Activity trackers don't usually generate a
lot of buzz or attract much attention from professional leakers like Roland
Quandt prior to their official announcements, but the unreleased Fitbit Charge
4 is not your everyday low-cost smart band.
Set to follow in the footsteps of one of
the world's most popular wearable devices at some point in the near future,
this bad boy had its price and possible color options prematurely revealed last
week and now we know what the main selling point will probably be.
If you're familiar with the Fitbit Charge
lineup, you should be well aware the most important feature missing from all
three previous editions was a built-in GPS chip. Fortunately, it looks like
fourth time will be the charm for folks interested in accurately tracking their
runs without spending a lot of money on a full-fledged smartwatch or carrying
their phones around wherever they go to exercise.
In addition to untethered GPS
connectivity, the Fitbit Charge 4 is pretty much confirmed (thanks to inside information
gathered by Quandt and a leaked promotional video) to come with a heart rate
monitor, sleep tracking capabilities, a grayscale OLED display, and a swimproof
design. Speaking of the design, very little seems to have changed on that
front, and the same goes for essentially all the aforementioned features.
Just like the Fitbit Charge 3, the Charge
4 is expected to come in standard and "Special" editions, the latter
of which will add NFC to the equation for wrist payment support on the
company's proprietary platform. If you like listening to music while working
out, you should be happy to hear both the Fitbit Charge 4 and Charge 4 Special
Edition will let you stream your favorite Spotify content as long as you
sync your wearable to your phone via Bluetooth.
The already impressive set of Charge 3
activity tracking tools will apparently be further expanded and improved with
features like "active zones" and more precise information about
different types of workouts, while the battery life should remain largely
unchanged, at up to seven days between charges, although standalone GPS use will
obviously drastically reduce that number.
Despite these pretty important upgrades
and enhancements, the Fitbit Charge 4 is tipped to start at the same US$ 150 price
as its predecessor. Of course, nothing's etched in stone until the company
comes out with an official announcement, so let's try to contain our excitement
for the time being.
