A Google IQ replace
Fitbit and Google did not see any have to deviate from the Cost 5’s design, given its recognition. As an alternative, it packed in new smarts to make the Cost 6 a Google Pixel Band in every thing however title. If having Google Maps or YouTube Music controls in your wrist is interesting, or for those who weren’t proud of the center fee accuracy on the Cost 5, you could need to improve.
For
- Helpful haptic aspect button
- Higher HR knowledge 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 night time. Provided that the Cost 5 has the identical show and battery life because the Cost 6, you could not really feel any have to improve simply but. Do not count on 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
- Appropriate w/ Cost 6 bands
- Nonetheless works with Fitbit account (kind of)
In opposition to
- Totally touchscreen reliant
- No Google apps
- No HR broadcasting
- Solely six train profiles on gadget
The Fitbit Cost 6 and Cost 5 had been launched two years aside, and for the entire adjustments introduced by Google’s Fitbit acquisition, not a lot modified between the 2 health trackers themselves. They’re almost 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 knowledge, and a extremely helpful new haptic button. For those who’re shopping for a brand new Fitbit tracker, the Cost 6 is the one logical alternative, until you favor the petite Encourage 3.
For those who already personal the last-gen band, the Fitbit Cost 6 vs. Cost 5 variations is probably not sufficient to justify the improve. To not fear, although: We’ll allow you to 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 placement | 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 gymnasium 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 without delay) |
| 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) |
For those who have a look at a Fitbit Cost 6 and Cost 5 aspect by aspect, you’d have bother telling them aside. The size are barely totally 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 — but it surely’s basically the identical design and really feel as earlier than (with one exception).
That is most evident in the entire above Fitbit Cost 6 specs which are 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 nicely above 1 inch. However he additionally acknowledged that preserving this measurement helped Fitbit maintain 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, that means whichever of the greatest Fitbit Cost 6 bands you favor, they’re additionally backwards appropriate with the Cost 5.
You may 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 might not join correctly once you put on the tracker too tightly, and it isn’t particularly correct. So you will in all probability need to maintain your smartphone on you throughout outside exercises, no matter which Cost you utilize.
They every measure steady coronary heart fee knowledge through the day; at night time, they test blood oxygen ranges (SpO2), coronary heart fee variance (HRV), passive AFib detection, respiratory fee, and pores and skin temperature ranges. You can too take energetic 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 rather more handy.
On the destructive aspect, 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 totally 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 aspect that you just squeeze to return to the house web page, set off a shortcut, or change between totally different views throughout an exercise.
The Cost 5 is touch-only, and our reviewer referred to as the expertise “very hit and miss,” noting that it’s good 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 unintended presses like a bodily button.” It is rather 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, presumably as a consequence 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 knowledge 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 important methods. The Cost 5 may solely maintain six sports activities modes on it without delay, out of 20 out there; with the Cost 6, you get all 40 of Fitbit’s actions on-device without delay, matching the Sense 2 and Versa 4.
One different cool improve for gymnasium lovers or athletes with at-home gear: the Cost 6 can join through Bluetooth to gymnasium 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 house owners 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 an alternative of getting to retailer and replace your data in a number of apps. Plus, any transactions will seem in your Google fee historical past, which you’ll desire.
The Fitbit Cost 5 would not assist Bluetooth playback controls, a fundamental function discovered on nearly 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 recognize 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 will see a time to vacation spot and an arrow in your wrist pointing you the best approach, so you’ll be able to maintain 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. It’s important to create a Google account to make use of the Cost 6, whereas Cost 5 house owners could have managed to keep away from transitioning from their previous Fitbit account. You cannot use any Fitbit with no Google account beginning in 2025, but when that is a deal-breaker for you, you must stick along with your Cost 5 for now.
Fitbit Cost 6 vs. Cost 5: Must you improve?
It is clear that the Fitbit Cost 6 is an iterative replace, preserving the system 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 knowledge
- HR broadcast on gymnasium gear
- Google Maps, Google Pockets, and YouTube Music
- 40 on-device train modes as an alternative of six
Of those, the haptic button, improved well being knowledge from exercises, train gear connectivity, and Google Maps assist are all very helpful. We actually would not advocate you purchase the Cost 5 at the moment, because the smarter 6 is extra more likely to get assist and new software program updates within the subsequent couple of years.
Are these adjustments sufficient so that you can spend one other $160 on the Cost 6? That in all probability is determined by whether or not or not you favored the Cost 5, and for those who like adjustments carried out throughout Google’s Fitbit possession just like the Fitbit app redesign and Google account migration.
If not, there is not any 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 approach of doing issues, or look elsewhere!
Google apps and haptic button
Select the Fitbit Cost 6 for those who’re actually excited for Google apps, you are pissed off by the Cost 5’s all-touch controls, or for those who’re upgrading from an older Fitbit just like the Cost 4. Do not improve to the Cost 6 for those who do not just like the (very related) Cost 5, or for those who’re not a Google fan.
Final-gen basic
Do not buy a brand new Fitbit Cost 5 until you are saving a ton of cash on one in comparison with the Cost 6. However you’ll be able to and may stick to the Cost 5 if the Cost 6 upgrades do not sound like sufficient to tempt you.
