A Google IQ replace
Fitbit and Google did not see any have to deviate from the Cost 5’s design, given its reputation. As an alternative, it packed in new smarts to make the Cost 6 a Google Pixel Band in all the pieces however identify. If having Google Maps or YouTube Music controls in your wrist is interesting, or in the event you weren’t proud of the guts fee accuracy on the Cost 5, it’s possible you’ll need to improve.
For
- Helpful haptic facet button
- Higher HR information throughout “vigorous” exercises
- Double the sports activities modes
- Google Maps/ Pockets & YouTube Music
- Nonetheless has 7-day battery life regardless of additional smarts
In opposition to
- No updates to show, GPS accuracy
- Google account required
- No common music controls
Our former #1 health tracker
The Cost 5 was forward of its time. No different petite health tracker since has given you built-in GPS, an ECG for AFib detection, or pores and skin temperature readings at evening. Provided that the Cost 5 has the identical show and battery life because the Cost 6, it’s possible you’ll not really feel any have to improve simply but. Do not anticipate it to get any of its successor’s new apps or algorithm updates, although.
For
- Similar show high quality and luxury
- Constructed-in GPS and tons of well being sensors
- Suitable w/ Cost 6 bands
- Nonetheless works with Fitbit account (form of)
In opposition to
- Absolutely touchscreen reliant
- No Google apps
- No HR broadcasting
- Solely six train profiles on machine
The Fitbit Cost 6 and Cost 5 have been launched two years aside, and for all the modifications introduced by Google’s Fitbit acquisition, not a lot modified between the 2 health trackers themselves. They’re practically similar bodily, have the identical well being sensors, and provide the identical app expertise.
That is to not say Fitbit sat on its fingers. It squeezed in new Google apps, revamped coronary heart fee information, and a extremely helpful new haptic button. Should you’re shopping for a brand new Fitbit tracker, the Cost 6 is the one logical alternative, except you favor the petite Encourage 3.
Should you already personal the last-gen band, the Fitbit Cost 6 vs. Cost 5 variations will not be sufficient to justify the improve. To not fear, although: We’ll assist you resolve!
Fitbit Cost 6 vs. Cost 5: What’s the identical?
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| Class | Fitbit Cost 6 | Fitbit Cost 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Show | 1.04-inch AMOLED (326 ppi); 450 nits brightness, Gorilla Glass | 1.04-inch AMOLED (326 ppi); 450 nits brightness, Gorilla Glass |
| Supplies | Recycled aluminum case; silicone band with aluminum buckle | Recycled aluminum case; silicone band with aluminum buckle |
| Battery life | 7 days; about 5–6 hours GPS | 7 days; about 5–6 hours GPS |
| Cost time | 2 hours (proprietary cable) | 2 hours (proprietary cable) |
| Sensors and site | HRM, SpO2, ECG, EDA, pores and skin temperature, ambient mild, accelerometer, vibration, NFC | HRM, SpO2, ECG, EDA, pores and skin temperature, ambient mild, accelerometer, vibration, NFC |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.0; HR broadcast on health club gear | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Faucet-to-pay | Google Pockets | Fitbit Pay |
| Music playback | YouTube Music solely (w/ sub) | None |
| Navigation | Google Maps (w/ related cellphone) | None |
| Sports activities modes | 40 | 20 (solely 6 directly) |
| Water resistance | As much as 50 meters | As much as 50 meters |
| Dimensions | 1.52 x 0.73 x 0.46 inches | ‎1.45 x 0.9 x 0.44 inches |
| Weight | 15g (pebble solely); ~30g (pebble + band) | 15g (pebble solely); ~30g (pebble + band) |
Should you have a look at a Fitbit Cost 6 and Cost 5 facet by facet, you’d have hassle telling them aside. The size are barely completely different — the Cost 6 is 1.8mm taller, 4.3mm skinnier, and 0.5mm thicker than the Cost 5, primarily based on the official measurements — nevertheless it’s basically the identical design and really feel as earlier than (with one exception).
That is most evident in all the above Fitbit Cost 6 specs which might be copied and pasted over from its predecessor: You get a 1.04-inch AMOLED show with 450 nits of brightness, a 7-day battery life, a proprietary charging connector with a two-hour recharge time, 5ATM water resistance, and Gorilla Glass scratch resistance.
Our Cost 6 reviewer famous that he wished the tracker had gotten an even bigger or brighter show than the Cost 5, as different manufacturers now provide sizes properly above 1 inch. However he additionally acknowledged that maintaining this dimension helped Fitbit hold the Cost 6 as mild and comfy because the Cost 5.
Each trackers weigh 15g with out the band connected, utilizing the identical aluminum, glass, and resin supplies in every Cost capsule. They make use of the identical proprietary band connector, too, which means whichever of the greatest Fitbit Cost 6 bands you favor, they’re additionally backwards suitable with the Cost 5.
You will additionally discover the identical tech inside of the Fitbit Cost 6 and Cost 5.
Every has an antenna for GPS or GLONASS monitoring with out your cellphone close by — although they default to your cellphone’s GPS when it is close by. The built-in GPS has its points for each the Cost 6 and Cost 5: it could not join correctly while you put on the tracker too tightly, and it isn’t particularly correct. So you will most likely need to hold your smartphone on you throughout outside exercises, no matter which Cost you utilize.
They every measure steady coronary heart fee information in the course of the day; at evening, they examine blood oxygen ranges (SpO2), coronary heart fee variance (HRV), passive AFib detection, respiration fee, and pores and skin temperature ranges. You can even take lively EDA stress readings by sitting nonetheless for 3 minutes; we solely want both tracker had the passive cEDA sensor discovered on the Fitbit Sense 2, which is way more handy.
On the damaging facet, neither tracker has an altimeter to evaluate effort at elevation, one thing the Fitbit Cost 4 supplied.
Fitbit Cost 6 vs. Cost 5: What’s completely different?
We talked about “one exception” to the Fitbit Cost 6 and 5’s twin designs: a haptic button on the Cost 6’s left facet that you simply squeeze to return to the house web page, set off a shortcut, or swap between completely different views throughout an exercise.
The Cost 5 is touch-only, and our reviewer known as the expertise “very hit and miss,” noting that you want to be “intentional” to set off actions. Against this, our Cost 6 reviewer praised the haptic button, saying it “works because it ought to, with out being liable to unintentional presses like a bodily button.” It is way more handy than having to double-tap the show, too.
Past that one distinction, each different Fitbit Cost 6 improve is discovered beneath the floor, probably because of a brand new processor that may deal with extra Google smarts than the Cost 5.
First, Fitbit claims that the Cost 6 delivers “60% extra correct readings throughout vigorous actions like HIIT, spinning, and rowing” in comparison with the Cost 5. Basically, if the Cost 6 is not resting correctly in your wrist throughout arm-active sports activities, Fitbit makes use of “machine studying” algorithms lifted from the Google Pixel Watch to determine your HR information with much less data.
This Cost 6 algorithm apparently requires an “added compute load,” however Fitbit and Google ensured that this did not reduce the unique one-week battery life estimate from the Cost 5.
The Cost 6’s additional smarts manifest in different small however very important methods. The Cost 5 might solely hold six sports activities modes on it directly, out of 20 obtainable; with the Cost 6, you get all 40 of Fitbit’s actions on-device directly, matching the Sense 2 and Versa 4.
One different cool improve for health club lovers or athletes with at-home gear: the Cost 6 can join by way of Bluetooth to health club gear like Nordic, Peloton, Concept2, or Tonal to broadcast your coronary heart fee. That is not one thing the Cost 5 can do.
Fitbit Cost 6 homeowners additionally profit from three new Google apps the Cost 5 lacks: Google Pockets, Google Maps, and YouTube Music.
Google Pockets would not do something that the Cost 5’s Fitbit Pay would not; they’re each there for tap-to-pay transactions, and nothing else. The distinction is that you’re going to pull out of your Google Pay playing cards as a substitute of getting to retailer and replace your data in a number of apps. Plus, any transactions will seem in your Google cost historical past, which you’ll desire.
The Fitbit Cost 5 would not assist Bluetooth playback controls, a fundamental characteristic discovered on virtually each health tracker or watch. That is additionally true on the Cost 6, with one Google-biased exception: YouTube Music subscribers get a Play/Pause button, Skip Ahead/Again buttons, and Quantity Up/Down buttons break up throughout three screens. The Cost 6’s small show makes these controls considerably inconvenient, however Google superusers will nonetheless admire them.
The one can’t-miss Cost 6 replace, in our minds, is Google Maps turn-by-turn navigation. Enter a vacation spot in your related cellphone, and you may see a time to vacation spot and an arrow in your wrist pointing you the suitable manner, so you possibly can hold your cellphone in your pocket. It is handy for day-to-day walks, and even for outside runs.
The draw back to all of this Google goodness is that it gave Fitbit a pretense to transition everybody from Fitbit accounts to Google accounts. You need to create a Google account to make use of the Cost 6, whereas Cost 5 homeowners could have managed to keep away from transitioning from their outdated Fitbit account. You cannot use any Fitbit with out a Google account beginning in 2025, but when that is a deal-breaker for you, it’s best to stick along with your Cost 5 for now.
Fitbit Cost 6 vs. Cost 5: Do you have to improve?
It is clear that the Fitbit Cost 6 is an iterative replace, maintaining the method that made the Cost 5 our greatest health tracker choose for 2 years.
To summarize the important thing Cost 6 upgrades once more, that is what you get:
- A haptic button
- Extra correct HR information
- HR broadcast on health club gear
- Google Maps, Google Pockets, and YouTube Music
- 40 on-device train modes as a substitute of six
Of those, the haptic button, improved well being information from exercises, train gear connectivity, and Google Maps assist are all very helpful. We actually would not suggest you purchase the Cost 5 at this time, because the smarter 6 is extra prone to get assist and new software program updates within the subsequent couple of years.
Are these modifications sufficient so that you can spend one other $160 on the Cost 6? That most likely is determined by whether or not or not you preferred the Cost 5, and in the event you like modifications carried out throughout Google’s Fitbit possession just like the Fitbit app redesign and Google account migration.
If not, there is no level in shopping for in additional, as Google’s Fitbit technique is all about aligning the health model with Google and Pixel {hardware}. Get used to the Google manner of doing issues, or look elsewhere!
Google apps and haptic button
Select the Fitbit Cost 6 in the event you’re actually excited for Google apps, you are pissed off by the Cost 5’s all-touch controls, or in the event you’re upgrading from an older Fitbit just like the Cost 4. Do not improve to the Cost 6 in the event you do not just like the (very comparable) Cost 5, or in the event you’re not a Google fan.
Final-gen traditional
Do not buy a brand new Fitbit Cost 5 except you are saving a ton of cash on one in comparison with the Cost 6. However you possibly can and may keep on with the Cost 5 if the Cost 6 upgrades do not sound like sufficient to tempt you.
