Summary
This document describes how Fitbit wearable devices can be optimized for longer battery life. The example given here is for the Charge 5, but should apply to most of the Fitbit devices.
Extending Battery Life
Here are a few suggestions to improve the battery life. The features described here are available in the Fitbit Charge 5, but may not be available in your model.
- ALWAYS ON — Turn off the Always On feature to ensure that the display isn’t on all the time. The Always On feature is very efficient and displays the time with the screen dimmed. However, it does use up some power.
- AUTOMATIC ON — Turn off the Automatic On feature to ensure the display isn’t turning on when you move your wrist. The Automatic On features is intended to make it easier to check the time or other information on the display simply by turning your wrist to a natural position with the face up. However, it can sometimes misinterpret wrist movement and turn on the display when you don’t want to.
With these settings turned off, your Fitbit display will be off most of the time. To view the display, tap it twice with your available hand.
If you wear your Fitbit for information gathering throughout the day, and intend to only check it a few times or at the end of the day, then these power saving adjustments won’t be a problem. However, if you’re someone who regularly looks at your Fitbit for time and data, then you may need to personalize the above options to suite your needs.
Extending Device Longevity and Usable Lifetime
Because batteries are worn down over time from the number of charge cycles they go through, using less power means fewer charges over time, and this allows devices to be useable for more years without the battery health being compromised.
As with other devices, some gain may be achieved by charging your device to about 90% or 100% and then using it until it is down to 20% or 10%.
If your Fitbit is at 20% in the morning, and you’re getting ready to head out for a long day, you may want to top it off. But if you plan to be at home, or work, or otherwise able to charge the unit when it is depleted, it’s okay to just let it continue to drain the battery and choose a good time to charge again.
With products like the Apple Watch, when the battery is at 20%, it could soon be running low on power in a few hours.
However, if you have a Fitbit Inspire 3 at 20%, you should still be okay for 1-2 full days of use.
For this reason, people typically do less panic charging of their Fitbit devices. That allows them to last longer. It also results in less range anxiety.
Days of Battery Life – Models Compared
The Google store offers the ability to compare the various models of Fitbits. If we compare the Fitbit Inspire 3, Fitbit Charge 6, and Fitbit Versa 4, by scrolling down the page we can see the battery life of each model listed as 10, 7, and 6 days. [View Chart]
The normal retail pricing for these models is $100, $160, and $200. They occasionally go on sale for $80, $120, and $150. Given their durability, long battery life, attractive design, and plentiful features, these wearables seem to be a good value when compared to smart watches that can cost many hundreds of dollars yet feel heavy and bulky on the wrist.
