I’ve been through a few generations of the Fitbit Charge (2,3,4). This goes for myself as well as my friends and relatives. These things are honestly are not constructed very well, the watchbands are expensive, the messaging/notifications rarely if ever work, and the basic watches typically have costed around $150. The higher-priced Fitbits look nice, but my friends with the Versa can barely make it through a full day without needing to recharge the battery.
I also have a really nice Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 that my dad left to me when he passed away. The watch is great and I love it. I love it so much, in fact, that I am afraid to wear it. I dropped it in a rain puddle and it was fine but I was in a panic about finding it. I believe that price started out around $400 when it was new. There are listings for less now, somewhere in the ballpark of $225 to $250.
When my FitBit Charge 3 started having big problems with the lcd display fading to invisible at the same time my wife’s Fitbit Charge 4 fell apart. I was fed up with Fitbit, so I started looking into alternatives.
I saw this watch on Walmart’s website: https://www.walmart.com/ip/HONOR-Band-6-1-47-Inch-AMOLED-Screen-BT5-0-Smart-Bracelet-10-Sport-Modes-Health-Monitor-Stress-Test-Breathing-Exercise-5ATM-Waterproof-Black/384127942
Low and behold, a watch that looks like it is in the same ballpark as a Fitbit Charge 5. I figured, why not give it a try? If I’m going to buy a piece of junk that doesn’t last, I might as well only spend $42 which included tax and shipping.
Let me tell you folks, this watch is great! The text messaging is totally reliable, the step count is accurate, and it tracks stress, sleep, and oxygen levels. WAAAAY better than the Fitbit product line, at about 1/4 the price.
When folks catch on, the prices will probably go up and the company will get swallowed up by one of the tech giants like Google or Meta. Until then, buy one and enjoy.
Hoy Manor 