The Fitbit Charge 2 ($149.95) is the best new fitness tracker we've tested in some time. It automatically tracks your calories burned, distance traveled, heart rate, steps, and sleep, and a new mode helps you return your breathing to normal after a workout. There's no built-in GPS, but you can connect your phone to help capture running routes and calculate lap splits. And the display is modular, so you can pop it out and place it in a variety of different bands. Basically, it does everything the Fitbit Charge HR ($118.11 at Amazon) could do, with more features and an improved design. It offers the best balance of comfort and functionality you'll find in this price range, making it our new Editors' Choice for midrange fitness trackers.

Design and Display

In terms of design, the Charge 2 is similar to the Fitbit Alta ( at Amazon) . It's basically a silicone band with a rectangular OLED display module in the middle. There's a single button on the left side of the display, and a built-in continuous optical heart rate monitor underneath.

Like the Alta and the Fitbit Blaze ($233.45 at Amazon) , the Charge 2 has a modular design, so you can pop out the display and swap it into different leather and silicone bands. A simple push-slide mechanism pops the display module right off the band. The bands come in three sizes: Small (for wrists 5.5 to 6.5 inches in circumference), Large (6.5 to 7.7 inches), and XL (7.7 to 8.9 inches).

For $149.95, you get the Charge 2 with a stainless steel frame and a silicone band in black, blue, plum, or teal. For $179.95, you can get a Special Edition model with a gunmetal frame and a black band, or a rose gold frame and a lavender band. Additional bands cost $29.95, while leather straps in brown, pink, and indigo cost $69.95.

Like the Charge HR, the Charge 2 uses a watch-style buckle design, so it's easy to fasten around your wrist. It's not nearly as slight and stylish as the Misfit Ray ($120.00 at Amazon Canada) , but it's a lot more discreet than the bulky Microsoft Band 2 or Fitbit's own Surge ($234.73 at Amazon) .

The tracker's rectangular OLED display is a lot larger than the Charge HR's tiny one-line screen, at 1.3 by 0.8 inches (HW). It allows you to view multiple lines of information at once, and letters and numbers are legible and sharp. The display is still monochrome, though, and can appear faint and reflective outdoors in direct sunlight (there are no settings to adjust screen brightness). It also attracts fingerprints easily, an issue shared by the Fitbit Alta.

To control the Charge 2, you use a combination of the physical button on the side of the display and tapping the display itself. There are five screens you can cycle through: Time of Day, Heart Rate, Activities, Stopwatch, and Relax. The main screen shows you the time of day, the date, and a fitness stat. On the Heart Rate screen, you can tap to view continuous or resting heart rate. On the Activities screen, you tap to cycle through biking, elliptical, running, weights, treadmill, and workout; hold the button and you'll start to track the activity.

On a full charge, the tracker lasts about five days, which is on par with Fitbit's other devices. As usual, you get a proprietary charger, so you'll need to buy a replacement if you lose or break it. Each Fitbit device uses a different charger, so you can't use the one that came with your Charge ($100.99 at Amazon Canada) or Charge HR, which is frustrating. During my time with the Charge 2, I charged it about twice per week.

The Charge 2 is resistant to rain, sweat, and splashes. However, you'll want to keep it away from pools and showers. If you want a fitness tracker you can swim with, consider the fully waterproof Garmin Forerunner 735XT ($250.15 at Amazon) or the Misfit Shine 2 Swimmer's Edition .

Pairing, Features, and Performance

To pair the tracker, you need to download the free Fitbit app on your Bluetooth-enabled Android, iOS, or Windows device and create an account (if you don't have one already). It's simple, and I connected the Charge 2 to a Samsung Galaxy S6 ($325.09 at Amazon) in just a few seconds. Once paired, the tracker automatically syncs with your mobile device whenever it's in range, though you can manually sync as well.

Equipped with a three-axis accelerometer, altimeter, optical heart rate monitor, and vibration motor, the Charge 2 tracks your active minutes, calories, distance, steps, heart rate, and sleep. Additionally, it offers regular reminders to get up and move, a feature first introduced to Fitbit devices with the Alta (the Blaze recently received this ability in a software update). After about an hour of inactivity, the Charge 2 will vibrate and display a graphic that tells you to walk 250 steps before you return to your seat (a number that you can adjust in the Fitbit app).

There is no built-in GPS, but like the Alta, Blaze, and Charge HR, you can connect the Charge 2 with the GPS on your phone to see real-time stats on your run, like distance and pace. Doing so is easy—make sure the Fitbit app is open, and wait a few seconds for the GPS and phone icons to show up at the top of Charge 2's display.

See How We Test Fitness Trackers

Fitbit's app is one of our favorites, and some recent updates make it even better. Now you can view your cardio fitness level, which is basically a breakdown of your heart rate data (resting, average, and peak) and estimated VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise). Fitbit says it offers guidance in how to improve your cardio fitness, but so far it's just basic advice like, "Increase the intensity of your exercise." Still, the ability to see that kind of data is valuable, and you can compare it with other users in the Fitbit community.

Like the Alta and the Blaze (but unlike the Charge HR), the Charge 2 automatically tracks exercises like basketball, biking, hiking, running, and more. But it takes upwards of 10 to 15 minutes to register you're doing an activity, so if you just want to go for a quick jog, you might be done before the Charge 2 even notices that you're running. In testing, I preferred to manually track exercise by holding down the side button.

New to the Charge 2 is a Relax mode, which is a guided breathing exercise based on your heart rate you can do after a workout. You select between two- and five-minute sessions, in which you match your breathing to a contracting and expanding circle on the tracker's display. A pixelated wave at the bottom of the screen indicates your real-time heart rate. As you inhale and exhale, your heart rate (and the wave) undulate, so you can see the effect of your breathing. The goal is to reduce anxiety, stress, and return your heart rate to normal after a workout. I found this feature effective, even when I wasn't running. On the bus, train, at work, or any other stressful environment, it's relaxing to focus on the Charge 2's display and just breathe.

Another big addition can be found in the Charge 2's Activities screen: Interval Workout. When toggled, it sets a length of time you want to be active, as well as a rest time after, and the number of intervals you want to accomplish. When each time is up, the band vibrates to alert you to move to the next phase of the workout. This is my favorite new feature on the Charge 2, since runners can use it to create intervals for sprint training without backing out of an activity to start a stopwatch—just set your preferred times in the app then train, rest, and repeat.

As for accuracy, I feel confident in the Charge 2's ability to deliver consistently reliable results. In testing, the tracker provided distance and step measurements consistent with what I'm used to seeing on the routes I typically walk and run. Heart rate results were also largely comparable with my own pulse checks. Sleep tracking is accurate as well, though unlike the Misfit Ray, which analyzes light and deep sleep, the Charge 2 only records when you're asleep, awake, and restless.

Left to right: Fitbit Charge HR, Fitbit Charge 2, Fitbit Blaze

Besides fitness features, the Charge 2 can display caller ID information, calendar reminders, and text notifications, provided your phone is nearby. That doesn't put it on par with full-fledged smartwatch like the Apple Watch Series 2 ($180.52 at Amazon) , but it does mean you won't need to pull your phone out of your pocket quite as often.

You can choose a variety of clock faces for the Charge 2's display, and switch between horizontal or vertical text layouts. My favorite is a vertical digital display that stacks the time of day, date, and two stats (like steps and continuous heart rate, for instance) on top of one another in an easy-to-view manner.

Conclusions

The Fitbit Charge 2 does everything our previous Editors' Choice, the Fitbit Charge HR can, while adding a larger display, guided breathing exercises, idle alerts, interval training, and interchangeable bands. You don't get built-in GPS like you do in the Fitbit Surge, but then again, you can always connect your phone—and you're paying nearly half the price. Simply put, you won't find this combination of features and performance at this price in any other device on the market. So if you're looking for a reasonably affordable, full-featured fitness tracker, the Charge 2 is an excellent option, and our new Editors' Choice.

Artboard Created with Sketch. Fitbit Charge 2 4.5 Editors' Choice See It $149.95 at Fitbit MSRP $149.95 Pros Large display.

Built-in continuous heart rate monitor.

Automatically tracks activities, calories, distance, steps, stairs, and sleep.

Delivers idle alerts.

Relax mode leads deep-breathing exercises.

Supports interval training.

Interchangeable bands. View More Cons Somewhat faint screen.

Attracts fingerprints.

Not waterproof.

No GPS. View More The Bottom Line The Fitbit Charge 2 does everything the Fitbit Charge HR can, along with new idle alerts, automatic activity tracking, guided breathing sessions, interchangeable bands, and the option to connect your phone for GPS.

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