Fitbit

Fitbit Charge 7 needs slightly larger, more premium hardware

Abner Li | Oct 17 2023 - 3:00 pm PT

While Google apps help make the Fitbit Charge 6 more like a smartwatch, everything is ultimately running on and constrained by fitness tracker hardware.

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If Google-owned Fitbit wants to keep investing in this form factor – and I think it should – the hardware needs to evolve, starting with a bigger screen. The YouTube Music controller on the Charge 6 is quite functional. However, play/pause, next/back, and volume are split across three screens. A good Now Playing experience would house those buttons on a single page rather than requiring multiple swipes.

Every single UI would benefit from the additional screen real estate, while making possible more types of apps. Google Weather on Wear OS is excellent, and a simplified version should come to the next Charge with an hourly forecast and week-long outlook. There should also be a basic calendar experience that shows upcoming events. Both these applications would help people throughout the day and would certainly be less intensive than today’s Google Maps experience.

I think the screen should remain rectangular but go slightly wider and taller. A starting point would be making the entire face of the Charge 6 a screen. Today’s black bezels are getting very dated, and I don’t see it surviving another generation. Meanwhile, a slightly curved display to match your wrist would be interesting. I don’t think the next Charge should go square because that inherently makes people think smartwatch, which brings a lot of connotations.

A bigger screen would also allow for richer watch faces. What I particularly care about is a richer always-on display experience that allows for user-customizable complications. Too many of the existing AODs on the Charge 6 lack stats.

In terms of other hardware, a Charge 7 should really have an altimeter for counting floors and elevation, as well as cEDA sensors for stress tracking that occurs automatically in the background. I also really hope Fitbit moves to USB-C. The existing magnetic cable is well-designed but has to stop using USB-A.

Then there’s the question of what OS this hypothetical device should run. The Charge 6 experience is a good foundation in my opinion, but it would be interesting and beneficial to everyone if Wear OS became more battery efficient in the long run.

In that scenario, Wear OS could start supporting more form factors, with other OEMs able to start building fitness trackers while retaining a rich app and watch face ecosystem.

Last on my wishlist is support for multiple (or just two) devices per Fitbit account. This was a feature of original Fitbit trackers with the idea that you can easily switch depending on the occasion. I continue to find that something like the Charge 6 is infinitely more comfortable than the Pixel Watch 2 for sleep tracking.