Fitbit Charge 6: Possible release (and what we hope to see)

There's not too many releases happening at the moment, in terms of smartwatches at least, so it seems like the perfect time to speculate what's coming. The Fitbit Charge 6 is one of the smartwatches we're anticipating, and it shouldn't take too long before it hits the shelves!

The Fitbit Charge 5 was released in August of 2021, and we suspect (looking at the release pattern of Fitbit) that the Fitbit Charge 6 will release within 6 months.

Time to list all the rumors, possibilites, and our wishes for the Fitbit Charge 6!

Fitbit Charge 6: Release date and price

Fitbit usually develops their new smartwatches within 1,5 to 2 years time. As we're nearing the 2 year anniversary of the Fitbit Charge 5, we feel the new Charge release is imminent. Fitbit's release pattern is a tad irregular, but a Charge 6 release before or at the start of the summer seems sure.

No official word on the price has been dropped yet, of course. We're still in the rumours and speculations phase of course, but we feel we can make a good estimate for the Fitbit Charge 6's price. Taking the high inflation into account, we suspect the Fitbit Charge 6 will cost £ 169,99 upon release.

Update Jan. 2023:

The FCC code 'FB423' suggests the Fitbit Charge 6 is nearing the end of its development. This product is described as an activity tracker with bluetooth, GPS, and NFC. These are all functions that comply with our expectations of the Fitbit Charge 6.

What we want to see from the Fitbit Charge 6

New devices should always come with new features, and there's a few things we'd like to see in the new Fitbit Charge 6. The Fitbit Charge 5 is a great activity tracker, but there's always room for improvement. We've listed a few improvements over the Charge 5 that we'd like to see in the new release:

Battery capacity

The Charge 5 had some great improvements such as an AMOLED display and some new sensors. This meant the battery capacity suffered, however. Using your Charge 5 casually, the battery lasted about 7 days. Always-on quickly depleted this to just 3 days however, and the GPS function meant your battery wouldn't last much more than 5 hours.

The Charge 6 seriously needs to upgrade it's battery, or atleast the optimisation on the GPS function, in order to compete with other activity trackers and lower-end smartwatches. A bigger battery would mean a bigger size though, and we're not sure how willing Fitbit would be to increase the size of their Charge series. 

Music controls

The Fitbit Charge 4 launched with a spotify control panel which premium users of Spotify could use to select and play their music directly from their activity tracker. This function has sadly disappeared for the Charge 5. Users of the Charge 5 have to go back to their phone in order to change the music that's playing. 

In our opinion, music controls are essential to activity trackers. When you're on your run, bike ride, or busy with your work out, the last thing you'd want to do is have to fish your phone out of your pocket every time you wish to change your music. This function desperately needs a comeback on the Fitbit Charge 6 in order for it to stay relevant with avid sporters. 

Google integration

In 2019, Google purchased Fitbit and later launched their new Google Pixel Watch. We suspect Google will also have an influence on the Fitbit Charge 6 however. If the new Charge 6 will receive Google Maps integration, it will be one of the cheapest fitness trackers available with this option.

The Google Wallet and Google Assistant will also be of great use, and we suspect with the NFC description in the FCC files, we suspect atleast Google Wallet to make an appearance. The recently released Versa 4 and Sense 2 do not feature the assistant however, so we're not too optimistic for this function to make an appearance on the Charge 6.

Google Pay

Even though Fitbit Pay is a thing, you'd hardly remember it. It seems irrelevant next to big players like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Since Google took charge of Fitbit, we're expecting an exit of Fitbit Pay altogether. We've already seen Google Wallet being available on the Sense 2 and Versa 4, and we suspect the Fitbit Charge 6 to see the same upgrade.

Fitness

The Charge 6 is on track to become the best fitness tracker on the market, and it really should be as well. The Fitbit Charge 5 was already considered to be top of the class, but in order to keep this title the Charge 6 has to bring more to the table. The Sense 2 and Versa 4 saw some new features that are unique in the smartwatch world. Perhaps we can see these functions, maybe in a limited quantity, on the Charge 6 as well.

If Fitbit manages to integrate the unique stress monitor from the Sense 2, this tracker would be truly unique and rightfully deserve the title of best fitness tracker on the market. We're unsure this tracker will make an appearance at the Charge 6 price range however.

What we wish didn't make an appearance on the Charge 6

Something that's always worth mentioning is the addition of Fitbit Premium features. These features, locked behind a paywall of a monthly subscription, have appeared on every latest Fitbit product. Although nowadays you get a 6 month free trial, we believe hiding features behinds a paywall is a big disadvantage. Although we would wish Fitbit changed their strategy on this, it's highly likely that Fitbit Premium will make an appearance on the new Fitbit Charge 6.

In summary

The Charge 6 is on track to become the best fitness tracker on the market, once it releases. We suspect this new watch to make an appearance in the spring or summer of 2023. Inflation could make the Charge 6 have a price tag of up to 170 pounds.

Once the Fitbit Charge 6 launches, we're sure to have some cool Fitbit Charge 6 straps in stock for it. Make sure to keep an eye on our Fitbit straps page.