tracking, electrodermal activity (EDA) scanning of your sweat for stress indicators, and an ECG sensor for measuring potential irregular heartbeat rhythm (AFib). Unfortunately, it doesn't have the continuous EDA readings of the Fitbit Sense 2, only spot readings.

At night, the Charge 6 will measure blood oxygen levels (SpO2), heart rate variance (HRV), breathing rate, and skin temperature levels — again, just like the Charge 5.

Using this data, Fitbit will give you a Daily Readiness score, Stress Management score, Sleep score, Wellness Report, and 90-day health trends for a holistic look at your body's health. Of course, you'll need Fitbit Premium to see most of this data; otherwise, you'll see "basic insights" from the past week, with everything else locked behind the paywall. 

As for other tools, the Fitbit Charge 6 brings back built-in GPS and GLONASS tracking — one of the rare fitness trackers with GPS instead of relying on phone GPS. It won't have any dual-frequency or multi-GNSS capabilities. 

Rounding out the list, the Charge 6 has a 3-axis accelerometer, ambient light sensor, and vibration motor. We're disappointed that it won't have an altimeter for measuring effort based on elevation, something that the Charge 4 had but Charge 5 lost. 

Even though the Fitbit Charge 6 doesn't have any new health sensors, there weren't many features left to add. Instead, Fitbit promises that the Charge 6 has its "most accurate heart rate" compared to the best Fitbit devices that came before it. Apparently, Fitbit used machine learning and "AI" from the Google Pixel Watch to deliver "60% more accurate readings during vigorous activities like HIIT, spinning, and rowing," compared to the Charge 5. 

So we can hope that the Fitbit Charge 6 will have even more accurate workout data and Active Zone Minutes as a result. 

Fitbit Charge 6: Specs and software

The Fitbit Charge 6 specs will look remarkably similar to Charge 5 owners. The 7-day max battery life and 2-hour recharge is the same; in fact, your Charge 5 charging cable should work with the Charge 6, breaking Fitbit's trend of using a new cable every generation. 

We asked Fitbit whether or not the Charge 6 will have the same 5-hour maximum for GPS-tracked activities, and we received a non-answer that GPS uses more battery without any specifics. Until we can test for ourselves, assume that this tracker gives you a few solid hours from full charge.

Let's move onto the meat of what's new with the Charge 6: the software. 

First, Fitbit promises 20 new workout modes, bringing the total to 40, along with 4 new clock faces. Your favorite activities will appear at the top, making them quick to access. With this, Fitbit says it's achieved "parity" between the Charge 6, Sense 2, and Versa 4 for sports. 

Next, Fitbit can connect via Bluetooth to gym equipment for the very first time. You'll be able to see your real-time heart rate on supported treadmills, ellipticals, rowers, and exercise bikes from supported brands like Nordic, Peloton, Concept2, and Tonal, as well as sync to specific Android/iOS fitness apps like Peloton's. Fitbit also promises that more brands will receive support in the future. 

We've asked Fitbit whether or not the Charge 6 can connect to other Bluetooth accessories like HRM straps, and they listed the information above. We can assume the answer is no. 

Rounding out the list, the Fitbit Charge 6 will support Google Maps, Google Wallet, and YouTube Music.

For Google Maps, you'll need your phone nearby to receive turn-by-turn navigation on your wrist; the Charge 6 can't get directions on its own, and doesn't have a speaker or wireless earbud to announce directions out loud. You'll also need to set up Google Wallet on your phone, but that should theoretically work without your phone nearby after that.

As for YouTube Music, you'll need an active subscription to use it, but you'll at least get a one-month free trial when you buy the Charge 6. It controls your phone's playlist with Start, Stop, and Skip controls; you can't store music on the tracker itself. 

While this is nice for YT Music subscribers, it's unfortunate that you won't have access to playback controls for other popular services like Spotify or Apple Music. We asked about other music services, and was told that Fitbit is "focusing on bringing our first-party experiences where Music from YouTube and fitness from Fitbit go hand-in-hand."