I wasn’t going to have a Tech Stuff post this month, then my trusty Fitbit One “glitched.” I got it rebooted, and it appears to be working fine; however, I didn’t want it to suddenly die and leave me high and dry (it’s several years old), so I began researching a replacement. I narrowed my choices down to a Fitbit Blaze and a Fitbit Charge 2. I liked the screen size of the Blaze, but it seemed bulky. It also cost $50 more than the Charge 2. I noticed the Charge 2 has several display options, and I saw one I liked. I liked that both devices had enhanced sleep tracking. The Blaze and the Charge 2 are both supposed to track Sleep Stages; however, Fitbit has updated their website to reflect reality – the Charge 2 does not do this yet. I’m disappointed because that was one feature I wanted, but they seem to have been experiencing difficulty rolling that feature out.  Despite that disappointing glitch, the auto sleep tracking feature is nice. Technically, the Fitbit One does this, too, but you have to manually add the log and do a little time guestimation to get everything to match up nicely.

I like the notification feature for incoming calls and texts as well as the reminder to move every hour if I haven’t taken 250 steps. I’m not sure if the increased step count I’ve noticed since getting the Charge 2 has anything to do with this or if it’s coincidental that I’ve been doing a ton of yard work over the last week, and the steps have really piled on.

After a morning of comparison, waffling back and forth, and talking to friends who have Fitbits, I (as you’ve already surmised) chose to go with the Charge 2. I liked the lower price and the more svelte design. I wanted the heart rate monitoring, so a device I can wear in my pocket wasn’t going to work. The One is still working, so if I have a time when I don’t want to wear a wristband, I can use that. I purchased a pack of replacement wristbands with my Charge 2, and I also bought a couple inexpensive leather bands. After demolishing the original band because I didn’t understand (even with looking at the instructions) how to get it off (Fitbit help graciously sent me a replacement band), I’ve been swapping bands pretty easily to change the look of the device. The display is remarkably capable, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by that. I think I’d have been equally pleased with the Blaze, but I’m glad I got the Charge 2.