Fitbit Charge 2 Is The Top Midrange Fitness Tracker

The Fitbit Charge 2 is the best new fitness tracker we’ve tested in some time.

- Timothy Torres

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 does but has more features and an improved design. It offers the best balance of comfort and functionality 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. 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, 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, a Special Edition model with a gunmetal frame and a black band or a rose-gold frame and a lavender band is available. Additional bands cost $29.95, and 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 sleek and stylish as the Misfit Ray, but it’s a lot more discreet than the bulky Microsoft Band 2 or Fitbit Surge.