- Fitbit / Pocket-lint
Fitbit Charge 6
Our top pickA fitness tracker that's packed with features.
The Fitbit Charge 6 has more packed inside it than many smartwatches, including ECG and EDA scanning, Google Maps support, Google Wallet, and YouTube Music controls. It also adds a long-requested physical button to the mix.
Pros- Great value
- ECG and EDA Scan apps
- YouTube Music controls
Cons- No voice assistant or calls
- Lacks an altimeter
- Fitbit / Pocket-lint
Fitbit Versa 4
A stylish alternativeA smartwatch with fitness features and Alexa baked in.
The Versa 4 may not be Fitbit's smartest smartwatch, but it's great for tracking your activity during the day, and your sleep at night. It also comes with Alexa on board, so you can use your voice to start a workout or to turn off your smart light bulbs.
Pros- Alexa built in
- Large bright display
- On-wrist calls
Cons- No ECG or EDA sensors
- More expensive
Fitbit divides its wearables into two broad categories: smartwatches and fitness trackers. However, most of the products are a hybrid of the two, with Fitbit smartwatches offering a lot of fitness tracking features, and Fitbit fitness trackers having a lot of smarts.
All of this makes choosing a Fitbit device even more of a challenge. But, that's what we're here for - we go head-to-head with the Fitbit Charge 6 vs Fitbit Versa 4 to see whether the fitness tracker or the smartwatch is the best option.
Price, availability, and specs
The Fitbit Versa 4 was released in September 2022 and was priced at $229.95/£199. It's currently available from Fitbit for $199.95, or $198.95 on Amazon. It's available in four colour options: Graphite/Black, Platinum/Waterfall Blue, Copper Rose/Pink Sand, and Copper Rose/Beet Juice (which is exactly the colour it sounds like).
The Fitbit Charge 6 was released a year later, in September 2023 and is priced at $159.95/£139.99 from Fitbit, or the same price on Amazon. There are three colour options for the Charge 6: Black/Obsidian, Silver/Porcelain, and the funky Champagne Gold/Coral.
Let's take a look at some of the key specs to see how the two products compare.
Fitbit Charge 6 | Fitbit Versa 4 | |
|---|---|---|
Health Sensors | Heart rate, SpO2, EDA, ECG | Heart rate, SpO2, Altimeter |
Display | Always-on AMOLED | Always-on AMOLED |
Onboard GPS | Yes | Yes |
Mobile Payments | Google Wallet | Google Wallet |
Battery Life | 7 days | 6 days |
Design and build
Fitbit classes the Versa 4 as a smartwatch, and the Charge 6 as a fitness tracker, and in terms of design, the difference is immediately obvious. The Fitbit Versa 4 looks like a watch, with a large mostly square aluminium case with rounded edges that houses the 40mm AMOLED always-on display, and a strap that's much thinner than the case itself.
In comparison, the Fitbit Charge 6 looks like a fitness tracker, with a long, thin case that's the same width as the strap where the two meet. When it's worn, it looks like a single band, from a distance. The Charge 6 also has an AMOLED display that can be set to be always on.
The case of the Fitbit Charge 6 is made from aluminium just like the Versa 4, which helps it to look and feel more premium than some other Fitbit fitness trackers that have plastic cases.
Both devices come with silicone bands, but you can choose from a range of woven, leather, vegan leather, and sport bands. Both devices also feature a physical button on the side of the case. This is a very welcome feature, as it makes it much easier to wake the display or navigate through menus without having to resort to endless swiping.
Hardware
Both the Versa 4 and Charge 6 have some of the same hardware on board, including red and infrared sensors for measuring blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), a 3-axis accelerometer, built-in GPS + GLONASS for tracking your runs or rides, and NFC chips for contactless payments. Both devices also include optical heart rate sensors, with the heart rate sensor on the Fitbit Charge 6 being described as the most accurate heart rate on any of the Fitbit fitness trackers. However, the Versa 4 has a multi-path optical sensor which should in theory be better than the one in the Charge 6, and in our testing, it was quite far off the reading from a chest strap during high-intensity exercise.
Surprisingly, considering the extra room inside the larger case of the Versa 4, the Fitbit Charge 6 is able to pack in even more sensors than the Versa 4 manages. Inside the Fitbit Charge 6, there are a host of sensors that provide data to the ECG app that can detect atrial fibrillation. There are also sensors that are used by the EDA scan app to measure your stress and provide actionable feedback.
The Fitbit Charge 6 also has the ability to share your heart rate with compatible exercise equipment. If you're working out on a rowing machine, for example, your Fitbit Charge 6 can send the live heart rate data from your wrist to the display of your rowing machine. It makes it easier to monitor your heart rate whilst working out, as glancing at your wrist when rowing isn't always that easy.
The Versa 4 does get one up on the Fitbit Charge 6, however, by having an altimeter on board. This allows you to use the Versa 4 to keep track of the number of floors that you've climbed when taking the stairs or to track your elevation when running or cycling.
Features
Both the Versa 4 and the Charge 6 have many of the same features, including the ability track exercises such as running, cycling, and yoga, keep track of your step count, monitor the number of calories you've burned, and track your sleep. Both also offer the Daily Readiness Score that tells you if your body has recovered enough for another big workout, or if you need to go a little easier to give yourself time to recover. You'll need a Fitbit Premium subscription to take advantage of this feature, however. Both devices give you six months of Fitbit Premium for free, after which you'll need to pay if you want to keep using features such as the Sleep Profile and guided workouts.
There are some key differences between the two devices, however. The Versa 4 has Alexa baked in, allowing you to use your voice to perform actions such as setting a timer, starting a run, setting reminders, controlling your smart home, or finding out about the weather. The Versa 4 also allows you to answer calls directly from your wrist, although you'll need your phone nearby for this work. The Versa 4 also offers guided breathing sessions with prompts on your display, which aren't available on the Charge 6.
However, the Fitbit Charge 6 has YouTube Music controls which aren't available on the Fitbit Versa 4. Using these controls you can play, pause, and skip music from YouTube Music playlists directly from your Charge 6. It may not be the full Spotify support that many would want, but it's still a useful feature to have integrated.
Battery life
The Fitbit Versa 4 is rated for up to six days of battery life, with the actual life being reduced by options such as the always-on display or heavy use of GPS. In our hands-on testing, we found that it was possible to get a full week from the Versa 4 if we weren't using the always-on display, but that it would drop as low as three days when using the always-on option. It's also possible to get enough charge into your Versa 4 to last you a full day with just 12 minutes on the charging cradle.
The Fitbit Charge 6 is rated for slightly longer battery life, at up to seven days. We've not had chance to test this out yet, but the Fitbit Charge 5 is also rated for seven days battery life and was able to last a full week in our hands-on testing. We'd expect the Fitbit Charge 6 to go a little longer between charges than the Versa 4.
Fitbit Charge 6 vs Fitbit Versa 4: Which should you choose?
Ultimately, your decision may come down to the style of wearable that you want. The Fitbit Versa 4 looks much more like a traditional watch, whereas the Charge 6 is clearly a fitness tracker at heart. However, putting design aside, it's the Fitbit Charge 6 that's our top pick. It's packed with even more sensors than the Versa 4, allowing you to take ECG readings and detect potential issues such as atrial fibrillation. The EDA Scan app lets you monitor your stress levels, and the Charge 6 even has slightly longer battery life. It's also significantly cheaper than the Versa 4 at current prices, making your decision even easier.
That said, the Versa 4 does have some good points in its favour. The ability to take calls on your wrist is always useful, and being able to use Alexa to start workouts, ask about the weather, or even control your smart home can be very appealing. The wider display also makes it a little easier to see information or navigate through menus on the Versa 4. If the lack of ECG and EDA apps isn't a big issue, and you prefer the look of a traditional watch, then the Versa 4 is still a useful device for tracking activity and sleep.
