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Add to SafariWhen comparing Fitbit Charge HR vs Garmin Vivosmart, the Slant community recommends Fitbit Charge HR for most people. In the question“What are the best fitness trackers that pair with iPhones?” Fitbit Charge HR is ranked 9th while Garmin Vivosmart is ranked 16th. The most important reason people chose Fitbit Charge HR is:
Throughout the day (and night), the Charge HR fitness tracker continuously measures your heart rate. On the app, graphs show your heart rate throughout the day, providing stats such as time spent in the different zones (peak, cardio, and fat burn) as well as your average resting heart rate for that day.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Continuously measures your heart rate and intensity level to give you 24 hour stats
Throughout the day (and night), the Charge HR fitness tracker continuously measures your heart rate.
On the app, graphs show your heart rate throughout the day, providing stats such as time spent in the different zones (peak, cardio, and fat burn) as well as your average resting heart rate for that day.
Pro Can track your elevation so you know how high you've hiked
When connected to the GPS on your phone, the Charge HR is able to keep track of elevation. This is a great feature for hikers who often like to know how much elevation was gained over the course of the hike.
Pro The app and web platform do an excellent job of keeping you motivated
The Fitbit app lets you set goals and milestones which reward you with badges and trophies when reached.
You can also challenge friends and family, competing against them for top spot on the leader board.
Pro Compatible with nearly every smartphone
In addition to Android and iPhone support, the Charge HR fitness tracker also supports Windows Phone which is fairly rare.
While not an issue most of the time, when upgrading your phone you won't have to worry if your fitness tracker will work with it or not.
Pro Smartwatch-like functionality
Vivosmart is capable of showing smartphone notifications and control music playback.
Pro Logs exercise
Pro Week's battery life
Pro Some customization options
Pro Displays time
Pro Good step counter
Cons
Con Band is poorly made and tends to fall apart
Usually after a few months of wear, people start having issues with the band falling apart. Bubbles will appear under the top layer of the band and then the layers start separating.
The Fitbit Charge HR does not have a replaceable band, so you have to replace the whole device if it is no longer wearable.
Con Notifications are easily missed
While the Charge HR fitness tracker will vibrate to notify you of incoming messages on your phone, the vibration is subtle and short. Sometimes you won't notice the buzz and you'll miss the notification.
Con Stats aren't always accurate
While good enough for most users, the data can be skewed because of physical limits of the fitness tracker. For example, an elevated pulse may just be because you chugged back a coffee, but the Charge HR may interpret this as physical activity. Also, measuring a pulse and steps from the wrist can only be so accurate.
Con Companion app is difficult to use
The way the information is presented is confusing and incoherent and there's no logical way to find necessary information.
Con No activity autodetection
Vivosmart does not automatically detect when you start to walk or run, you have to start and stop activity manually.
Con Reps counting feature does not work for some exercises
Reps counting feature is not reliable, sometimes it misses few reps and with some exercises it can count 1 rap, even if you did 10 reps for example. And it can't detect when you start the exercise, so you have to start and stop the counter manually. In practice I frequently forget to start and to stop the counter so after some time I simply sopped using this feature.
Con Difficult to check current time because display most of the time is turned off
In order to turn on the display, for example to see current time, you need to raise you hand and after some delay display some times turns on, sometimes not.
Other option is to double tap the display, which requires both hands.
If you frequently checking current time, it is really annoying.
Con App requires you to provide personal data in order to work
You have to register in the app providing information about your age, gender and weight.
Con App does not work without internet connectivity
It is not possible for example to enter your weight if you are not connected to the internet.
Con No GPS data is collected
