Fitbit continues its adventure in the world of connected watches. An adventure that began several years ago and has produced several smartwatch models, including the Charge 5 and the most recent Versa 4. Although both are oriented towards sports and health, they have differences that we invite you to discover in this article.
| Fitbit Charge 5 | Versa 4 | |
|---|---|---|
 | $148.95 | $198.95 |
Comparison of the ergonomics and design of the Charge 5 and the Versa 4
With The Charge 5, Fitbit has decided to improve the elegance of its smartwatches. The manufacturer has also accentuated the thinness and roundness of the device with the thickness going from 12.5 mm on the Charge 4 to 11.2 mm. The Charge 5 has a stainless steel finish and the watch measures 36.7 x 22.7 x 11.2 mm for 15 g.
The Fitbit Charge 5 wears a color Amoled technology screen. It measures 21.93 x 14.75 mm, with a brightness sensor that allows it to be readable even in bright sunlight.
The case of the Charge 5 is equipped with a heart rate monitor on its back as well as magnetic charging pins. The watch comes with two types of straps that fit even small wrists. The Versa 5 has no buttons on it as navigation is done by swiping and tapping on the screen.
We can say that with the 4, Fitbit has made its Versa model thinner because the watch goes from 12.2 mm for the 3 to 11.2 mm thick. The Versa 4 weighs a total of 38 g (25 g without bracelet). It has a fluoroelastomer strap. This material has the particularity of being flexible and comfortable, even when wet.
The Versa 4 is equipped with an Amoled screen of 1.58″ with an aluminum bezel. The screen has sufficient brightness for good readability in sunlight and incorporates a permanent display mode called “always – on”. The versa 4 carries a side button to perform various manipulations on the interface.
The Charge 5 is much lighter than the Versa 4. On the other hand, the Versa 4 uses a button and the Charge 5 has none.
| Fitbit Versa 4 screen protection | |
| $13.79 |
Interface of the Charge 5 and the Versa 4
Navigation on the Fitbit Charge 5 is done by swiping and tapping. The interface displays a panel that presents the different applications. The watch automatically detects six sports activities that can be accessed via the bracelet.
The Charge 5 integrates a function for receiving various notifications. It also offers you the possibility to answer your messages using predefined texts that you can customize. However, you have to enter them manually because voice input is not available.
The Versa 4’s interface uses two navigation modes: a physical button to access applications and call the voice assistant with a long press; touch, which uses a horizontal swipe of the finger across the screen to scroll through widgets. A downward finger swipe accesses the shortcut pane.
Versa 4 also supports receiving notifications, which can be accessed by swiping your finger upwards.
On the point of the interface, we can make the observation that the Charge 5 uses a navigation mode based solely on the touch while the Versa 4 in addition to the touch uses a physical button.
Comparison of applications between the Charge 5 and the Versa 4
The Charge 5 and the Versa 4 obviously use the same Fitbit application available on Android and iOS.
This application displays the following data on its home page: Number of steps, floors climbed, miles walked and calories burned. In addition to these, there is a summary of the last night’s sleep, stress level, heart rate, number of active hours, as well as the evolution of weight and water and food consumption.
Note that Fitbit has a paid service. If you are not subscribed to this service you will not have access to certain information on health and sleep.
Charge 5 vs. Versa 4: which one has more accurate measurements?
The Charge 5 has a GPS on its bracelet. According to the tests of the numeric site, this GPS produces measurements with 2.5% difference than those taken by the smartphone.
As for the heart rate monitor, it produces measurements with about 4.2% difference with those taken by the chest belt Polar H10. During the night, the sleep data collected by the Charge 5 are quite consistent.
The overall tracking of the cardio on the Versa 4 lacks precision because there are gaps of 10 to 20 beats between the variations observed on the curves of the Polar H10 chest belt and the watch.
The same applies to the GPS signal, whose geolocation generates inaccurate results on the distances calculated and the pace. On the other hand, the Versa 4 offers better accuracy in tracking sleep phases.
The GPS and heart rate monitor of the Charge 5 give more accurate results than those of the Versa 4. However, their sleep tracking performance is similar with fairly consistent results.
Autonomy of the Charge 5 and the Versa 4
The Charge 5 comes with a proprietary charger that takes about 1 hr 50 min to fully charge the battery. The watch can last more than 5 days in normal use.
In normal use, the Versa 4 can last for about 7 days. With its charger, it takes about 2 hours to reach 100% of battery charge.
The two watches have approximately the same speed of recharge. But overall the Versa 4 has a greater autonomy than the Charge 5.
Price and market presence of the Charge 5 and the Versa 4
| Fitbit Charge 5 | Versa 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| $148.95 | $198.95 |
The Fitbit Charge 5 is a watch that dates from the year 2021 unlike its cousin Versa 4 released in 2022. On Amazon, you have to pay about 190 Euros to get the Versa 4 while with about 120 Euros you can get the Charge 5.
Conclusion
The Charge 5 and the Versa 4 are produced by the same manufacturer. Therefore, they are managed by the same Fitbit application. In addition, they have differences in design, the Charge 5 being thinner and lighter and rectangular than the Versa 4 which looks squarer.
The Versa 4 has a navigation button that is absent on the Charge 5, which is content with touch to manipulate its interface. The latter offers this during a better accuracy on the tracking of activities even if it discharges faster than the Versa 4.
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